Insurance--Primo Ripoff (Pt. 2)

So I talked to my insurance carrier today, and learned several valuable lessons.

First, the rep was very open about the fact that they are willing to make retroactive changes to your policy, depending on the type of change. Specifically, if your car has been sold or totalled (as was my case in Pt. 1), they will freely make retroactive changes and cut you a check. This only makes sense, and would likely incite riots if untrue.

Second, my current carrier must just have really bad rates for the type of coverage I need, because they weren't able to do much for me. Their loss.

I spoke recently with a friend who knows the insurance industry very well, who told me that since I deal directly with the insurance carrier, instead of through an agent, the odds of me getting any real deal were pretty slim. Great insight; proven, at least in part, correct. See, if I had an agent who received a commission based on my policy, s/he would be much more interested in appeasing me, given his/her stake in my business.

In the end, I raised my deductible to gain some savings, but rest assured that I will be hunting for two things in the coming months:

1. An insurance carrier that has much more competitive rates for my insurance needs.
2. An agent to represent me with the carrier. This will not only give me a face to discuss my policy with, but will also give me significantly more leverage in the event that I need to make changes to my policy.