snapshot by progressive.

[The Other Andy]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I had an agent for the longest time. It was the same agent my parents went through, and that was all I knew when I was a kid.

After dinging a car in a parking garage, my rates went up to $1,800 for a 6 month policy. I couldn't afford this as a college kid, so I asked my agent if there was anything he could do to reduce the rate. I asked him to verify that I had the absolute minimum legal coverage, and he assured me that my rates were as low as they could go, and I was receiving a "discount" since my parents were also customers.

Forced to either stop driving, or find cheaper insurance, I found another insurance company that insured me for $800/6mo. When I informed my agent that I was going with a different company, he revealed that my rates could be reduced by lowering my coverage amounts. I was pissed that this fat, lazy and rich insurance agent was robbing a poor college student for over a year and had lied to me all along.

The only time I worry about insurance now is when I allow people who have zero motivation to save me money to keep my best interests in mind.

This mindset extends to everything from vehicle maintenance to real estate agents.

The only person that cares to make sure your car is repaired properly, or that your insurance coverage is appropriate, or that a house is suitable, is you. Count yourself as lucky if there are a few other people such as friends or family that have the same concern for your well-being as you do.

Yes, I could do it myself. I could also do all of my own car repairs. Or, I can find someone I trust to do it for me, someone who is far better skilled at it, so that I can utilize my free time for other things (which in my case often includes making money).

In the case of my insurance agent: he has given me results. My insurance rates have continuously dropped, and multiple times now he has reviewed my account and found plans which provide the same coverage for less. Yes, he does get some of my money for his time; That's called providing a service.

I'm sorry your agent was lousy. That does not automatically make every agent bad though.