DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Delray Beach driver got a 6-month auto insurance quote for $587. Days later, it had jumped to $940 — for the same coverage.
Frank Harrison, 77, told WPTV he’s puzzled about how a quote for auto insurance for his car kept going up.
WATCH BELOW: Driver’s insurance quote jumps from $587 to $940 in days
Florida driver’s insurance quote jumps from $587 to $940 in days
“That’s why I contacted WPTV, and that’s why I’m asking for some help,” Harrison said.
He said he first got a quote of $587 from Progressive for his 2013 Camry. Then the next day it went up to $739.
“A few days later I get an email from Progressive, and my quote has now gone to $940 for the same coverage,” Harrison said.
He said when he called about it, he was told there were some claims spotted in a lengthy data report about him, which included his parked car being hit by a golf cart and roadside aide calls for a dead battery and a flat tire.
WPTV contacted Progressive for an explanation, and a representative emailed us saying they are looking into it.
Harrison said he was able to get a copy of the 100-page report at the suggestion of the insurance company, and it had details about his life going back to the mid-1980s.
It turns out, reports like this are now part of the process for insurance companies.
Robert Norberg of Arden Insurance in Lantana said the background checking by insurers can go deep.
“They can pull your credit score based on the type of underwriting they’re doing — whether it be auto, property or whatever — and it will have a lot of information, more so than it used to,” Norberg said. “It used to be financial; now they bring in claims and those types of things.”
Norberg added that if insurers use the reports, they have to be transparent and tell customers and also advise them on how to get a copy of the report.
Harrison does have his background report, but he’s also looking at a high premium.
“Sixty-one years I’ve had full coverage,” Harrison said. “This may be the first time I’m dropping my physical damage because of the price.”
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.