According to Insurance Journal, State Farm filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Insurance after TDI publicized recent rate hike proposals on their website.
Shhh… Let’s not tell anyone about the rate increase…
The suit seeks to protect certain information relating to rate proposals from being disclosed. These rate hike proposals filed over the past eight months will increase homeowner premiums an average of 13%. (I guess it’s more profitable to spend millions on legal fees than to pass these dollars on to their policyholders… ha).
And we certainly don’t want anyone to know we overcharged by $310,000,000!
Additionally, in November of 2009, TDI ordered State Farm Lloyds to refund a total of $310,000,000 to policyholders after finding that the insurer had overcharged customers beginning in 2003. That’s a lot of zeros on the end of that number!
So much for transparency in pricing!
Perhaps a healthy bit of skepticism is in order?
Hey the reality is that all insurance companies are there to make a profit for their shareholders which is fine as long as you go into this with your eyes open. Take a proactive approach and evaluate your options for home and auto insurance. Carriers typically cycle in rates for a variety of reasons. If you’ve been with the same carrier for more than 3 years, chances are you are leaving money on the table.
The payday for evaluating options…
Case in point: Phil, a good friend of mine who I’ve known for 32 years. (OK, there will be a small break in the penning of this article as I try to figure out the exact point at which I became my father…) was with State Farm for 10 years. Never had a claim, just kept sending them money every year. He decided to have Inspire Insurance Solutions take a look and was able to get more coverage and get this… save $857 a year! Pretty good return on the 20 minutes it took him from start to finish.
Maybe it’s time to have Inspire take a look at your home and auto policies. Call us at 512-257-3773 or you can go to Austin insurance to fill out the online quote form. (We can write homes anywhere in Texas). Also, remember to share this with the whole class and pass it on to two friends.
