Rate Increase

[insurancequestion]

I am still fairly new, I apologize for my question..

I have a client with 2 rental properties that I put them on Safeco last year. This year each property premium has gone up roughly $400. I have talked to the reps at Safeco, they mentioned the due to inflation guard and rate revision (materials, labor to rebuild) is the main reason's for the premium going up....but it seems like a lot. Is that normal?

I am not sure where else to run quotes..I was thinking about State Auto....which is now a part of Liberty Mutual

 

[fed up]

Rental properties fluctuate like crazy due to recent storms, proximity to a fire hydrant, recent losses by the carrier. Premiums will also increase if property values have skyrocketed.

 

[adjusterjack]

This year each property premium has gone up roughly $400. I

Up $400 from what?

What was last year's premium?

 

[Policy Monkey]

Count yourself lucky you're not in Florida. For the past couple of years we've been seeing $1,000+ increases on a regular basis. Makes a $400 increase feel like a gift.

 

[Markthebroker]

Sometimes I think of the current insurance market as the plane crash. We, the insurance agents, are Chief Wiggums.

 

[marindependent]

This year each property premium has gone up roughly $400.

That will happen. Get used to it.

 

[insurancequestion]

That will happen. Get used to it.

So when it happens...there are no carriers that are or may have lower premiums? Will it be like this across the board? Thanks

 

[marindependent]

I do not know the entire situation here - so its impossible to answer. As @adjusterjack asked you $400 from what and that is a good question. $400 to $800 - OK Houston - we have a problem. $800 to $1200 - I can see the frustration, but... $4,000 to $4,400 - nothing to look at here.

I am not a Texas guy so I dont have opinion on the insurer landscape there. But generally speaking property rates are going up. More losses, costs to rebuild are spiraling, massive liability claims, lots of changes in the market landscape.

Are there insurers that might have lower premiums - check your rater and quote it out. But...be judicous with your time.

 

[adjusterjack]

As an insurance consumer (an old one) and a former agent (long ago) I have learned that there will always be companies with the lowest rates in town. It's cyclical. A company will have low rates for a few years until the losses catch up and rates go up. Then another company will have the lowest rates until the losses catch up. Then another and another and another.

Auto Owners came to Arizona back in the 80s and did that. I wrote a ton of business for Auto Owners and had my homes and autos for decades until rates became to hard to bear.

Pekin came to Arizona about 10 years ago, did the same thing beating every other company in Arizona. I managed to get low rates on home and auto for 8 years. Last year Pekin took an astronomical increase.

And now Amshield is filling the gap with the lowest rates that I've seen. I would have gone with Amshield in a heartbeat but they have a dog liability exclusion for Pit Bulls and I have a Pit Bull.

State Farm came in a close second and better than Pekin and the other quotes that I got. I'm with State Farm now.

And low rates don't necessarily mean bad companies. All 4 are top qualify companies. The first three through independent agents, the latter a direct writer with local agents.

 

[MIGA1626]

We write a lot of rental property and commercial real estate. You are lucky it only went up $400 a year. I have had some clients increase 100-200% in one year (yes 2-3x) and we were not able to find anything cheaper with me or even if they shopped with another agent. This is the hardest market (meaning high prices and strict guidelines) that has been seen since 9/11. If I were predict what is going to happen I would say we have 12-18 more months of this and then we will have another 10 years of calm seas but who knows. Just keep prospecting and growing your business and roll with the tides of the market the best you can. If you shop all the markets and you know you have done your best and you can leave it all on the field and keep moving.