Renewal Issues

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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The US has a spotty history when it comes to "rights". In theory, we have many ways to protect ourselves as consumers. There's to be no discrimination against us as employees. It's not always been this way. We used to be trapped into employment by the idea of the company store. This offered all the basics we needed as food and clothes for our backs. Credit was freely available if we were a little short. So unless we were careful, we could end up owing more in interest than we got paid. The other side of the coin? One word out of place and there was dismissal at will. In those days, employers never trusted us to be loyal employees. Unless there were locks on the doors, they feared we would wander away and find work with someone else. So there you have the word "loyalty" front and center. In a free country where we can sell our labor to the highest bidders, why should we feel obliged to stay? What is the price of our allegiance? Today, employers play with remuneration packages when there's a shortage of labor. They add a bonus or incentives if we do well. If we are motivated by greed, we stay. In a recession where there are tens ...
... of applicants for every job, only basic pay is on offer in most jobs. Fear keeps us loyal with no other job to go to.

Now apply this to the insurance industry. The insurers have a protected life. Long ago, federal government decided that insurers could not compete with each other across state lines. It's for each state to appoint a Commissioner to oversee the local insurance market. In most states, the regulation is light and all make a good profit. To maximize the profit, there are a few backroom deals where the big players agree not to try too hard against each other. They parallel each others' premium rates. Not all the bigger companies set up in every state. So when it comes to you finding a good policy, it's a bit of a challenge. You can't buy the often cheaper policies on offer in other states. The best you can do is get quotes from all the reliable companies in your own state and try negotiating for discounts. Except there's one chance when you do have a little leverage.

In a country with freedom of contract, you can take your business to any company. Let's say you have managed several years without an accident. You have been very profitable to your insurer, paying all the premium installments and making no claim. If you continue as a safe driver, this makes you a valuable property. Your current insurer should offer you a loyalty bonus to persuade you to stay. Competing insurers could offer you a welcome bonus. But beware. The car insurance market is never completely fair. Welcome bonuses have a very short shelf life and, after the least possible time, you are likely to be invited to pay the full premium. This leads to churn with knowledgeable people like yourself moving from one car insurance company to another. But before you move, always ask for the loyalty bonus. That tells the insurer the price of your safe driving.