Zurich Insurance is paying $171 million dollars to settle charges of bid rigging and price fixing. The settlement effects 9 states, including California. The money will be refunded to policyholders after court approval. According to Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly: “Insurance companies will not get away with deceiving their customers, inflating prices, or manipulating the insurance marketplace.”
This is one more example of the way insurance companies put their needs first, and yours last. The insurance companies do not care about competition, doing the right thing, and protecting their policyholders, for the most part. They care about profits for their shareholders. (Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other businesses that do the same thing.)
When you are shopping for insurance, especially commercial insurance, you need to shop several brokers, several agents, and compare, compare, compare. It is the only way to make sure you are getting what is in your best interest.