Can Progressive Insurance Company Raise Your Rates If You Work The Late Shift?

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Stuart A. Carpey

Apparently they can.  And, as one commentator has said, it's like big brother insurance company looking over your shoulder.

Under their "MyRate" program, Progressive will mail you a wireless data recorder, which you the policyholder then plug into your car's on-board diagnostic port.  The device records your speed, braking habits and time of driving amongst other things. In exchange, you conceivably can get lower premiums if your driving habits are in the lower risk category, according to Progressive.  

The riskiest time to drive is between 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.  according to Progressive's data.

The problem is,  the company can use this device to surcharge an insured who is forced to work the midnight shift, for example; or if the insured drives on congested city streets during rush hour and is forced to frequently hit the brakes, another indicator of high risk driving habits according to Progressive.

All of this irks Lance Haver Philadelphia's director of consumer affairs, whose concern is that the collection of this data not be used against the consumer. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has so far rejected Progressive's plans to employ the system in Pennsylvania. Progressive is using their MyRate program in other states.

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Lance Haver, Philadelphia Consumer Advocate, Is Livid About's Allstate's Homeowner's Coverage Rate Increase

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Stuart A. Carpey

Allstate Insurance Company, one of the the largest insurance companies in the country and certainly in Pennsylvania, is raising rates on Pennsylvania insureds. But here's the kicker. They are only raising rates  on folks who have their homes insured with Allstate; insureds who have  the combination of homeowners and auto coverage are not seeing the same level of increase in their premiums. Here's what Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Harold Brubaker wrote yesterday in his article on the subject.

 

Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Co. is imposing an average premium increase of 33.4 percent on the roughly 45,000 Pennsylvania customers who buy only homeowner's insurance from the company. The average increase for customers who insure both their homes and their cars with the division of Allstate Corp. in Northbrook, Ill., is 11.3 percent, according to a filing with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. The increase was effective for renewals starting May 20.The big jump in costs for homeowners-insurance-only customers prompted Lance Haver, consumer advocate in the Philadelphia Mayor's Office, to buy radio advertisements with his own money warning consumers of the rate increase and advising them to shop around before their renewals kick in. Haver, in an interview Tuesday, called the two-tiered rate increase bizarre. It's as if they think there is "some correlation between your house catching fire and who you insure your car with," he said.

 

Seems to me that this may be a clever, and perhaps devious, way for Allstate to market to their insureds combining homeowners and auto coverage. In other words, when an insured gets the premium increase, and calls his or her agent, the agent will have a script ready to tell the insured how to lower the premium...."buy auto coverage through us!"

The point is, shop around for your auto, and homeowners coverage. I tell clients that all the time. One of the best places to go is the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website.

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