Very often I hear people say “I have my car insurance, home insurance, and life insurance in a package, therefore I must be getting the best deal.”  The reality is that this is not necessarily the case. 

Insurance companies have convinced consumers that by bundling all of their insurance products with one company, they will get the best rate.  The reality is you may be paying more for having everything combined.  Think of it this way; what is the likelihood you will change banks when you have your: credit card, checking and savings account, car loan, mortgage, online banking, etc, probably not, its too much hazel.  Same with insurance companies know consumers are slow at making any kind of drastic change.

Insurance companies know the statistics of a customer leaving if per say, they increase the rate on the home insurance, but not the auto insurance and/or increase the auto insurance, but not the home insurance.  They use this information to increase your rate and have you not even complain because they have lead you to believe, “you get the best rate because everything is bundled”.

On the contrary, if you are a home owner, this means you probably get the best insurance rates in the market because you probably have good credit and there are a few other insurance discounts and benefits that come with being a home owner.  I do caution everyone though, insurance companies rate home insurance heavily on credit.  If you do not have excellent credit or if your credit score has recently dropped (like a lot of people in a bad economy), it may be time for you to shop your homeowners rate with a company who does not rate heavily on credit.

So the moral of this article is that in order to get the best rate, you as a consumer may have to work a little harder and have two different companies for your homeowners insurance and car insurance. I recommend you periodically shop your insurance rate just to make sure you are getting a deal, maybe once a year.  If you don’t have good credit, I recommend you shop your insurance policy at every renewal since there are companies who will periodically lower their rates for people with bad credit, and you want to make sure you get a good deal.

Feel free to contact me, Jesus R. Olivares, agent at Texas Prime Insurance if you have any questions.  I can be reached by phone at 512-454-7799, email quote@texasprimeinsurance.com or go to www.texasprimeinsurance.com