I’ve had auto insurance with Allstate for many years.ย It started back in 2004 when I acquired my sainted Grandma Betty’s Pontiac 6000 (as I’ve said before, nobody in their 90’s with a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and cataracts should be allowed behind the wheel).ย The coverage remained through my 2005 Saturn Ion “Cardachrome,” and is now part of my 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS “The Blackbird.”
That’s not to say that there haven’t been some hiccups between myself and Allstate along the way.ย Last January, for example, there was an issue regarding a $10 licensing fee that Allstate chose to bill separately from my policy.
On Friday, I received word that it was time for my insurance renewal – and even though I was a solid driver with no accidents or injuries or speeding tickets, my policy had a $25 increase from the last policy period.
Okay, this has to stop.
Phone call to my policy agent.
And after much talk and chatter and negotiations and recitations – including the fact that I now own my car outright and that it has no lienholder, and that I’ve taken extra special care with my car so as to not cause damage or the like – okay, a few windshield replacements for road debris notwithstanding – I asked the policy agent what could be done to fix this issue and keep me as a loyal, steady customer.
“Well, Mr. Miller,” the agent said, “I think we have a policy for you.ย It would give you the same comprehensive coverage that you currently have, no change whatsoever.ย We just need to go over some particulars….”
And then, after all the “particulars” were discussed…
“Mr. Miller, we can give you a policy for this new amount.”
And the “new amount” was $400/year less than my current policy.
Let that sink in for a second.ย I was able to negotiate a lower insurance rate.ย And I didn’t have to threaten to move to coverage with a duck, a gecko, a caveman or Flo.
One payment later, and I’m now locked into this new rate, and my insurance continues.
Here’s the thing that makes this important to me.ย I was able to negotiate and understand what was going on with my car insurance.ย I worked with my agent to complete a solid and comprehensive coverage without any “uh-oh’s” or hidden policy gaps.
This is good.ย I’ll take these little victories wherever I find them.
And that extra $400 in the savings account won’t hurt, either. ๐
Chuck The Writer 
I did the exact same thing a couple of year ago with our auto insurance (not Allstate) and got our premium more than cut in half. I also recently read an article that said insurance companies arbitrarily raise the premiums annually just to see what the traffic (the policyholders) will bear. This is apparently a common practice.
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So they have been over charging you all this time?
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I don’t know if it’s been overcharging or not. This is the first billing cycle in which I am the owner of the Blackbird; I think that when a bank is the lienholder, there are services that are mandatory charges for insurance companies. So there might be different levels for different coverages.
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Being able to sit down at a local office with an agent is very important to me. You are in a better bargaining position face-to-face than you are with “Bob” from New Delhi.
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