The renewal notice for our auto policy came in the mail the same week the pollen started, so I opened it on the porch with a yellow film already settling on the CR-V in the carport. The number on the first page: $2,118 for the year, up from $1,962. That's $156 more, about 8 percent. Then, on page three, a question I'd been answering on autopilot for years: estimated annual miles for each vehicle.
That question is the reason for this post.
Insurers price policies partly on how much you drive, since more miles on the road means more chances for something to go wrong. Most ask for an estimate when you sign up and again at renewal. Some check it against odometer readings from service records or inspections, and some just take your word for it. Either way, the number you give is supposed to be honest.
Both our vehicles are on one policy with a regional insurer, through an agent in Laurinburg we've used for years. Wes's Silverado barely leaves the triangle between the house, the shop and Pembroke. The CR-V is a different story. It handles my commute to the dental office in Laurinburg, about 24 miles round trip, and every one of our weekend trips.
The form still said 9,000 miles a year for the CR-V. That was true once. It isn't anymore.
What the odometer said
Last March the CR-V had about 112,400 miles on it. When I looked this week it was right around 125,000. That's roughly 12,600 miles in a year, and our trips alone accounted for about 5,900 of them. A year of cheap weekends had quietly turned us into higher-mileage drivers.
So I called our agent before sending anything back, and asked three questions:
- If I raise the CR-V's estimate, how much does the premium change?
- What happens if the estimate is too low and we have a claim?
- Is the 8 percent increase because of anything we did, or is it general?
Her answers, in plain terms. The mileage change would bump the premium some, but it was a small slice of the total. An estimate that's way off can cause trouble if there's a claim, since the policy was priced on information that wasn't accurate, and she'd much rather have the right number on file. And most of the 8 percent was a general rate increase, not something specific to us. Repair costs and car parts have gone up, and premiums have followed. We have no tickets and no claims, so nothing on our record was driving it.
I changed the CR-V to 14,000 miles a year. That's a bit above last year's real number, but trips are part of our life now, and I'd rather leave room than guess low and have to explain it later. The quote she sent back with the new mileage is the $2,118 on the renewal.
While I had her on the phone, I asked whether we should raise our deductibles to bring the premium down. We talked through it. A higher deductible saves money every year, but it means paying more yourself if something happens. We left them alone for now. I'd rather not have a fender bender on a two-lane road turn into a trip-fund emergency.
In February we added roadside assistance to this same policy, for $14 a year. That decision has its own story, involving a dead battery in a Southern Pines parking lot right after Christmas, and I've written it up elsewhere on the blog.
What I took away
If you've started taking more road trips, look at the mileage line on your renewal and actually compare it with your odometer. It takes two minutes. Write down the reading on the same date each year so you have a real number instead of a guess. And if the premium jumps, ask your agent whether it's about you or about everybody. It's a fair question and a good agent will answer it straight.
When I told Wes the new number, he asked whether that meant we should drive less. I said no, it meant we should keep driving and stop pretending we don't. He thought about that for a second and said, "Then I'm checking the tires before the next trip." Which is his answer to most things.
As always, I'm a dental office receptionist, not an insurance agent, so talk to yours. The renewal is signed and back in the mail, and the extra $156 is coming out of household money, not the trip account.
