Insurance

[mitchjav]

Shopping around to replace my existing Liberty Mutual Insurance, which I think is very high on premiums. I've talked to 5 competitors and the lowest rate is from AAA with State Farm a close number two. Switching all my policies (auto, homeowners, umbrella) with the same or very similar coverage will save me $2100-$2200/year, so my questions are:

- any reason NOT to switch away from Liberty Mutual?
- any red flags I should be aware of?
- Any experience (good or bad) with either AAA or State Farm?

Thanks, Mitch

 

[CardsFan]

Shopping around to replace my existing Liberty Mutual Insurance, which I think is very high on premiums. I've talked to 5 competitors and the lowest rate is from AAA with State Farm a close number two. Switching all my policies (auto, homeowners, umbrella) with the same or very similar coverage will save me $2100-$2200/year, so my questions are:

- any reason NOT to switch away from Liberty Mutual?
- any red flags I should be aware of?
- Any experience (good or bad) with either AAA or State Farm?

Thanks, Mitch

I currently have AAA, and have had State Farm in the past, never had a real issue with claims (State Farm did balk a little when a tree fell on my house and my repair person said that several roof sheathes needed to be replaced, and the stain on the cedar siding need to be done for the whole side, not just the replaced boards, but with a little persuasion, they paid).

Sounds like a big savings, so my only caveat is to make sure you are comparing the EXACT same coverage.

 

[euro]

Definitely go ahead and switch. I used to be with Liberty Mutual for many years, but they absolutely killed me when my two teenagers started to drive (we are talking 5-fold increase of auto premium). State Farm offered significant savings and I have stayed with them for the last decade (I do annual re-checks and so far, they have always come out at or near the top of the list). Their service has been excellent throughout. I have no experience with AAA - they flat out refused to write an auto policy with teenagers....

 

[golfnut]

In process of doing the exact same thing. Presently with Farmers for auto, HO and umbrella. Been with them for 30 years and the premiums for the HO and umbrella seem to be in lines with the competition. But our auto premium with them is almost twice as much as the competition. We (wifey and I ) have a clean driving record.



Looking a maybe going with Hippo for HO as I like some of their speciality covers i.e water, gas electric service lines. For auto, looking at Geico or Progressive whic. again, is coming in approx. 50% of Farmers.


Umbrella - tbd but nominal anyways.


Any comments on Hippo?

 

[SoaringEagle]

I had State Farm (State Fraud) for home and auto for many years without a claim. A hail storm came through my neighborhood. Every home on my block got a new roof claim successfully paid by their insurance except for me. My State Fraud adjuster would not approve my claim. After that first storm, many roofing companies wouldn't even work with me because I had State Farm. The roofers told me that State Farm is one of the most difficult companies to get to pay out on a claim. The agent was ZERO help and the their claims adjuster was a scammer. Avoid State Farm.

I switched to AAA for all of my insurance now and I have been very happy. Great customer service and I ended up getting my new roof on a later hail storm with AAA. I'd highly recommend AAA.

Another option is to go to an insurance broker and let the broker find you the best deal for your needs.

Good luck

 

[Tailgate]

I had State Farm (State Fraud) for home and auto for many years without a claim. A hail storm came through my neighborhood. Every home on my block got a new roof claim successfully paid by their insurance except for me. My State Fraud adjuster would not approve my claim. After that first storm, many roofing companies wouldn't even work with me because I had State Farm. The roofers told me that State Farm is one of the most difficult companies to get to pay out on a claim. The agent was ZERO help and the their claims adjuster was a scammer. Avoid State Farm.

I switched to AAA for all of my insurance now and I have been very happy. Great customer service and I ended up getting my new roof on a later hail storm with AAA. I'd highly recommend AAA.

Another option is to go to an insurance broker and let the broker find you the best deal for your needs.

Good luck

Our hood had a hailstorm recently...only folks complaining have State Farm and are fighting with them every inch of the way. I switched from SF to USAA and glad I did.

 

[aja8888]

Our hood had a hailstorm recently...only folks complaining have State Farm and are fighting with them every inch of the way. I switched from SF to USAA and glad I did.

During Hurricane Harvey here in TX in 2017, DD's house roof got damaged along with the roof on the house next door. Amica Insurance covered DD's new roof while State Farm denied coverage on the roof on the house next door.

 

[greengo523]

Insurance companies have no loyalty to me, so I have no loyalty to any insurance company. I would switch. I switched from Liberty Mutual 5 months ago.

 

[OldShooter]

There was just a thread on this. Search is your friend.

 

[brett]

Our recent experience is that new customers get better rates than renewal customers on like for like. First read about this in a UK paper.

We got our home insurance renewal last month. The premium increased 24 percent over last year. I went on line to our insurer’s website and got a quote as a new customer. It was 23 percent less than my renewal premium.

Called the insurance company. Had theM compare the new online quote like for like to the renewal policy. Same. I asked to be treated as a new customer. They agreed. Auto is up in October. These are both year three with this insurer. If auto increases I will be doing the same.

 

[swakyaby]

Had experience with AAA auto insurance twice. Once, when a AAA-insured driver did a hit-and-run and the police tracked the driver down. Once I faxed AAA the police report, AAA promptly took care of my car and inquired if I had suffered any injuries.

10 years later, l switched from Allstate to AAA, had an at-fault accident in a parking lot, and submitted the claim to AAA. Although I was told it would likely raise my rate, I noticed no significant increase in my premiums. So I am satisfied with AAA auto insurance.

 

[DrRoy]

Have had State Farm for almost 40 years. No claims for 30. Never find a better rate. Like our agent.

 

[mrfeh]

Shopping around to replace my existing Liberty Mutual Insurance, which I think is very high on premiums. I've talked to 5 competitors and the lowest rate is from AAA with State Farm a close number two. Switching all my policies (auto, homeowners, umbrella) with the same or very similar coverage will save me $2100-$2200/year, so my questions are:

- any reason NOT to switch away from Liberty Mutual?
- any red flags I should be aware of?
- Any experience (good or bad) with either AAA or State Farm?

Thanks, Mitch

I've used State Farm for 99% of my insurance needs over my lifetime and have been very happy with their service and prices.

 

[racy]

We use an independent agent and check every few years. We've had various insurers and opt for high deductibles.

 

[jazz4cash]

We had State Farm for several years. They were excellent for two auto claims. Their statements, online access, billing etc was very old school. I had to call an agent to get info and make trivial changes. My agent was hard to contact so if you have someone that is responsive and don’t care about web support it may not be a factor for you. Bottom line they went crazy with HO premiums and I saved 50% by switching. Neighbors tell me SF is difficult wrt getting roof damage claims approved.

 

[lrip]

I shop around every couple of years and immediately if rates go up too much upon renewal. It appears all companies have low rates to start and then begin to creep upward over time. I have zero loyalty with these companies and the games they play.

 

[Sunset]

We used to have State Farm.

About 8 years ago we had a big hail storm, they paid for all the damage and a new roof, very easy, no problems.

A few years ago we switched to a different company for lower rates.

 

[Cobra9777]

We always get the lowest auto quote from Progressive. But their home quotes are crazy high and no umbrella. We always get the lowest home quotes from Liberty Mutual. We have two home policies, so Liberty Mutual usually wins, especially with multi-policy discounts. For auto, I can usually call and get them to meet the Progressive quote. They issue a new policy and give me the new customer rate. Two years later... rinse and repeat.

I'd love to switch to Amica at some point. From what I've read, there are less pricing shenanigans once you are an established low-risk customer. But the first-year rate is a killer. You don't know the "real" rate until the end of the year and they pay a "dividend." It's a hassle but I seem to be better off haggling with Liberty Mutual every couple years. They've been excellent with claims.

 

[Bamaman]

I once asked my close friend, who has a big modern auto body shop, what's the difference between insurance companies. He said they were most of the time generic, and that the difference often was in the quality of the company's adjusters. In our city, he likes Allstate's adjuster very well, and he says their computer systems are tops and he gets paid promptly.

With 2 houses and 4 cars, I've tried to split my insurance between two large companies. My wayward daughter had too many accidents in my cars and I'm now paying the price in double premiums. She's now on ankle express. And I had a burglary 18 months ago. I like to have never found anyone to insure my house for less than $4K--double a normal premium.

All insurance claims are reported to a insurance specific credit bureau that assigns you a risk code--kind of like a FICO score. Have too many claims, and you're going to pay out the nose for any kind of insurance. And they're especially conservative on homeowners' insurance policies--no matter what your losses have been in the previous 10 years. I would be very hesitant to ever make a homeowner's claim less than $7,500.

The best think anyone can do is keep their FICO score high, keep a clean driving record and get your kids off your insurance policy the second you can.

 

[badatmath]

The "FICO score" mentioned above is called a CLUE report and you can request it if you want to see yours. Just google it. Never seen one myself.

Keep in mind insurance companies use different formulas to figure how risky you are as a customer so it is always a good idea to get multiple quotes.

 

[mitchjav]

Made the Switch

Thanks everybody for all the feedback and advice.

Made the switch (to AAA insurance) - very happy and saving $2100/year ... was definitely overpaying at Liberty Mutual