Shopping around for auto insurance is good advice
Some insurance companies are sending out notices to consumers trying to blame the Legislature for making pro-consumer changes and telling them this will raise rates. You might wonder what the big deal is this year, since they raise rates almost every year anyway.
Blaming the Legislature for increasing rates is simply ridiculous. Increasing insurance rates are almost as certain as death and taxes.
If your insurance company is telling you they plan to increase your rates again—shop around. Wisconsin has a very competitive auto insurance market with hundreds of companies competing for business and lots of local agents ready to help find better rates. Independent consumer advocates have found that there is a very good chance that a different company will provide you with lower rates. Personally, I saved 35 percent on my auto insurance by switching companies late last year.
Most of us who drive already carry auto insurance. According to industry figures, around 80 percent or more already carry coverage that is greater than the new minimum limits the Legislature updated for the first time since 1982. Those legislative changes contained in the state budget passed this summer should not affect rates.
The Legislature took bold steps to stand up for consumers against deceptive practices when it adopted changes earlier this year. They eliminated many provisions insurance companies had put in place to deny thousands of claims.
The new legislation makes sure consumers actually will get what they pay for. Now when a consumer buys $100,000 of underinsured motorist coverage, the buyer will actually get that amount, rather than having the other driver’s policy limits deducted from it.
Legislators recognized that if insurance is to work best, Wisconsin drivers need to accept responsibility by making sure they have insurance at a reasonable level to reflect today’s medical and property costs. The Legislature should be commended.
The insurance industry likes to attack trial lawyers because they know the only place accident victims can make the insurance companies honor their policies is in court. If insurance were working for everyone, there would not be more than 60,000 insurance company complaints in Wisconsin over the past decade. That’s far more complaints than any other business.
Under the new laws in Wisconsin, there will be less need for people to take insurance companies to court in order to get the coverage they paid for and deserve.
So, if you feel that your insurance company is unfairly raising your rates, just shop around. Independent consumer advocates have generally found that shopping for auto insurance at renewal time can result in savings of from 15 percent to 40 percent. If you are a diligent consumer and shop around, you’ll find many insurance companies willing to win your business by giving you the coverage you deserve at a fair price.
Robert Kraig is executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Citizen Action is a grassroots consumer advocacy organization with more than 80,000 members across Wisconsin. www.citizenactionwi.org.
Oct 29, 2009 at 6:51 a.m.
Suggest removal
TO MELLIE 3322: "The reason rates will be impacted is because..........."
"IMPACT: The collision of two objects" Also; bombs leave an impact and sometimes teeth are impacted but rates are "AFFECTED"
Oct 28, 2009 at 4:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
Are you kidding? Did you do any research at all before writing this article? You are so quick to point the finger at the insurance companies. Do you realize that legislators made these changes to insurance law without any insurance representatives there for input? The reason rates will be impacted is because the law now allows for stacking of liability limits. Which means you could hit someone in a vehicle that is on your policy, and the victim is now allowed to collect the full liability limit for up to three separate vehicles on your policy. So of course that is going to mean a rate adjustment - someone could now sue YOU and your insurance company for three times what they could in the past. Ridiculous. And remember people, you get what you pay for. There are good insurance companies, and bad. Of course you could shop around on line and find lower rates. But READ your contract - there are actually insurance companies that can deny your claim if your vehicle is stolen and you leave the keys in the car. Most reputable insurance companies would pay that claim, regarldess of the stupidity of the owner. The owner still suffers a large financial loss, which should be compensated. But there are snaky companies that actually have that exclusion in the contract. So to the writer of this article - unless you are well versed in insurance, you shouldn't be writing articles on things you don't understand. This is the most ridiculous article I have read in a long time, and the worst part about it is there are readers out there that don't know better and are actually going to believe the load of crap that you just wrote. Disgraceful really. Would you like to explain all of the legislative changes that pertain to insurance for the readers? Would you like to explain that the government did not have anyone in the insurance industry involved in these laws? Would you like to explain to consumer that these laws the state of Wisconsin just put into effect are ambigious at best and will not be revised or looked at until a big lawsuit takes place? Read the actual laws, talk to someone in the insurance industry, and then write your aritcle. There is nothing more dangerous than an uneducated individual writing an article on a topic they don't truly understand.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.