Home/Auto Insurance recommendations

[Zoso5150]

Got my new insurance cards for home and auto insurance from Farmers today and my home rate went up 30% from last year, auto up 20%. This is even after corporate discounts through my employer, auto-deduction from my paycheck, etc., etc. Formerly we had MetLife for several years thru same employer but Farmers bought them out and now, up go the rates. Can’t say I’m surprised at the tactic.
Any recommendations out there on who to call next or how to best shop around? Or is this just a sign of the times and what others are seeing as well? Thanks

 

[MattB]

If you or a parent were in the military, look at USAA.

 

[ndayton]

Got my new insurance cards for home and auto insurance from Farmers today and my home rate went up 30% from last year, auto up 20%. This is even after corporate discounts through my employer, auto-deduction from my paycheck, etc., etc. Formerly we had MetLife for several years thru same employer but Farmers bought them out and now, up go the rates. Can’t say I’m surprised at the tactic.
Any recommendations out there on who to call next or how to best shop around? Or is this just a sign of the times and what others are seeing as well? Thanks

I literally dealt with this today only with Progressive. I called them to cancel as other companies including Farmers were cheaper, and the agent said that the other companies were using low price tactics to get me to switch and that they would just up the rates at renewal. Hearing your situation confirms this.

What Progressive did is give me their "bait and switch" rate which brought my rate from $170 to $118.
I expressed how stupid it was to give low rates to new customers but screw over people who had been insured since 2006 with them.
Anyway, rant over. I would get some quotes from other vendors and then call your current insurance provider and see if they will match the lower rates.
Worst case they say no, and you find another insurance provider that is cheaper.

 

[eddielasvegas]

[rant]So many rackets (the few screwing the many) in our country and insurance is right near the top of that list.[/rant]

With the above having to be said, I'll give State Farm a big for only raising our rates 2-3% this policy period that renewed last month.

We use a local agent here in Scottsdale (that provides great service) and have home, auto and PUP policies.

Good luck,

Eddie

 

[camping1601]

Find a small local independent agent that represents multiple smaller companies as well as some large ones. We own an agency and the smaller companies are almost always a better value. For the record my wife manages the actual insurance part.

 

[butcherboy]

State Farm here as well. Been with them for over 30 years.

 

[Unckebob]

Got my new insurance cards for home and auto insurance from Farmers today and my home rate went up 30% from last year, auto up 20%. This is even after corporate discounts through my employer, auto-deduction from my paycheck, etc., etc. Formerly we had MetLife for several years thru same employer but Farmers bought them out and now, up go the rates. Can’t say I’m surprised at the tactic.
Any recommendations out there on who to call next or how to best shop around? Or is this just a sign of the times and what others are seeing as well? Thanks

I have been in the insurance business for 20 years. All "affinity" discounted insurance is a bad deal. Yes, you get the discount promised. But, it based up their group rate filing which is not the best rate out there.

All insurance companies come up with their own rate plans based upon their assessment of a number of factors. Shop around to find the company with the best rate for you,

I would start with USAA, Progressive, Geico, State Farm.

Avoid any company owned by AIG.

Don't "save" money by eliminating coverage. You need a minimum of $250k of liability coverage.

 

[KenLee]

I have been in the insurance business for 20 years. All "affinity" discounted insurance is a bad deal. Yes, you get the discount promised. But, it based up their group rate filing which is not the best rate out there.

All insurance companies come up with their own rate plans based upon their assessment of a number of factors. Shop around to find the company with the best rate for you,

I would start with USAA, Progressive, Geico, State Farm.

Avoid any company owned by AIG.

Don't "save" money by eliminating coverage. You need a minimum of $250k of liability coverage.

The 4 companies you recommended are 4 of the 5 worst on paying liability claims in North and South Carolina.

 

[fngTony]

Don’t overlook the quality of the agent. We left farmers because our agent retired and the new one wasn’t worth crap. Been with state farm ever since, we purposely sought out one of the top agents in our area.

 

[journeyman713]

If you are with the same insurance company for more than 5 years, and still have a competitive rate, consider yourself lucky. It's best to keep them honest, by shopping rates now and then.

 

[Sherman]

I have had enough issues that I will and do pay slightly more a month to be able to talk to my agent face to face when something happens and I need to file a claim. It is much harder for them to screw me while looking me in the eye. I use our local State Farm agent now and have been pleased. Progressive and Geico are Uber liberal companies. I avoid them like the plague. I am a veteran and was considering USAA, but they have taken a hard turn from customer service to concentrate on marketing and only try to get as many people signed up as possible. Read the reviews. They are not good.

 

[wyosteve]

I switched to State Farm about a decade ago after Farmer's doubled my homeowner's rate. That with no claims ever! Had to make a hail damage claim last year and State Farm was excellent to deal with. Had the first check within 10 days of adjuster coming out. As someone mentioned, saving a few dollars isn't worth the headache if you have a hassle when making a claim or they raise the rate on renewal.

 

[kylliee]

State Farm

love them too

 

[deltadukman]

Independent agent here. Home and auto rates are going up across the board. Reason being large loss events and the loss ratios on auto's is over 100% coupled with rising costs of everything. It may not be you, but it's the trend. The companies don't rate everyone separately, but they try to use analytics to predict goo vs bad insured's. That said, we have a full-time person in our office who does nothing but remarket accounts that we notice going up more than a normal percentage. Many times simply re-writing with the same company. I know people hate insurance companies, but they too are in the business of making money. I was in a meeting with a company in Seattle one time and they said they aim to make 2-3 cents on the dollar. Having an actual agent who is aggressive and proactive helps too. When you are with a 1-800 or a group type deal, your service isnt great and those people on the phone dont care one way or another how you feel. However, insurance is a contract and they will pay or not pay based on the contract. Leave the feelings out of it, it's in black and white and on paper. Having an agent that knows what's in there and explaining coverages is worth it's weight in gold. The customer cutting corners and coverage is typically where the bad feelings come into play, as well as having an agent that just wants to sell policies rather than coverage.

 

[Jeremyskousen]

I am also an independent agent, I agree with deltadukman. If you don't have an agent that is remarketing your policies at least every few years, you need a new agent.

 

[Sherman]

A question for independent insurance agents:

When a customer files a claim do they deal with you as the middle man or directly with the insurance company?

 

[Jeremyskousen]

A question for independent insurance agents:

When a customer files a claim do they deal with you as the middle man or directly with the insurance company?

The adjuster makes all decisions in regards to a claim, as the agent all I can do is help my clients navigate the process, and sometimes help if an adjuster is difficult to deal with. That usually involves contacting the adjuster's supervisor which usually helps the process along.

 

[Zoso5150]

Thanks for all the insight, sounds like it’s time to go shopping. Ive never had a single claim on any home or auto. I don’t doubt rates are going across the board, as is everything, (We can thank all the uninsured for that) but 20-30% in on period is an absolute ripoff money grab. I’m planning to let our HR group know as well. This group plan “corporate discount“ isn't worth anything.

 

[Unckebob]

The 4 companies you recommended are 4 of the 5 worst on paying liability claims in North and South Carolina.

1) I care about my insurer's willingness to pay 1st party claims to me. USAA has been great in that regard.

2) On liability claims, I care that my carrier protects my assets, doesn't pay claims that are not owed (I am not at fault) and does not pay inflated liability claims.

Companies that fight for their insureds are not popular with people trying to assert liability claims against their insured.

 

[deltadukman]

We get involved in claims a lot. Reason being, we deal with insurance "speak" daily while my customers don't. Most of the times when there is a claims issue, it's miscommunication more than anything. We like to stay involved and stop an issue before it starts.