photo from Google images
I switched insurance companies today, for my homeowner's and auto policies. This was a huge deal for me, psychologically, for a couple of reasons. First, I absolutely hate dealing with money. Most of the time I love being on my own, but when I have to do anything dealing with money, I really wish I had, at the very least, a sounding board regarding the decisions I'm making. The simple fact is, money doesn't interest me. I know that I need it, and there are times that I take real pleasure in spending it, but as a divorced woman, I've also had to learn how to handle it, and for the most part, that has been a painful experience, and one for which I never have much enthusiasm, in part because I'm never sure that I know what I'm doing. Second, I've been with Company A for about 15 years, and they've always been great to deal with, so a part of me felt guilty even thinking about switching companies. But my premiums had risen so steeply that I decided I had to get comparison bids from other, equally well rated companies. When I did that, it was clear that the amount of money I'd save by switching was substantial and I couldn't justify not doing it. I called Company A and told them Company B had done an apples to apples comparison on both policies and asked them if they could match it. Any guilt I'd felt evaporated when I got their response. For the auto policy, they were willing to switch me to one of their lesser companies, which would lower the premium slightly; for the homeowner's, their suggestion was that if I wanted a lower premium, I should increase my deductible from $500 to 1% of the overall value of my property on all claims. Huh? I may hate dealing with money, but I'm not stupid. I said thanks but no thanks and called Company B and had them draw up the paperwork, which was then faxed to me. I signed on the dotted line and faxed it back, and gave them credit card information for the premium, at which time I was faxed a temporary ID card...all of which left me feeling like I wanted to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head. It's not supposed to be like this, is it? Aren't I supposed to feel empowered or something? But the people I like best in this world tend to share my loathing of dealing with money. Dunno what that says about us...
5 comments:
Everybody's mad at the big banks these days, but insurance companies have played a huge part in the problems our nation is facing today. There are a lot of people making a lot of money on insurance, but we think of insurance as so essential that we don't give it the hard look we ought to. I think you did good...
BTW, love that photo. Feels like that is exactly what money is worth these days... LOL!
I don't like dealing with money either. It makes a knot in my tummy ...
... you did good. Even if you didn't feel you did. :)
The insurance companies help get us into this mess by insuring the toxic credit stuff that got us into this mess in the first place.
They deserve as much loyalty from us as they've shown to us.
Not a whole hell of a lot in my book.
I love dealing with money, however I ask questions over and over again until I understand the answers and I take my own sweet time in deciding. Whether it is ins. policies or buying an automobile, there are men counting on you NOT knowing about money and NOT asking. Wise up and count your coins. Ask until you learn from your mistakes. I have never been shy asking for a raise if I deserve it or empowering others to do the same. Anne
Good job! I've been meaning to look into switching insurance companies and/or getting a better rate too and have been putting it off. I can't believe the company you were with wouldn't offer you a better deal after being w/them for so long. Then these companies wonder why they're going out of business. It costs a lot less to keep a good customer than find a new one.
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