Does anyone like their insurer?

[calmloki]

We've had USAA for less than a decade; five years back we had a water line break and spend some time building up a lake in our slab floor SoCal home. Not a fire, but amazing how susceptible to crumbling into junk modern homes are when put into close contact with water. Not a fun experience, we were 1000 miles away when we got the news after about a week of flooding. Reported to USAA.

ONE WEEK after reporting the house flood a firefighter just off the line and heading for real food slammed the back of our car as we were stopped waiting to turn left a few blocks from our northern digs. Reported to USAA for some reason, maybe so they would get everything covered and recover from the other insurer. Car got fixed; we headed south again, where USAA paid the rent on a vacation rental house next door to our flooded home for the next months of home repair.

We didn't try to milk the repairs at all but they were still eye wateringly high. I expected the car insurance and homeowners would be canceled or at least the new premiums would be noteworthy. Nope. USAA held the line and any premium increase was modest. They were very good to deal with.

Having insurance that doesn't try to avoid payment and has very competitive premiums is worth having in my book.

TLDR: have and have had others, USAA is superior.

 

[Soooretired]

We’ve had Amica for over 15 years for car, home, umbrella. Zero issues and very responsive when called. Before that had Allstate.

 

[old medic]

I have Auto Owners and Progressive.

We Love Flo....

 

[G-Money]

I'm cautiously optimistic to say I like Hagerty. I moved a classic car over to them and don't think I'll ever look back. I have not had a claims experience with them but know others who have, all positive. It can't be any worse than dealing with one of the majors, right?

The search goes on for all my other policies. Been with State Farm for too long. The agent was good for a long time but it's been nothing but bumbling from his office as of late. I had a minor claim late last year and found myself wanting to scream into a pillow just trying to file it. It went downhill from there.

 

[Kings over Queens]

What do you recommend adding to the typical homeowner policy?

My home is not worth enough for Chubb, et. al. to insure it.

At a minimum, 2 enhancements.

1. Special Form for personal property - A typical homeowner policy (HO-3) and that pays for damage to dwelling on Special Perils (basically, everything is covered unless its specifically excluded) whereas damage to personal property is paid on named perils meaning coverage only applies if the peril is described in the policy. A peril is what causes damage to property. So by improving the coverage option to "special form," everything is covered unless an exclusion applies. When possible I like to remove the option for the company to say "no, this or that exclusion applies."

2. Personal Injury Liability - The traditional homeowner policy includes personal liability limited to bodily injury or property damage. Personal INJURY liability broadens coverage to include mental anguish. Essentially coverage for defamation, slander, libel.

These two coverage options are automatic on a Chubb or other high value home policy.

 

[TripleLindy]

We have Amica for home, auto and umbrella. As others have said, there are less expensive options, but at the time we moved to Amica almost 2 decades ago, they were the only insurer in Texas that had true comprehensive coverage. I don’t remember the specifics, but there was something to do with mold coverage and only Amica offered it. Others had some kind of work around, but when I researched it, I found that mold was actually excluded. I don’t know if that situation still exists, but it was the driver of our switch from State Farm.

We had a roof claim with Amica a couple of years ago. I spoke at length with the independent adjuster and he advised that Amica was the only insurer that he didn’t have to fight for full replacement. All others were approving claims only for small sections that were damaged. Practically speaking, those sections can’t be replaced without damaging the surrounding shingles. See video below. And even if they can be, you’re left with a patchwork looking roof. Insurers don’t care about cosmetics, though.

So we continue to pay the high Amica rates. Other than price, their service has been quite good.

 

[TripleLindy]

We Love Flo....

Too funny! Flo, gecko, liberty biberty guy - all signs that more is spent on marketing than product. None of those ads have any substance - just trying to get something to stick in your head. Classic marketing ploy.

 

[old medic]

Too funny! Flo, gecko, liberty biberty guy - all signs that more is spent on marketing than product. None of those ads have any substance - just trying to get something to stick in your head. Classic marketing ploy.

All kidding aside... They were fantastic after my wreck.

 

[Zathras]

We've been recommended to check out Chubb and also Pure for both higher-end insurance products/coverages and claims handling experience. I obtained quotes and it definitely comes at a price, but the coverages are greater, broader. I don't know anyone who has had real-world claims experience with them and I'm told that's supposed to be the golden ticket with both companies. Coverage is one thing, I can put a value on that. Customer service and claims handling? Harder to measure and assign a value, IMO.

We have CHUBB.
Have had a couple of auto claims which were handled well (far better than any other carrier we had).
No issues with where to repair, nor slow walking the insurance check or reimbursement.

We have not had a home claim, but they seem to be very proactive and well laid out.

 

[Graybeard]

I have been with Amica since 2005 IIRC. I have auto, home and an umbrella policy. My policies are dividend policies. I pay a little more for these but after 6 months for auto and 12 for home and umbrella I get a dividend check. I looked into the extra cost for the dividend policy vs the non dividend policy many years ago and found it was to my advantage to have the dividend policies as it was more than I could make in some other FI. I also pay 2 of these policies in full for an additional discount so no monthly billing but 1 of the 3 does not offer a discount so that one I pay monthly, I think it is auto. I never had a claim.

I knew a co worker whose area was hit with a bad storm and the people who had Amica had checks for the damages when the others where trying to get their insurance companies to just come and look at the damage.

 

[razztazz]

I've always heard the jokes about insurance companies not paying or making you jump through all kinds of hoops etc etc. But my personal contact with them has always been positive

circa 2001 -- car hit overnight in the parking lot of my building. They paid everything I expected them to for the body work. My rates did not go up but it was the final year I ever had collision/comprehensive so of course, the next bill was for liability only.

2008 -- Big storm. Mucho roof damage. It was an old roof to begin with. They paid about 60% of it which is what I would have expected. The shingles but not the decking

2024 -- Same company, different house, different storm. They paid for everything EVEN the new decking plus rain gutters. I could have pocketed the rain gutter money but decided to get the new gutters. My rates did not get increased for 2025 or 2026

Haven't killed anybody in a bar fight yet so, haven't tested the umbrella liability insurance.

 

[COcheesehead]

What do you recommend adding to the typical homeowner policy?

My home is not worth enough for Chubb, et. al. to insure it.

Anything not covered by the policy limits. We have had jewelry riders for example.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Getting fed up with USAA, their website keeps getting worse and worse, and instead of just solving my issue when I call, they always want to "review my coverage", and I'm getting tired of it. I pulled our financial accounts from them a few years ago.

Any recommendations for insurance? Bonus if you have homeowners, auto, and umbrella all together with the same insurer and/or are happy with they way they have handled claims, those are the ones we currently have with USAA. Get an Independent Agent to work for you

 

[freedomatlast]

I used to recommend Erie Insurance, but no more.

They created an issue that they would not fix a few years ago. My agent was of no help, and those at the corporate office were clueless. I spent hours and weeks on the phone with several different people with no results. Finally, as a last resort, I wrote a very detailed email to the CEO of the company, Timothy Necastro, and after that, it was straightened out very quickly. There's clearly a lack of training at that company and customer service is some of the worst I ever encountered. I am thankful Mr Necastro took the time to read the letter and act on it, because his direct reports were worthless.

 

[Midpack]

Too funny! Flo, gecko, liberty biberty guy - all signs that more is spent on marketing than product. None of those ads have any substance - just trying to get something to stick in your head. Classic marketing ploy.

Agreed. All of them seem juvenile, but it must be effective.

 

[Mulligan]

Very happy with Shelter Insurance, but I use an independent broker and she shops our insurance every year. We had Progressive in the past with no issues.

Same here. I consider my relationship with insurers the equivalent to being trapped in a loveless marriage. So I have my independent broker scavenge the various carriers to save on premiums every couple of years. Some years its cheaper being bundled others its cheaper all being broke apart with separate carriers.

 

[jollystomper]

We have been fine with GEICO. I would not say that I "like" them, since insurance is a necessary evil . We have only had 6 claims in my 47+ years of driving and DW's 42+ years of driving, and all were handled well. They also helped us in 2 other cases where folks opened claims against us that were scams. One thing that helps is that for body work, we have a good friend who has those skills and equipment. A few times for "stupid" things (like backing one car into another in our driveway ), he has been able to repair them with excellence.

We also have a bundle with homeowners (via Travelers) and liability insurance with them, but we have never had to submit claims on those policies, so I do not know how they would perform.

 

[Chuckanut]

I try to avoid doctors, lawyers, roofers, window replacement and others who advertise incessantly on the radio and/or TV. Somebody has to pay for all that and I don’t want to do so. Yes, the advertising must work or they wouldn’t do it, but it doesn’t work on me.

My company is OK compared to the above. It’s regional. But, they have significantly raised rates over the past 5 years. Yes, I know they have big expenses on housing replacement, and lost money on the idiot drivers and their fast talking radio lawyers.

Despite the warm fuzzies that some of the commercials try to generate, it’s purely a business decision.

I shopped all my insurance a year ago, and could not find a better rate other than one quote from a company that Consumer Reports shows a poor rating for service when you need them.

 

[Al18]

As part of your insurance evaluation, you should check the AM Best credit rating of the insurance company. The credit rating is not the whole picture, but part of it. You can google it. FYI Amica has an A+ rating as of March, 2026. State Farm has an A+ rating. GEICO has an A++ rating.

 

[Sanstar]

We are 50 year USAA members Kids have it, too. No complaints. The few times agents of another company try their pitch, we tell them who our insurer is and they always give us a version of “never mind”.

 

[pb4uski]

Currently all coverages are with Farmers.... both homes, truck, car, golf cart, pontoon boat, jet ski, etc. Umbrella is with RLI because they are ok with me downshifting the car at the summer home to just comprehensive coverage during the winter when it is just hibernating in the garage.

No claims so far so can't comment on that one way or another.

 

[pb4uski]

I used to recommend Erie Insurance, but no more.

They created an issue that they would not fix a few years ago. My agent was of no help, and those at the corporate office were clueless. I spent hours and weeks on the phone with several different people with no results. Finally, as a last resort, I wrote a very detailed email to the CEO of the company, Timothy Necastro, and after that, it was straightened out very quickly. There's clearly a lack of training at that company and customer service is some of the worst I ever encountered. I am thankful Mr Necastro took the time to read the letter and act on it, because his direct reports were worthless.

Smart move. For the insurer that I worked for any complaint addressed to the CEO or President received special handling by more experienced personnel who were not limited to a script and were high enough in the chain of command to get things done.

 

[badatmath]

I just called Amica with a couple of minor questions and they acted like talking to me was the most fun they'd had all day "thanks for YOUR time" etc. My auto/umbrella policies barely went up at all for the upcoming renewal and HO actually decreased. YMMV but I can't see anything to dislike here.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

As an insurance consumer (we all are) I am insulted by how STUPID insurance advertisements are.

You companies should take yourselves more seriously....we consumers do.

 

[RetiredHappy]

The advertisements do get stuck in our heads. The problem is that I remember characters but not the company, so that are not effective.