Rate Hike

You know, it's no wonder that people with financial problems have such trouble pulling themselves out. I just had a car picked up last night to be returned to the lender. A car that was totaled several months back in a rollover accident that wasn't paid for because we couldn't afford to insure it. After the accident, we found a way to afford insurance.

That was six months ago. Now the policy is up for renewal, and I just got a notice that the rate will be going up $17 a month! And not because of the accident, either (I reported the accident when I applied for the insurance). No, the insurance went up because of our "insurance score," which is just Progressive's fancy way of saying that our credit score stinks, so they're raising our rates.

After making on time payments for six months, they have decided that our difficulty paying our bills has made us a higher accident risk. I think we'll be shopping rather hard for a new insurance company before the policy renews in February.

Sure, their ads say they have the best rates, but what they don't tell you is that they'll stick it to you six months later if they can!