Thank you for contributing to this thread by calling me an asshole for sharing my opinion on mis-leading an insurance company.

I apologized to the thread starter for my "unfair comment". Now maybe you can grow up and do the same to me.

Craig

 

Could you please explain how these two things correlate?
Why exactly does putting your zip code in a slightly different place than your location cause everyone's prices to rise?

I'd like to see a little evidence to your claims.

 

Well, as I saw things:

Once.

Twice.

No worries though, I'm not out to start anything. Heck, what do I know, I've been posting for a whopping two days now. Apology accepted, nix my "high horsed" comment, and the "being civil" comment wasn't really directed towards you, it was more of a request in general

Don't apologize for trying to help, not necessary.

 

The same reason it costs everyone more when parents don't list their 16 year olds on their policies that are driving their cars. The risk is not being accurately assessed. As a result more claims are paid out on policies that should've had a higher premium. This forces insurance companies to raise their rates across the board to recoup the costs.

 

What you are doing is done alot....it is a material misrepresentation and can be grounds for denial of coverage and rescinding of the policy, especially if the claim is large enough and it can be demonstrated that you did this intentionally or over a long period of time. If you just inform the carrier prior to a claim, like now...you are home free with the money you did not pay and will be fine for future claims.

it is a real crap shoot as to whether or not any claim will be paid...take this into account...car is stollen and vandalized in la, insured lives in northern calif, no problem...but if insured lives in la then why pay the claim if you can legally deny it due to misrepresentation...insurance is a contract, plain and simple, there is no magic involved. if you cause bodily injury to someone and it becomes a large claim Mr. Insurance Co investigates and finds misrepresentation...would you pay the claim or deny it?

insurance costs alot of money, about 30 plus % of the cost is fraud and misrepresentation. i would call your parents agent and ask what would it cost in the new la zip code, then ask if you resided there as a full time student or worked there would the policy have to be endorsed to the new zip code or since your principal residence is still in northern calif could you leave things as is??? it is a what if question at that point and not grounds to change the policy...unless your carrier is a direct writer and you are dealing with a service center...you have to be careful to note that this is a "what if" inquiry to assist you in your future plans...

you may also want to consider your own policy with lower limits than your parents have, assuming you are 18, it really could be your risk rather than theirs.

in the end just do what is right and you will have no worries, keeping in mind that you are not the first person to think of this and companies are aware of this being done all the time. again, would you pay the claim if you found out the person was not telling the truth on purpose??? your call.

I have been in the insurance industry for 26 years.

 

Two quick thoughts, both of which have been overlooked:

1. The reason insurance goes up is primarily due to fraudulent claims relating to what is stolen. Most theft claims involve items that were "supposedly" in the car, such as stereos, laptops, CD's, etc. Insurance companies are paying out for these items to be replaced, and thus costing the company money. An outright theft, or fender-bender, is fixing or replacing an actual vehicles parts or other vehicles parts, and doesn't cost the insurance companies as much. The original post was about where to insure his car, and if the agent advised to use one zip, then I would use it. Try insuring a car in Detroit. I have. Most expensive policies in the country.

2. Insurance policies go up because of people who illegally race their cars, specifically drag race, with performance parts not covered by their insurance policy. Yet when they blow an engine, suspensions, or other parts, they strip the car of all performance parts, take it to their insurance carrier, act ignorant, and claim the car just "broke".

Who's the bigger A-hole? The guy who saves money by using a different zip, or the guy who says he had a $5000 laptop in his car that got "stolen"?

Just my thoughts.

 

This is all wrong. Most auto insurance companies won't even cover property inside the vehicle that is not permanently attached. The company I work for definately doesn't. We would refer you to your homeowner's for that. Therefore this is not the reason auto insurance is high. The two main reasons auto insurance is high are:

1.) Misrepresentation of address
2.) Not rating all drivers on the policy that are actually driving the vehicle

So really the guy who uses a different zip is the big A-hole.

 

I know of many owners who got there cars broken into (I live in Detroit, it is part of our daily life) and if you show receipts for anything that you could possibly have in a car, they cover the items, based on your AUTO insurance. If you don't own a home, there is no homeowners policy to cover these items. The insurance company is AAA. A major carrier. Again, just my thoughts.

 

hirev,

Thanks very much for the post, very informative and unbiased. Good to hear an opinion from someone with so much insurance experience.

RyanS2000:

If misrepresentation of address is such a cause of rising insurance rates, why don't insurance companies actively pursue people who do this? It seems like there are quite a few people in the world (and this board) who have done this at one point or another. (This is an honest question, not an "I'm right, you're wrong" statement.)

 

I work for Progressive who writes through AAA and we would not cover those losses. Also AAA is not an insurance carrier, they are an agent/broker who writes through other companies.