We are buying in NoVa and need to lock in some homeowners insurance. Any thoughts on providers? This is our first time and we have our renters through State Farm.
No FEMA flood zone issues, we will likely put in a jewelry rider and maybe a personal liability rider.
Post by emoflamingo on May 3, 2013 10:44:00 GMT -5
I agree with bundling. I work for an insurance company and I know here, rates are going up because of storm damage from 2 years ago so everyone is looking to lower them. I personally like to keep my deductibles low and pay a little more out of pocket than have a high deductible if something happens (because it happens here -- wind storms, hail damage, tornados, etc).
Also make sure that you have any and all endorsements you might want. My company offers one that, for $25 a year, if your house has to have the roofing or siding replaced and they can't match it, they'll pay for the replacement of everything and not just the damaged portion.
We've always bundled home and auto. However, we got a great rate with a different company for renters so we kept our auto with allstate (we love them) and went with a different company for renters insurance.
I agree with bundling I have my auto, four wheeler, and home owners through Allstate and I'm also in NoVA. In my experience State Farm has had horribly high rates. Allstate has treated me quite well and the rates are good.
We are happy with State Farm, and are pleased to give them our business because they insure homeowners with all breeds of dogs. Insurance companies that practice breed discrimination are not ones I choose to give my money to.
We shopped around, also getting quotes from USAA, Liberty Mutual and a couple of others, and State Farm had the best rates.
We're with USAA and like them a lot. Claims with them have been a dream. I shopped around because they wouldn't give us an umbrella because of our dog breed (they did procure one for us through another company, and they're fine with him for homeowners', which I think is weird), and the rates weren't much different. Like $200 or something cheaper for everything (home, auto, umbrella, jewelry) was the best I could find. Not worth switching from a company I know has really good service.
We're with USAA and like them a lot. Claims with them have been a dream. I shopped around because they wouldn't give us an umbrella because of our dog breed (they did procure one for us through another company, and they're fine with him for homeowners', which I think is weird), and the rates weren't much different. Like $200 or something cheaper for everything (home, auto, umbrella, jewelry) was the best I could find. Not worth switching from a company I know has really good service.
Wow - if I could get USAA for only $200 more than I pay now I would do it in a heartbeat. For some reason their rate was $1,200 more a year which was just too much. My mom has them though and they do have amazing customer service. She's always the first one to get her claim check after a hurricane (she's in FL).
Definitely bundle for a discount, and DEFINITELY shop around and make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Just because one person got a good rate with Company X doesn't mean that you will. I found it to be a colossal pain to shop around (not least because I despise talking on the phone with something who is trying to sell me something) but it was so worth it. I ended up saving us ~$1500/year.
We're with USAA and like them a lot. Claims with them have been a dream. I shopped around because they wouldn't give us an umbrella because of our dog breed (they did procure one for us through another company, and they're fine with him for homeowners', which I think is weird), and the rates weren't much different. Like $200 or something cheaper for everything (home, auto, umbrella, jewelry) was the best I could find. Not worth switching from a company I know has really good service.
Wow - if I could get USAA for only $200 more than I pay now I would do it in a heartbeat. For some reason their rate was $1,200 more a year which was just too much. My mom has them though and they do have amazing customer service. She's always the first one to get her claim check after a hurricane (she's in FL).
Maybe it has something to do with being in CA, a generally expensive state? Maybe USAA has more uniform pricing and other companies jack up their prices here? Or maybe related to coverage limits/deductibles (less of a difference at some levels)? I don't know.
Definitely bundle for a discount, and DEFINITELY shop around and make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Just because one person got a good rate with Company X doesn't mean that you will. I found it to be a colossal pain to shop around (not least because I despise talking on the phone with something who is trying to sell me something) but it was so worth it. I ended up saving us ~$1500/year.
Very true, rates depend on so many things, and certain companies are cheaper in certain geographical areas.
When we bought our house in Minnesota, we went with AAA insurance, they had amazingly low rates. They were trying to get a bigger share of the Minneapolis area market, and lowered their rates to be really competitive. That happens all the time, so check around, because a company that might have higher rates in one city might have really low rates in another city.
BTW, AAA also doesn't practice dog breed discrimination, they will ensure homeowners with all dogs.
Definitely bundle for a discount, and DEFINITELY shop around and make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Just because one person got a good rate with Company X doesn't mean that you will. I found it to be a colossal pain to shop around (not least because I despise talking on the phone with something who is trying to sell me something) but it was so worth it. I ended up saving us ~$1500/year.
Yes. Those commercials about saving you a certain percentage is true -- but only because they write state minimums. The company I work for does standard $100,00/$300,000/$100,000 for bodily injury and property damage and the Geico and Progressive policies that want to switch to us are always the state minimum.
ETA: I realize this is totally about auto insurance but I still think it's applicable lol.
I have very inepensive home and auto insurance through a company called Mercury. We foud them through an agency in Falls Church. Definitely shop around. I found USAA very expensive.
We're with USAA and like them a lot. Claims with them have been a dream. I shopped around because they wouldn't give us an umbrella because of our dog breed (they did procure one for us through another company, and they're fine with him for homeowners', which I think is weird), and the rates weren't much different. Like $200 or something cheaper for everything (home, auto, umbrella, jewelry) was the best I could find. Not worth switching from a company I know has really good service.
Wow - if I could get USAA for only $200 more than I pay now I would do it in a heartbeat. For some reason their rate was $1,200 more a year which was just too much. My mom has them though and they do have amazing customer service. She's always the first one to get her claim check after a hurricane (she's in FL).
USAA is way over $1200k more than who we use (Nationwide) in eastern NC. 6 years ago, they did a major rate increase in eastern NC, and pretty much said it was because there were sooooo many customers- which isn't ideal since the next big hurricane to hit is more of a when, than an if. I get that it covers their end, but several of our friends got notice that their policy would be increasing $200-400 more per month. At least the car insurance rates are still great!