in all my years of driving i have never had a insurance claim, but every year my insurance goes up.
Sounds like it's time to go shopping for a different company.
If you have not done anything to give your present insurance company a reason to hike up your rates (accidents where you were deemed to be at fault, tickets, suspention of licence, or failure to appear before a judge about a ticket, etc.) then maybe it's time to look for a different insurer. Your rates, as you age, should always slowly go down over time if you have had no at-fault accidents or moving violations.
Companies are competitive right now because in the past, you only had State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, Travelers, and a few others. Now, Progressive, Geico, and a number of Independants are advertizing EVERYWHERE, especially in magazines & cable TV. Some companies (like Geico) offer a "cheaper" rate because you don't deal with a local agent, you are doing everything over the phone. The bummer part is you don't have a local agent (your advocate) to go to in person with a claim or a dispute about a claim. Since they aren't paying agents a commission, they can reduce that cost--but at a loss of 1 on 1 customer service. These companies offer an initial "cheaper" rate--but almost always raise rates after the first year, so the "savings" is only short-term.
You can usually get a ballpark idea on some of the companies websites about rates, but you should want to get a yearly quote in person-and on paper. Shop around! If you don't trust the agent at your first meeting--go somewhere else! If you can't trust them now--you maybe can't trust them come claim time. It's all about getting your money's worth, and how you will be treated when you need them.
The "larger" companies have a far larger cash reserve to handle claims than smaller companies. The risk is transferred over a far larger amount of clients so they can offer lower rates.
So grab your shopping cart and good luck!
ROX
