I am trying to renew my car insurance in Massachusetts and have been getting quotes from different providers, but most of them say they cannot give me a quote right now. What’s going on?
Liberty Mutual said: “Thank you for your interest in Liberty Mutual. Based on our underwriting guidelines, we are unable to provide you with a quote at this time. We know you need insurance coverage and we can still help, even if it’s not with us.”
What are these underwriting guidelines?
Insurance companies do not turn away business without a reason. However they may still not wish to quote, for example, for certain types of car, motorists in certain age ranges, modified cars, or people with poor accident records etc, and this is perfectly normal.
Insurance companies have what’s called an “appetite” for certain types of customers. This can be based on things like age, location, driving record, or even the type of car you drive. If you fall outside their sweet spot, they might not be interested in insuring you.
insurance is highly data and finance-driven, and regulated. It means there’s a high cost of entry and a lot of government scrutinization. As you’re finding out, while there are hundreds of insurers out there, at any given time there may be only 1-4 options.