I'm an Insurance Pro: What You Can Do to Save Yourself Some Moola as the Insurance Market Shifts

The tough home and auto insurance markets are finally seeing new competition and looser guidelines, meaning you should start shopping for a less-expensive policy before the window closes.

By Karl Susman, CPCU, LUTCF, CIC, CSFP, CFS, CPIA, AAI-M, PLCS

published 15 May 2026

in Features

Mature man punching the air after saving money on an online quote

For the past three years, shopping for insurance has felt about as productive as checking for flights during a blizzard. Carriers weren't writing. Premiums were climbing. And if you did manage to find a quote, it usually came in higher than what you were already paying.

So most people stopped looking.

Can't blame you. When every door is slammed shut, you stop knocking. But here's the thing: The doors are starting to open again.

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Quietly. Slowly. The way March turns into April and you don't notice until the jacarandas are suddenly purple. But it's happening, in home insurance as well as in auto insurance.

I'm seeing carriers in California loosen their underwriting guidelines for the first time since the great pullback started. New companies are entering the state — names you probably haven't heard of yet, but they're capitalized, they're hungry, and they want to write business.

Existing carriers are expanding their appetite in ZIP codes they'd blacklisted 18 months ago. The FAIR Plan — which was never supposed to be anyone's first choice — is starting to shed policies back to the standard market, where they belong.

Translation: Competition is creeping back in. And competition is the only thing that ever makes your premium go anywhere but up.

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The author of this article is a participant in Kiplinger's Adviser Intel program, a curated network of trusted financial professionals who share expert insights on wealth building and preservation. Contributors, including fiduciary financial planners, wealth managers, CEOs and attorneys, provide actionable advice about retirement planning, estate planning, tax strategies and more. Experts are invited to contribute and do not pay to be included, so you can trust their advice is honest and valuable.

Don't just sit there — do something

Now, I'm not saying rates are about to drop 30% and carriers are going to start sending you gift baskets. That's not how this works. Insurance companies are like ocean liners — they don't turn on a dime, and they don't apologize for the wake.

But the direction has shifted. In California, the insurance commissioner's Sustainable Insurance Strategy is actually doing what it was designed to do. Carriers are getting the rate adequacy they demanded. In exchange, they're writing again.

Here's where it gets interesting — and where many people get it wrong.

When the market tightens, your instinct is to freeze — don't touch anything, don't draw attention to yourself. That instinct makes sense when carriers are looking for reasons to non-renew you.

But when the market loosens, freezing is the most expensive thing you can do. You're sitting on last year's rate — which was priced for last year's market — while your neighbor three doors down just locked in a policy at today's rate with a carrier that actually wants their ZIP code now.

Same street. Same construction. Same fire zone. Different premium — sometimes by hundreds of dollars.

Why? Because one of you asked, and one of you didn't.

I've been doing this for 30 years — and yes, I started when I was in kindergarten — and I've watched this cycle play out enough times to recognize it.

The carriers move first
Then the agents notice
Then the early shoppers get the deals
Then the late shoppers wonder why they're paying more than everyone else

We're somewhere between step two and step three right now. The window is open.

For how long? Nobody knows. Markets turn, and markets turn again. A bad fire season this summer, a couple of carrier losses that spook the reinsurers, and that window could close faster than it opened.

It's time to reach out

So what should you actually do?

Simple. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Or walk into an independent agent's office — yes, we still exist, and no, we don't bite.

Ask one question: "Is there anything better out there for me right now?"

That's not a commitment. Not a binder. Just a question.

If the answer is no — if your current policy is still the best fit at the best price — you've lost nothing except maybe 10 minutes of your day. And you'll have peace of mind knowing you're not leaving money on the table.

But if the answer is yes? If there's a carrier that just reopened in your area, or a new entrant pricing aggressively to build market share, or a credit you qualify for that wasn't available last year?

Then you just saved yourself real money that will compound year after year. Money that stays in your pocket instead of padding a renewal you accepted because you didn't know any better.

The market is turning. It doesn't send you a postcard. It doesn't knock on your door. It just moves — and either you move with it, or you get left behind paying yesterday's prices in tomorrow's market.

Want to learn more about insurance? Visit KarlSusman.com.

Disclaimer

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

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Karl Susman is a veteran insurance agency principal, nationally engaged insurance expert witness and broadcast host who translates insurance from jargon to judgment. For more than three decades, he's helped consumers, courts and policymakers navigate coverage, claims and compliance. As Principal of Susman Insurance Agency, Karl works directly with households and businesses to compare options and make clear, defensible coverage decisions.