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This story is a reminder to not overlook your insurances when looking to make budget cuts.
If you've had the same auto insurance for more than a few years, you're probably making the same mistake I made for over a decade. I only found out because I got laid off and had to look at everything.
Wife, two kids, mortgage built for two incomes. The math broke fast. Cancelled the obvious stuff first — streaming, the gym, the delivery apps — and barely moved the needle.
Got to auto insurance and almost skipped it. Same carrier for over a decade. Clean record, no claims, two cars, full coverage. Rate climbing every renewal like clockwork. I'd told myself for years that's just what it costs.
Pulled a comparison out of pure desperation. (This is the one I used — pulls a bunch of carriers at once.) Most of the quotes came back lower. The lowest was almost half what I was paying for identical coverage. Read it three times looking for the catch. There wasn't one.
More savings than every other cut combined. Took six minutes.
I'd been overpaying every year I was employed too. My carrier knew. Renewal letters kept arriving with bigger numbers and not one of them mentioned I could get the same thing cheaper elsewhere. They were betting I wouldn't check. For over a decade they were right.
If you haven't compared in a while, run one — same tool linked above. Worst case you confirm a fair deal. Best case you find what I found and wonder how long you've been getting played.
Don't wait until you have no income to look. That's the part I can't get back.
If you've had the same auto insurance for more than a few years, you're probably making the same mistake I made for over a decade. I only found out because I got laid off and had to look at everything.
Wife, two kids, mortgage built for two incomes. The math broke fast. Cancelled the obvious stuff first — streaming, the gym, the delivery apps — and barely moved the needle.
Got to auto insurance and almost skipped it. Same carrier for over a decade. Clean record, no claims, two cars, full coverage. Rate climbing every renewal like clockwork. I'd told myself for years that's just what it costs.
Pulled a comparison out of pure desperation. (This is the one I used — pulls a bunch of carriers at once.) Most of the quotes came back lower. The lowest was almost half what I was paying for identical coverage. Read it three times looking for the catch. There wasn't one.
More savings than every other cut combined. Took six minutes.
I'd been overpaying every year I was employed too. My carrier knew. Renewal letters kept arriving with bigger numbers and not one of them mentioned I could get the same thing cheaper elsewhere. They were betting I wouldn't check. For over a decade they were right.
If you haven't compared in a while, run one — same tool linked above. Worst case you confirm a fair deal. Best case you find what I found and wonder how long you've been getting played.
Don't wait until you have no income to look. That's the part I can't get back.