As an insurance broker, I'll speak on this. Is insurance a racket? For the most part, no. At least not personal auto insurance. In fact, auto insurance in general is the very least most profitable line for the insurance carriers. If a carrier can average a 4% profit, they'll be extremely pleased and that's a stellar year. Most auto insurance carriers actually operate close to break even or at at a loss every year. Yes, every year.

Do some auto insurance carriers count on you sitting around like a dumbbell while they gradually increase your premium? Yep! And Allsnake, I mean Allstate has been and still is the top offender. They have a very sophisticated algorithm that tells them just how much they can increase your rate without you doing anything about it. Price optimization is what its called and its a real thing.

Now, as an insurance broker, I tend to stay away from personal auto insurance. It's a pain in the ass. If you're calling me at every renewal, asking me to re-quote all of the companies I represent because your rate went up $10 a month, then I'm going to tell you, in the nicest way possible, to **** off and call 1-800-GEICO. You want someone to kiss your ass, call your life insurance agent.

Us brokers are typically, way better and much, much more knowledgeable about insurance than any captive agent will ever be, whether its Geico, State Farm, USAA, Am Fam...anyone. We work on your behalf, not the insurance company. When you mess up and shit hits the fan, an Independent Agent will go to bat for you. We advise, we consult and we care about our clients best interests above all, even if that means telling you we're not the right fit.

Sure, we have access to a bunch of companies and can usually find the best rates. But for the most part, we don't sell on price. We sell on coverage.

I have a story as far as vehicle mods go. My friend, has well over 25k in mods on his 2016 F-250. I told him that if that truck gets totaled, that the insurance company is going to give him whatever the market value is on a stock, 2016 F250 because he doesn't have any additional equipment added and he doesnt wanna pay the extra few dollars to insure the truck on an agreed value basis.

Thats it. Post up your insurance questions and I'll answer. Also, Happy New Year!

when the accident or claim comes in you better have what you said you have or your toast

Exactly. Find another insurance that does cover. Might be a bit more but better safe then sorry

Definitely need to be truthful in the insurance app to preserve coverage in the case of an accident. The insurance company has probably paid claims that resulted from poorly done modifications and determined it was no longer profitable to do so. Just like most industries insurers are looking at what market segments to target for business.

I have found the best experience on rates/coverage by switching carriers every 3-4 years. Insurers generally introduce new discounts on their base rates to buy business in different territories. After a couple years they phase out the discounts or increase the base rate to offset the losses they have incurred and your premium goes up.

Just for some anecdotal evidence here, I am insured by GEICO. Truck is financed, not paid off yet, and I am in Florida. Since I am going on a big road trip soon and have done a lot of mods since buying the truck, I decided to add customizations to my vehicle on the GEICO policy. All you do is pick an area and category, such as Performance - Engine, Performance - Intake, Performance - Exhaust, Interior - AM/FM/CD Speakers, Exterior - Wheels/Tires, etc. and place a dollar value on the customizations you have added for that category. They did not ask for any receipts or any more specific information than that. I added approximately $13k of customization value and it increased my 6-month premium by $114. Less than $20/month for potentially a lot of mod coverage in the event of an accident seems worth it to me.