Insurance Woes

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7 (NIV)

The insurance company with whom we have done business for over thirty years wants to divorce us. It is not that we haven’t held up our end of the bargain. We have faithfully paid them almost a third of our salary on time every month since the year husband turned 15. I guess in those early days, it wasn’t that much, but as we added a house and more drivers, who happened to be males, the cost went up and up. And now, they don’t want to insure us anymore because we are too great a risk. Yes, I know we live in a coastal high hazard area, but if they had taken the hundreds of thousands of dollars we gave them and invested it properly instead of lining their own pockets, it wouldn’t be an issue. If we had only known then what we know now and invested it ourselves, we’d be in fine shape. When the letter arrived, I got mad and threw it away. Last week, it dawned on me that in six weeks we would be without home owner’s insurance so I decided I had better get busy. We could keep our automobile insurance with the same company, but I couldn’t stand the thought, so not only was I in need of homeowner’s coverage but automobile insurance for four cars and a motorcycle and liability insurance, too. When I asked my boss for a day off to talk to agents, she recommended I contact the one her husband, a realtor, uses. I contacted several companies, but this particular agent had the best prices and most importantly the best service. We have been e-mailing information back and forth all week, but today, we spent two and a half hours on the phone. Unfortunately, we have several things going against us besides living in a flood zone: a roof more than twelve years old, two Dobermans, one horse and three male drivers who are not “safe” drivers. Because youngest son got two, not one, but TWO tickets for driving without a seatbelt, his coverage is $600 a year more than it should be! Still and all, she has been able to find insurance that suits almost all our needs. She has yet to find us replacement liability insurance and we are going to have to use the state sponsored homeowner’s insurance company which makes me very nervous. But, the good news is she has found the same coverage for a third less than what we were paying. I have agonized and fretted over what to do and with her help, it was not nearly as bad as I imagined. While the law and the bank require that I have insurance, there is One even greater in Whom I need to place my trust. I certainly cannot put my faith in an insurance company because they could cancel us at any time. But, thankfully, God is always there and always ready to help even in the bleakest of times.