‘Don’t Do This’: Expert Says You’re Paying Too Much For Car Insurance. Then She Reveals The 1 Mistake You’re Making

"There’s only one way to tell if you’re paying too much for car insurance."

Expert Says You’re Paying Too Much For Car Insurance. Then She Reveals The 1 Mistake You’re Making

Photo by: friendlyneighborhooduw & David

Nina Hernandez

By: Nina Hernandez

Apr 9, at 11:00am ET

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A car insurance expert has a strategy for how to find out if you’re paying too much for car insurance. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t involve crowdsourcing.

TikTok creator Cara (@friendlyneighborhooduw) posted n insurance PSA over the weekend.

“A quick PSA, because I’ve been seeing a lot of videos lately where it’s like, ‘How much do you pay for car insurance? Because I’m paying way too much.’ It doesn’t matter,” she says. “You cannot figure out whether or not you’re paying is high [by] comparing it to what other people pay. It is never going to be the same; it’s always going to depend on your specific risk characteristics.”

How Can You Tell Whether You’re Paying Too Much for Car Insurance?

She continues, “So you can’t tell that way. That’s like asking somebody, ‘How much … is your mortgage and your taxes?’ It doesn’t matter what theirs is, because it’s going to be different than what yours is. State. The specific location. The zip code. What cars you have. What your prior limits were. If you’ve had any lapses in coverage. In some states, your credit score. They are never going to be comparable.”

There’s only one way to tell if you’re paying too much for car insurance: Getting quotes from other companies. “And even then you have to make sure that they’re quoting you exactly the same as what you currently have to make sure that it is comparable,” Cara says. “You should always listen to your insurance agent or insurance company on what limits you actually need for your specific scenario.”

In conclusion, she says, “Don’t make a TikTok asking what other people are paying for car insurance. That’s not going to help you; just shop around.”

Viewers React To The Underwriter’s Advice

In the comments section of the video, viewers agreed with Cara's advice.

“As someone who works in insurance, THANK YOU,” wrote one viewer.

“The amount of times I’ve had this conversation is ridiculous,” wrote a second viewer. “Or, my favorite, their car sales person telling them they’re paying too much.”

“We changed insurance companies a month ago,” said a third viewer. “Home and vehicles. Both were literally cut in half. Our insurance continued to go up every year even though our vehicles got older.”

In response, Cara wrote, “That could have just been the rates for that specific company. They will use their own historical loss data to base rates, so if the people they insure are having more losses, everyone’s rates will go up.”

Another person said, The main factor in insurance prices has to do with the population of where you live. I legit moved a mile down the road out of a village and into a town and my insurance went up $100.”

Cara replied, “That definitely factors into it also!”

What Goes Into Your Car Insurance Rate?

Cara is correct. According to the Insurance Information Institute, companies take driving records, average mileage, policy holder demographics, and location. Additionally, the type of vehicle and credit score factor in.

In a Reddit thread posted to r/insurance, people discussed this issue. One person wrote, “I’ve seen the same client ask for a quote on a brand-new Honda Civic and then a new Ford F-150. Although the Honda is cheaper to buy, the insurance was more expensive because of the repair price compared to the truck. Generally speaking, SUVs and trucks are cheaper than sedans to insure for this reason.”

What do you think?

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Another person wrote, “It’s best to get the VIN of the cars you are interested in and go talk to your agent. I don’t like surprises. I prefer to know to the penny how much something will be.”

Motor1 contacted Cara via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We'll be sure to update this if she responds.

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