Ongoing escalation of insurance

[Sue J]

Our homeowners insurance has been increasing every year. We moved the car insurance to Geico a few years ago but Geico would not insure our home, due to the 29 year old roof.

We got a new roof last month so I called our current homeowners insurance to see if it made any difference. It lowered it some. We also reviewed and updated the entire policy and the rate was still almost double the cost of switching to Geico. Geico doesn't actually do homeowners insurance, instead they shop around and get a policy through other companies, for us it will be Liberty Mutual. We will still get the discount for multiple policies through Geico.

Even though this is paid once a year we set aside 1/12 every month so this change will drop one of our monthly expenses in half!

[Nords]

A poster asked why I'm dissing Vanguard:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords AFI may be like Vanguard-- great rates until you actually need some service-- but if you don't file claims then it may be fine.

First, it's because Vanguard is the low-price leader. Absolutely rock-bottom rates. You pay for what you get.

Second, it's because they seem to have a higher error rate on answering questions (higher than Fidelity & Schwab, anyway), a higher error rate on paperwork and they can't handle rapid growth. They were having so much trouble during 2003-2005 (IIRC on the dates) that a Vanguard employee actually filed a whistleblower lawsuit. But then, unlike Fidelity, I don't think Vanguard's name has ever been linked with "midget bowling" or "prostitutes".

Don't get me wrong-- Vanguard is a great company for those who know what they want and don't need much help getting it. But I think their policies are excessively strict and their abilities are limited. I also think that they're far better than other brokerages like Edward Jones and Ameriprise... but that's not saying much.