Loyalty is a prized characteristic, but is there a time to be disloyal? Definitely -- when it can save you money on insurance.
Shopping around for the best car insurance rates and home insurance prices seems like a no-brainer, but a recent study reveals that most people aren't taking advantage of possible savings.
Only one in four auto insurance policyholders shopped around for better rates in the past year, according to a survey released by Acxiom, a provider of marketing services with clients in the insurance industry. Of those who did shop around, 36.2% got a car insurance quote from just one company, 24.6% got quotes from only two companies, and 22.7% got quotes from three insurers.
Not surprisingly, young people facing financial challenges are the most likely to comparison-shop, notes Tim Prunk, the managing director of Acxiom.
"When it comes to switching carriers, it's all about the cost," Prunk says.
Leaving free money on the table
Although Acxiom's survey shows that many people are willing to change insurance companies for annual savings of less than $300, the question remains: Why do so few people actually search for better home insurance or car insurance rates? Alex Hageli, the director of personal lines for Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, has an idea, and it's not a very flattering one."People are lazy. It's ridiculous. I don't know why (insurance) should be treated differently -- it's comparable to a bank or credit card," Hageli says. "I have no problem shopping around for a better rate."
Hageli's observation about insurance buyers is echoed by Linda Sherry, a spokeswoman for Consumer Action, a national nonprofit education and advocacy organization for financial literacy. "They can be remarkably apathetic," she says.
