Chapter 33
Auto Insurance the way I figure it could be free!
I am amazed at the number of auto insurance companies that advertise on TV. There must be at least a dozen and half that number that seem to dominate. Hardly an hour goes by without seeing an ad from one of the following: GEICO, Progressive, the General or Allstate (and their online subsidiary, Esurance). Ig I have been amazed at these companies stating that I can save big bucks if I switch to them. I wonder how that can be when they are spending so much on advertising, but then this is a $22 Billion a year industry!
Source: http://www.insweb.com/insurance-tools/insurance-companies.html
| Rank | Company/Group | 2013 Direct Premiums Written ($1,000s) | Market share % |
| 1 | State Farm Group | 33,611,001 | 18.48 |
| 2 | Berkshire Hathaway Insurance | 18,622,626 | 10.24 |
| 3 | Allstate Insurance Group | 18,067,452 | 9.93 |
| 4 | Progressive Insurance Group | 15,373,142 | 8.45 |
| 5 | Farmers Insurance Group | 9,880,905 | 5.43 |
| 6 | USAA Group | 9,167,242 | 5.04 |
| 7 | Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos. | 9,036,455 | 4.97 |
| 8 | Nationwide Group | 7,279,835 | 4.00 |
| 9 | American Family Insurance Group | 3,441,682 | 1.89 |
| 10 | Travelers Group | 3,178,692 | 1.75 |
I have two cars, one with full coverage and the other with everything except collision. I pay just over $1,100 a year for my insurance. One company claims I can save 15% and also up to $550, another, AARP (through the Hartford), $404 per year, $489 with State Farm (all of these claims were taken from Internet sites). So, in theory all I have to do is make three switches and by the time I am covered by the 3rd company they will pay me to be with them!
The bottom line is that I guess these folks must think their potential customers are idiots? As a side note, I picked three companies that claimed I could save and requested quotes for identical coverage and………of course they were all much higher (in one case almost double).