When I got married, my husband and I had to decide for ourselves which car insurance company to go with. We were both on the car insurance our parents had decided but they were not the same company. We decided to go with my husband’s insurance because they offered renter’s insurance and life insurance also. Since we were living in an apartment, we were required to have a renter’s insurance policy of $10,000.
My husband’s parents had neighbors and friends who represented a certain insurance company, so they went with that company. I knew from experience that choosing service because it was a friend or relative was a bad idea. I would rather have a stranger that knew what they were doing.
I had never handled my own auto insurance, but my driving record was spotless. My husband had a few accidents when he was a teenager, so his insurance rates were higher than normal. Since I was going to be the main driver of the car I could have gotten a better rate. Not to mention, our new insurance had a special deal where if you got a discount.
So I had my husband put me as the primary driver of our car and get a better deal. We waited for a confirmation letter in the mail that said we would be getting a discounted rate, but it never came. In fact, when we had to make our next insurance payment it was just as high as before. I tried to get in touch with our representatives, but they were no help. I had to call the insurance company myself.
I did not expect the conversation with the insurance company to be a cakewalk, but they gave me the run around worse than the cable company did. They refused to give me a discount because I was in the age group most likely to have an accident despite my flawless record. What they didn’t know was I had played hardball too. I told them that it was okay; another insurance company would give me a discount and I hung up before getting a reply. They tried calling me back several times but I did not answer the phone.
I finally called them back two weeks later asking what they wanted. They agreed to give me not only the auto insurance discount I rightfully deserved, but discounted me for the year before because I was the primary driver. I would have switched if they hadn’t done that, but it just goes to show that showing teeth is not always a bad thing.