Happy Birthday from Your Insurance Company
So, you just turned 70 and how does your insurance company celebrate this milestone? They inform you that you have graduated to the high risk auto insurance category and subsequently raise your premium through the roof. This happened to my great Aunt who lives in California. About six months after her birthday her insurance company told her she qualified for California high risk car insurance rates and raised her premium significantly. She decided to drop the carrier rather than pay the ridiculous price they were asking but had trouble finding a reasonable California auto insurance quote from any other insurance company. It was a very trying time for her. I happened to be living out in California around the time this happened to her and I remember one night vividly. She had been on the Internet and on the phone with a number of different carriers, all to no avail, and she just put her head in her hands and cried like she was five again. It was very hard to watch. She had recently lost her husband, so she was stretched pretty thin as it was.
I asked around for advice and one person I talked to gave me a piece of advice that made all the difference in the world. He told me to try purchasing the insurance through an insurance broker rather than direct from the carrier or from an insurance agent who acts merely as an extension of the carrier. The reason an insurance broker was a better option for my great Aunt is because only the insurance broker has the ability to offer a variety of insurance programs. Basically how it works is this: The broker makes what are called “agreements” with different carriers to offer their insurance programs to potential customers. When I spoke with the broker, I found out an interesting fact. The broker is employed by you, not the insurance agencies, which is another reason why they are better- more willing to work with you because of the very nature of that relationship.
So, the moral of the story is to save yourself and your loved ones a lot of heartache and just immediately go for the broker. As a side note, when searching for a broker, look specifically for ones who specialize in high risk auto insurance if you find yourself in a situation like my great Aunt.
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