Dryout Inc.’s Founder Saves Over $7500 Per Year by Switching Insurance Carriers

Fort Myers, Florida: Warren Buffet believes that most people can save up to 40% on their auto insurance policies by switching to Geico and he says so on the Berkshire Hathaway Web site. Having heard this message and inspired by a recent Wall Street Journal with Buffett further discussing insurance policies, Mark Decherd, founder of Dryout Inc, decided to do a little real world insurance investigating of his own: Was it possible that his own mortgage company, Chase, had steered him to insurance policies with high premiums? According to Decherd, “I had let Chase place homeowners and flood insurance policies for me, never realizing how much I was overpaying.”

Though convenient, by not shopping around on his own, Decherd later discovered that less expensive policies, with higher coverage amounts, were readily available. It took a bit of groundwork and a couple of surveys costing about $250, but soon thereafter, Decherd discovered that he could save thousands of dollars per year by switching insurance carriers.

First, Decherd ordered two surveys for the property for the flood and homeowners insurance: an elevation certificate ($200.31) and a uniform mitigation verification inspection ($50.00). Decherd called three agents including a local broker at Avalon Insurance. In the end, the results were astounding. His original homeowners insurance policy issued by American Security Insurance Company cost $4932.16 per year while Avalon Insurance quote a policy from Gulfstream Property and Casualty for $2968 with similar deductibles and significantly more coverage.

That’s $1964 in savings each year, but the savings don’t stop with Decherd’s homeowner’s insurance policy. His flood coverage, also placed by Chase and provided through the American Security Insurance Company, went from $2320.65 per year down to $367 per year for the same coverage. “By switching from Chase’s recommended homeowner’s and flood insurance policies, I will save over $3900 per year,” Decherd said.

Motivated by these savings, Decherd decided to take a closer look at his auto insurance policy. His Progressive insurance policy for a 2007 Suburban cost $4387.44 per year whereas Avalon Insurance was able to issue a Safeco Insurance policy, with identical coverage, for $1598.84 per year – an annual savings of $2788.60.

Next, Decherd tackled his commercial auto insurance. Each year, he was paying $4451 for his commercial auto insurance policy issued through Progressive. By shopping around, Decherd now pays $3637.95 and will save over $800 per year for his efforts. “It took a few phone calls, but I’ll be able to keep about $7500 of my hard earned money each year – and I have comparable, if not better, coverage.”

Decherd was dismayed to find dramatic differences between insurance policies and came away from his investigation having learned several important lessons. The first, “Don’t rely on the recommendations from your mortgage company. The mortgage company isn’t as interested in saving you money as you are. Pay attention to disclosures and consider getting your own quotes. It wasn’t a big hassle to compare prices and I wish I had checked my policies sooner.”

The second lesson, he said, is that insurance companies don’t want to lose you. “Oh boy, did Progressive try to keep me when I called to cancel,” Decherd said.

The third lesson learned: “It pays to shop around.”