Warren
Buffet believes that most people can save up to 40% on their auto insurance
policies by switching to Geico and he says so on the Berkshire Hathaway Web
site. Having heard this message and inspired by a recent Wall Street Journal
with Buffett further discussing insurance policies, Mark Decherd, founder of
Dryout Inc, decided to do a little real world insurance investigating of his
own: Was it possible that his own mortgage company, Chase, had steered him to
insurance policies with high premiums? According to Decherd, “I had let Chase
place homeowners and flood insurance policies for me, never realizing how much
I was overpaying.”
Though
convenient, by not shopping around on his own, Decherd later discovered that
less expensive policies, with higher coverage amounts, were readily available.
It took a bit of groundwork and a couple of surveys costing about $250, but
soon thereafter, Decherd discovered that he could save thousands of dollars per
year by switching insurance carriers.
First,
Decherd ordered two surveys for the property for the flood and homeowners
insurance: an elevation certificate ($200.31) and a uniform mitigation
verification inspection ($50.00). Decherd called three agents including a local
broker at Avalon Insurance. In the end, the results were astounding. His
original homeowners insurance policy issued by American Security Insurance
Company cost $4932.16 per year while Avalon Insurance quote a policy from
Gulfstream Property and Casualty for $2968 with similar deductibles and
significantly more coverage.
That’s
$1964 in savings each year, but the savings don’t stop with Decherd’s
homeowner’s insurance policy. His flood coverage, also placed by Chase and provided
through the American Security Insurance Company, went from $2320.65 per year
down to $367 per year for the same coverage. “By switching from Chase’s
recommended homeowner’s and flood insurance policies, I will save over $3900
per year,” Decherd said.
Motivated
by these savings, Decherd decided to take a closer look at his auto insurance
policy. His Progressive insurance policy for a 2007 Suburban cost $4387.44 per
year whereas Avalon Insurance was able to issue a Safeco Insurance policy, with
identical coverage, for $1598.84 per year – an annual savings of $2788.60.
Next,
Decherd tackled his commercial auto insurance. Each year, he was paying $4451
for his commercial auto insurance policy issued through Progressive. By
shopping around, Decherd now pays $3637.95 and will save over $800 per year for
his efforts. “It took a few phone calls, but I’ll be able to keep about $7500
of my hard earned money each year – and I have comparable, if not better,
coverage.”
Decherd
was dismayed to find dramatic differences between insurance policies and came
away from his investigation having learned several important lessons. The
first, “Don’t rely on the recommendations from your mortgage company. The
mortgage company isn’t as interested in saving you money as you are. Pay
attention to disclosures and consider getting your own quotes. It wasn’t a big
hassle to compare prices and I wish I had checked my policies sooner.”
The second
lesson, he said, is that insurance companies don’t want to lose you. “Oh boy,
did Progressive try to keep me when I called to cancel,” Decherd said.
The third
lesson learned: “It pays to shop around.”
By: Mr. Mark Decherd
For more information and other articles by Mark
Decherd go to:
Dryout® Inc.
239-437-7100
Dryout Inc Emergency water damage restoration, drying, deodorization, decontamination, disinfection, mold removal, water damage repair, restoration and reconstruction of commercial and residential properties damaged by fire, water and other disasters by a network of trained specialists, technicians and restoration professionals across the USA and Canada.
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