Poll:How Do You Get Your Insurance (Home, Auto, Umbrella)?

[check6]

USAA 52 years, zero claims. They love me.

 

[REWahoo]

USAA 52 years, zero claims. They love me.

Thanks for helping fund all our accidents!

 

[travelover]

........... I've had "independent agents" who said they could get me a better rate, they haven't........... .

Like in everything, it depends.

Unfortunately, my one experience with an independent was terrible. She found me a lower cost company, but the insurance company were so incompetent that I fired them and the independent agent. That said, if I could find a good independent agent, I'd be game to give it another try.

 

[Katsmeow]

Like in everything, it depends.

Unfortunately, my one experience with an independent was terrible. She found me a lower cost company, but the insurance company were so incompetent that I fired them and the independent agent. That said, if I could find a good independent agent, I'd be game to give it another try.

This is a good point. While I have generally used an independent agent for the reasons stated that doesn't mean that every independent agent is good. They can be bad. And, as I mentioned previously they don't always have access to good companies. I do like them for the reasons I stated but that does presuppose choosing a good independent agent who has access to adequate companies.

 

[ncbill]

So how did you find your independent agent?

I get my home/auto/umbrella via Travelers, which I went with on the recommendation of my credit union's insurance people.

 

[MarieIG]

AllState for auto, home & umbrella. It certainly isn't cheap (but sons at home and basically a fleet of vehicles it is to be expected.) They have not, to date, denied a claim.

The last was DH's MVA. There was property damage. He handed me the MV104 which I filled out for him to sign (carefully explaining why the accident was the other driver's fault). I was surprised to receive back a check for our ($500) deductible.

The claim before that was on DF's house (inherited, policy covers Dad & me). There was snow on the patio cover which caused it to collapse. I got an estimate; they paid a portion. I had the repair done, sent them a copy of the cc bill and told the adjuster I got the price cheaper than the estimate because I had work done my other house. The paid the full price of the repair and closed the claim.

 

[fritz]

We get auto and umbrella through Geico online, and homeowners through an agent with Farmers (Farmers via agents only).

We used to get bundled insurance in the past, but the last few years have found that either the home or auto side is much higher together than obtained separately. This still holds true with Farmers and Geico two years later. Farmers raised their premium substantially last year, but still best pricing around (go figure).

You have to really review your insurance quote carefully. I've been finding that over the last few years, insurance companies follow no standard and every area of coverage is different by company. Examples are areas of amount of coverage, deductibles, replacement coverage differences, etc. I regularly get bothered by Allstate with random mail and email quotes that are get your attention pricing, but fall very short on coverage...

Have used most all the companies mentioned in this thread including USAA. They all started out great, but raised pricing substantially after the 1st or 2nd year - forcing me to shop around, which usually results in switching companies.

Have also tried independent agents as well, but they've never been able to come close to matching pricing obtained by shopping for it myself. Wish they could, as it's a real PITA to shop for insurance annually, but unfortunately things always seem to change for the worse with insurance companies when you move from a prospect to a customer....

 

[tmm99]

Allstate in Ontario, Canada. In the US, I had Amica, but I was with Allstate before that, and the Allstate in Canada could pull my insurance history from their agency in the US to be able to give me a huge discount. After I joined, they had me attach a thing called DriveWise to monitor my driving for 6 months (monitoring driving speed, sudden breaking and time of the day of driving) and gave me another 20% discount at the 1st year renewal. I had DH added to my insurance after that and he was apparently a better driver than me and got another 30% off on his vehicle insurance. I shopped around for a better insurance this year, but with the steep discount after the Drivewise monitoring, I couldn't find anybody who could give us a better deal...

Maybe this DriveWise discount with Allstate is just a Canada thing. I don't know.

 

[travelover]

......... I had DH added to my insurance after that and he was apparently a better driver than me and got another 30% off on his vehicle insurance.........

Next time, stick the device on your grandmother's car for 6 months.

 

[jonat]

Amica. Super service.

 

[Pscott2019]

Amica - 40+ years. My father has been with them for 50 years. Fantastic service. Probably not the cheapest.

 

[tmm99]

Next time, stick the device on your grandmother's car for 6 months.

Hey, my DH already drives like a grandma. (30% is the maximum discount possible, and he's got it!)

 

[geeky_grrl]

Mutual of Enumclaw

I use an independent agent because that is the only way they sell their insurance. I was in a bad car accident a bunch of years back and had to deal with three insurance companies and Enumclaw was the only one that I'd be willing to do business with again.

 

[MikeD]

We had Nationwide for 40 years. They raised prices at least a little every year.

Having insurance makes me feel better. I wanted good insurance coverage with good service. I called the local Chubb guy and he beat Nationwide's price by about 10% for way better coverage.

I feel good about my insurance coverage.

Feeling good is what I live for.

Mike D.

PS - Apparently, Chubb sends private fire trucks to protect some of their customers in forest fires.

 

[nun]

I use a local agent and reassess my needs each year.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[CoolRich59]

AMICA for service.
Not for price.
45 years with them.

I just switched from State Farm*. Amica has great reviews and had a pretty competitive rate.

I was ready to switch, but their underwriter kept coming back with questions about my home (built in 1945). There was no deal breaker, but I got impatient waiting and so got a fourth quote from AAA.

I had no hard feelings towards Amica, but AAA beat their quote significantly and so they got my business.

I was impressed by the Amica rep's response. He thanked me for my time and for considering Amica. He asked if he could contact me in a year to see if they could try for my business again. I told him "Absolutely".

(* I was only with State Farm for 18 months. The first renewal they significantly increased my premium for auto even though neither I nor my wife had any tickets or accidents. I complained, but got the "unforeseen losses hit us hard" sob story. After two hurricanes in Texas and Florida, and wildfires in the West, I assumed that I could expect more "unforeseen losses" premium increases and so I said 'adios'.)

 

[MikeD]

I just switched from State Farm*.
(* I was only with State Farm for 18 months. The first renewal they significantly increased my premium for auto even though neither I nor my wife had any tickets or accidents. I complained, but got the "unforeseen losses hit us hard" sob story. After two hurricanes in Texas and Florida, and wildfires in the West, I assumed that I could expect more "unforeseen losses" premium increases and so I said 'adios'.)

I think the unforeseen losses cry/statement from an insurer is just utter crap, IMO. Isn't that what they are paid to figger out? And why would they expect their customers to pay more so that they could make up for their lack of foresight? Unless every insurer does this, I expect that they will be priced out of that market quickly.

I am not a businessman but I am an expert customer with many years of experience in the market. My usual approach to buying things is that I decide what I want, look for that at the cheapest rate, and buy it. While deciding what I wanted in the house and car insurance dept, I included service and customer support in the decision. Hence, I am a Chubb customer. When I buy things from Amazon, I do not expect service and don't expect to pay more for it.

If I have to interact frequently with a service provider I consider their support. I wanted to feel secure with my insurance and paid more for that. I hope I did the right thing!

Mike D.

 

[CoolRich59]

I think the unforeseen losses cry/statement from an insurer is just utter crap, IMO. Isn't that what they are paid to figger out?

100% agree.

When your business managing risk, to say you suffered with "unforeseen losses" that you can't cover out of premiums and reserves is basically saying you suck at your core business function.