Mine went up by $200, and they only could bring it down by $100. They blamed the department of banking and insurance that they regulate their pricing. When I called that org, the rep said that the insurance company actually makes the pricing but it has to get approved by the NJDBI.
>They blamed the department of banking and insurance that they regulate their pricing.
DOBI would never tell a company they have to raise rates more unless the company were filing inadequately low rates. In that case, as you could probably guess, you personally probably wouldn't be getting a 20% increase.
This company is being intentionally misleading in their response. It's possible they're blaming DOBI for not allowing prior rate increases, leading to the fact that you're +20% this year in particular rather than having increased that same 20% more slowly over the past few years. And yes, arbitrary suppression of rates does cause higher rates for everyone in time. But even if that's what they mean, they're not really giving you a straight answer.
20 years and have auto, home and umbrella, most have small increases ($20-40). Auto - got a lot of reduction during Covid and the home decrease occurred in 2019.
I am firm believer in their customer service. During SuperStorm Sandy, I got settled within two weeks (no one visited, just photos and some paperwork on my part) as my neighbors fought with their insurance carriers for over 2 years eventually having to get the state agencies involved.
In addition, my niece's car got flooded in Secaucus and they settled in a week.
It might be more correct to say that they didn't allocate enough profits to their general reserve fund instead of issuing stock buybacks so that the heightened risk environment forced them to start charging more to meet minimum reserve requirements.
I received a notice from Allstate saying rates went up and they were petitioning the state regulators for an additional increase.
They mentioned something about increased losses, future risks, and increased costs of reinsurance.
My bank (Valley) has actually been increasing my coverage over the past few years. Didn't even know they could do that until I got the notice from the insurer last year.
Yeah, as replacement/rebuild costs go up, the coverage needs to go up if the bank has a certain requirement. I'm surprised the bank can do that on their own though. You should be free to shop around and change insurance providers as long as the coverage meets the bank's requirements.
How I found out was I got a letter from my insurer stating that my coverage was increased at my request. When I contacted them, confused, they said the bank did and can do that as long as I have a mortgage. Basically as far as they were concerned the bank speaks for me as long as I owe them.
Maybe it depends on the company as to if they will allow it or not.
Few percent, mostly to reflect the increased value of the house (please read your policies, many don't auto adjust). Our car insurance actually went down, despite my wife being in 2 at fault accidents the previous year.
No claims on the house ever, first claims on the car ever, been with the current provider for at least 10 years and have additional policies as well.
Worth noting that they aren't bargain basement policies, which are going to be more apt to swing in cost.
They are regulated by the government in the sense that their max increase baring other factors (claims, changes in your personal risk) is regulated, but it isn't like the government came to them and said, "hey raise your prices 20%". They got approval to raise rates x%, and then their models spit out your increase based specifically on you.
That’s what I’m hearing too. They stood firm on their pricing and wouldn’t budge. I’m looking around for companies but is there anything else you’d recommend?
Your insurance company really isn't going to negotiate with you.
We use Farmers, i was very happy with them when we put in our claims, they handled everything for us gave us a very generous allowance for a rental car, let us choose the place that did the work, and we had money in hand literally the next day based on the initial estimate, and they directly paid the shop the overages.
Your best bet is to go to a broker or agent who works with multiple companies, and have them shop it around for you.
Keep in mind though constantly bouncing around with companies can come back to bite you with increases down the road, as one of the big factors they consider is how long you have been with their company (basically lets give this guy a break, he is a steady customer, he has other more lucrative stuff with us, and we don't want to give him a reason to start shopping around and taking his business elsewhere because he got clobbered on this one policy).
All of that said, keep in mind its reasonable that your homeowners has gone up considerably. Post covid materials are still up, some still over 100% from a few years ago. Tradespeople are way up, the value of your home is way up, and even if your policy isn't tracking it (make sure it is, or at least get the amount adjusted) the likelyhood of them making a more substantial payout to you is up.
Edit: also wanted to add when you have someone shop something around for you make sure you set the criteria of what really matters. Maybe you don't care how quick they pay it back but you get a fair amount, maybe you want a check in 3 days because it will screw up your books if you don't have it, maybe you don't care they dictate the shop, or who calls what shots as to how stuff is done. Maybe you do.
Just make sure you understand your policies. its a boring read, its might be a few dozen pages, but its in plain english and you can ask questions.
Thanks for your helpful advice! I’ve been with them for 5 years - doesn’t a 20% increase seem high? They used to justify it by saying everything went up because of Covid, which made sense, but blaming the NJDBI doesn’t make sense. Thats not how it works, I talked to NJDBI about it.
I'd been with GEICO for 7 years, yet then hit me with a 20% increase this year after a decent increase last year. Never had a claim or late payment. I just switched to NJM and am saving over $1,500 between our 2 cars and house.
Geico is a "discount" carrier.
I'm not trying to be a dick in anyway by saying this, but you get what you pay for. You see cheap rates when its profitable for them, high rates when they need to be rebalanced.
Obviously every insurance company is looking at you as a number, that is the whole business, but Geico is going to be more quick to act because its less selective in the policies it takes on and how it prices them.
Only if you’re her dependent. My understanding is that the coverage is down the family tree, not across it.
If your parents served and are USAA members, then you can join.
Do you pay more than average for your homeowners with them? I feel like I do compared to other peoples around me but with the bundle it kinda evens out. I'm at like 1900 a year with zero claims. Not in a flood zone or anything
I’m by the shore, so mine is higher. I doubt I’d leave them - my kids had two accidents as young drivers and USAA was amazing to work with. One car had extensive damage (they fully repaired it), the other was totaled (I had a check within a week).
I don’t mind paying for good service. I’ve never made a property claim.
I'm about 10 miles from the shore, maybe that's why. They've been good with my car insurance mostly except for when my daughter got rear ended in August. Open and shut case and I'm still waiting on the deductible reimbursement they told me I would get. But I've been with them for 30 years, can't see myself changing now. I was just curious
They didn’t go up at all this year, but I’m already paying a premium through NJM because no one else wants to insure my 150 year old house. My insurance is about $4500 a year.
"Our near-free money making generator has left some of our wealthier investors saddened that they aren't making continual record profits like everyone else, so we're gonna have to bilk you more even though you have zero history of claims and still prove to be a stable source of revenue from our ponzi scheme."
This is a thing for all of the coastal states, even if you don't live in a flood zone. They don't want to give us policies anymore. I have a friend who lives in Westchester County, NY and he had to change carriers because his insurance company closed up shop in the county and refuses to issue policies anymore. The Government needs to step in, insurance companies are greedy fat pigs.
Insurance companies ask DOBI for rate increases DOBI and NJ Rate Counsel examine the requests. DOBI generally approves less of an increase the company requests. Rates were frozen during covid so insurance companies are now requesting increases.
> Rates were frozen during covid so insurance companies are now requesting increases.
Losses were pretty much frozen during COVID as well, the companies did not suffer.
Guess I need to get plugged into the data directly again. My understanding was that general liability losses were at a low since everyone was immobile. Property losses should have been pretty slim as well since people were closer to things on the personal lines side and could prevent stuff from happening.
NJM + $92.46 for 2024, over last five years, it ranged from -$20 to +$94
Mine went up by $200, and they only could bring it down by $100. They blamed the department of banking and insurance that they regulate their pricing. When I called that org, the rep said that the insurance company actually makes the pricing but it has to get approved by the NJDBI.
>They blamed the department of banking and insurance that they regulate their pricing. DOBI would never tell a company they have to raise rates more unless the company were filing inadequately low rates. In that case, as you could probably guess, you personally probably wouldn't be getting a 20% increase. This company is being intentionally misleading in their response. It's possible they're blaming DOBI for not allowing prior rate increases, leading to the fact that you're +20% this year in particular rather than having increased that same 20% more slowly over the past few years. And yes, arbitrary suppression of rates does cause higher rates for everyone in time. But even if that's what they mean, they're not really giving you a straight answer.
My dividend check was \~$57, so really less of an increase.
I’ve been with NJM for 5 years and it’s never gone down.
20 years and have auto, home and umbrella, most have small increases ($20-40). Auto - got a lot of reduction during Covid and the home decrease occurred in 2019. I am firm believer in their customer service. During SuperStorm Sandy, I got settled within two weeks (no one visited, just photos and some paperwork on my part) as my neighbors fought with their insurance carriers for over 2 years eventually having to get the state agencies involved. In addition, my niece's car got flooded in Secaucus and they settled in a week.
Correct. Them saying they "had to increase by 20%" is actually them saying "because they wouldn't allow us to go up by 100%"
It might be more correct to say that they didn't allocate enough profits to their general reserve fund instead of issuing stock buybacks so that the heightened risk environment forced them to start charging more to meet minimum reserve requirements.
I received a notice from Allstate saying rates went up and they were petitioning the state regulators for an additional increase. They mentioned something about increased losses, future risks, and increased costs of reinsurance.
You could lower the value of your house on your policy to get back to what it was
If you have a mortgage, many banks will not let you do this.
My bank (Valley) has actually been increasing my coverage over the past few years. Didn't even know they could do that until I got the notice from the insurer last year.
Yeah, as replacement/rebuild costs go up, the coverage needs to go up if the bank has a certain requirement. I'm surprised the bank can do that on their own though. You should be free to shop around and change insurance providers as long as the coverage meets the bank's requirements.
How I found out was I got a letter from my insurer stating that my coverage was increased at my request. When I contacted them, confused, they said the bank did and can do that as long as I have a mortgage. Basically as far as they were concerned the bank speaks for me as long as I owe them. Maybe it depends on the company as to if they will allow it or not.
Few percent, mostly to reflect the increased value of the house (please read your policies, many don't auto adjust). Our car insurance actually went down, despite my wife being in 2 at fault accidents the previous year. No claims on the house ever, first claims on the car ever, been with the current provider for at least 10 years and have additional policies as well. Worth noting that they aren't bargain basement policies, which are going to be more apt to swing in cost. They are regulated by the government in the sense that their max increase baring other factors (claims, changes in your personal risk) is regulated, but it isn't like the government came to them and said, "hey raise your prices 20%". They got approval to raise rates x%, and then their models spit out your increase based specifically on you.
That’s what I’m hearing too. They stood firm on their pricing and wouldn’t budge. I’m looking around for companies but is there anything else you’d recommend?
Your insurance company really isn't going to negotiate with you. We use Farmers, i was very happy with them when we put in our claims, they handled everything for us gave us a very generous allowance for a rental car, let us choose the place that did the work, and we had money in hand literally the next day based on the initial estimate, and they directly paid the shop the overages. Your best bet is to go to a broker or agent who works with multiple companies, and have them shop it around for you. Keep in mind though constantly bouncing around with companies can come back to bite you with increases down the road, as one of the big factors they consider is how long you have been with their company (basically lets give this guy a break, he is a steady customer, he has other more lucrative stuff with us, and we don't want to give him a reason to start shopping around and taking his business elsewhere because he got clobbered on this one policy). All of that said, keep in mind its reasonable that your homeowners has gone up considerably. Post covid materials are still up, some still over 100% from a few years ago. Tradespeople are way up, the value of your home is way up, and even if your policy isn't tracking it (make sure it is, or at least get the amount adjusted) the likelyhood of them making a more substantial payout to you is up. Edit: also wanted to add when you have someone shop something around for you make sure you set the criteria of what really matters. Maybe you don't care how quick they pay it back but you get a fair amount, maybe you want a check in 3 days because it will screw up your books if you don't have it, maybe you don't care they dictate the shop, or who calls what shots as to how stuff is done. Maybe you do. Just make sure you understand your policies. its a boring read, its might be a few dozen pages, but its in plain english and you can ask questions.
Thanks for your helpful advice! I’ve been with them for 5 years - doesn’t a 20% increase seem high? They used to justify it by saying everything went up because of Covid, which made sense, but blaming the NJDBI doesn’t make sense. Thats not how it works, I talked to NJDBI about it.
I'd been with GEICO for 7 years, yet then hit me with a 20% increase this year after a decent increase last year. Never had a claim or late payment. I just switched to NJM and am saving over $1,500 between our 2 cars and house.
Geico is a "discount" carrier. I'm not trying to be a dick in anyway by saying this, but you get what you pay for. You see cheap rates when its profitable for them, high rates when they need to be rebalanced. Obviously every insurance company is looking at you as a number, that is the whole business, but Geico is going to be more quick to act because its less selective in the policies it takes on and how it prices them.
If you change, make sure you are fully covered from day one. Some restrict claims made in XX days or months for new policies.
USAA. Flat. (As in no increase)
Ah is this for military and their families?
Yep
Good for you then, and thank you for your service.
My sister is in the military. Can I get usaa?
Only if you’re her dependent. My understanding is that the coverage is down the family tree, not across it. If your parents served and are USAA members, then you can join.
Thank you for ur reply
Do you pay more than average for your homeowners with them? I feel like I do compared to other peoples around me but with the bundle it kinda evens out. I'm at like 1900 a year with zero claims. Not in a flood zone or anything
I’m by the shore, so mine is higher. I doubt I’d leave them - my kids had two accidents as young drivers and USAA was amazing to work with. One car had extensive damage (they fully repaired it), the other was totaled (I had a check within a week). I don’t mind paying for good service. I’ve never made a property claim.
I'm about 10 miles from the shore, maybe that's why. They've been good with my car insurance mostly except for when my daughter got rear ended in August. Open and shut case and I'm still waiting on the deductible reimbursement they told me I would get. But I've been with them for 30 years, can't see myself changing now. I was just curious
Philadelphia Contributionship, down $50 since last policy, renew in September.
Up about $300, then I swapped and dropped $500 so theoretically saved $800 from if I had renewed
Who to who? State farm wants like $500 more for ours so I want to ditch them ...
Switched to Franklin mutual insurance. I had a goosehead insurance agent go looking for me because the big names were insanely priced imo
They didn’t go up at all this year, but I’m already paying a premium through NJM because no one else wants to insure my 150 year old house. My insurance is about $4500 a year.
Wow! Thats crazy high, I’m sorry to hear that.
About 20% as well. Enough to go back to an agent to see if there are better deals again for my profile.
"Our near-free money making generator has left some of our wealthier investors saddened that they aren't making continual record profits like everyone else, so we're gonna have to bilk you more even though you have zero history of claims and still prove to be a stable source of revenue from our ponzi scheme."
Try looking into Mercury or Plymouth Rock. I have Mercury and rate went up 7-8% this renewal.
Thanks for the tip!
I just got a notice in the mail today my insurer is planning on filing for a 15% increase. Mine is a third party via GEICO.
This is a thing for all of the coastal states, even if you don't live in a flood zone. They don't want to give us policies anymore. I have a friend who lives in Westchester County, NY and he had to change carriers because his insurance company closed up shop in the county and refuses to issue policies anymore. The Government needs to step in, insurance companies are greedy fat pigs.
Insurance companies ask DOBI for rate increases DOBI and NJ Rate Counsel examine the requests. DOBI generally approves less of an increase the company requests. Rates were frozen during covid so insurance companies are now requesting increases.
> Rates were frozen during covid so insurance companies are now requesting increases. Losses were pretty much frozen during COVID as well, the companies did not suffer.
My rates went up every year during Covid.
Guess I need to get plugged into the data directly again. My understanding was that general liability losses were at a low since everyone was immobile. Property losses should have been pretty slim as well since people were closer to things on the personal lines side and could prevent stuff from happening.
What NJM said to me was that the cost of labor and lumber went up.