Home and Auto Insurance

[denchen]

I`m not sure if you guys are paying for something extra more than us this side of the pond, or your insurance guys have a good standard of living. I`ve a 2015 Mercedes ML, Full insurance for me and wife, but anyone else `Third Party only`, new for old, £240.00 a year. My house, value about £220,000, contents £100,000, +£2M public liability, comes to around £160.00 the lot a year. I live in a semi rural area on the edge of a medium size market town. My payments are a long way from what you seem to be paying.

 

[Jchonline]

USAA is incredible. I have had to file 2 claims in the past 30 years and they were awesome. I get money back every year. I agree just shop around until you find something favorable.

 

[Sigarms]

I`m not sure if you guys are paying for something extra more than us this side of the pond, or your insurance guys have a good standard of living. I`ve a 2015 Mercedes ML, Full insurance for me and wife, but anyone else `Third Party only`, new for old, £240.00 a year. My house, value about £220,000, contents £100,000, +£2M public liability, comes to around £160.00 the lot a year. I live in a semi rural area on the edge of a medium size market town. My payments are a long way from what you seem to be paying.

We average about 327 pounds annually per each vehicle for 4 vehicles (one company car which I don't cover personally which I forgot about) all have decent coverage except for my one Toyota that dosen't have collision on it because it has over 640,000 kilometers on it.

 

[fried1765]

I`m not sure if you guys are paying for something extra more than us this side of the pond, or your insurance guys have a good standard of living. I`ve a 2015 Mercedes ML, Full insurance for me and wife, but anyone else `Third Party only`, new for old, £240.00 a year. My house, value about £220,000, contents £100,000, +£2M public liability, comes to around £160.00 the lot a year. I live in a semi rural area on the edge of a medium size market town. My payments are a long way from what you seem to be paying.

It is usually nearly impossible to make an apples to apples comparison for insurance within the USA, and absolutely impossible to do so internationally.

 

[TractorGuy]

It is usually nearly impossible to make an apples to apples comparison for insurance within the USA, and absolutely impossible to do so internationally.

But it is good to hear what others are using and their experiences with companies.

We had Allstate for many years and when I finally got around to shopping them I cut my rates in half. My Allstate agent didn't ask for a second chance but tried to use a scare tactic on me saying it wasn't a good time to be shopping around for some reason.

The last time I tried to shop home owners I was quoted prices way over what I pay with Farm Bureau so I haven't gone down that path in a while. I do get a $72 per year discount on my HO for having our vehicles added so I have to consider that.

One company I will never ask for a quote from again is Geico. The last time I did that was an eye opener. They sent all my information through a database company in Atlanta which notified me. They had me held responsible for a wreck that happened on a car BEFORE I bought it. That company told me they used information attached to the VIN and listed it against the current owner for 3 years. I went round and round with those folks.

I did have a few small claims with Farm Bureau back in the 80s and 90s.

I had a break in on my shed and items stolen. On that one I learned my "replacement cost" coverage was dependent on me actually replacing everything that was lost. When I questioned the depreciated values they paid my agent sent me a paragraph from the policy with the line highlighted saying I had to replace the item and show them a receipt to get full value.

I also had my boats insured through them and had two different claims where I crashed the lower units on under water obstacles. Both of those claims they weaseled out of paying the full amount quoted for the damages. I still made out on the first one by buying a lower unit and replacing it myself. On the second one they wouldn't buy a whole lower unit when the shop recommended it and I had to have it rebuilt. The only reusable part was the driveshaft. They had to replace the housing and all other internal parts from the damage.

Even though it was a hassle I was made whole in all three instances. It was just an unpleasant experience getting there.

 

[TnAndy]

. On that one I learned my "replacement cost" coverage was dependent on me actually replacing everything that was lost. When I questioned the depreciated values they paid my agent sent me a paragraph from the policy with the line highlighted saying I had to replace the item and show them a receipt to get full value.

Yes...that is what replacement value means...you actually replace it. That is why a replacement home owners policy has a face amount.....that is what they will pay for a total loss in the event you decide NOT to rebuild. But if you do decide to rebuild, or replace your other losses, replacement value is a real deal considering you're getting a new 'whatever' that the cost may have gone up significantly on.

One other caution with this type of policy....a good inventory of contents with photos updated regularly and a good set of photos on your structures to verify what was lost can be very handy in the event OF a loss. My house is quite custom since I built it myself...walls are double 2x4 outside (high R value), kitchen cabinets, doors, moldings are solid oak (I made or built all)...replacement for me does NOT mean they come in with finger jointed painted pine molding for example....nope....replacement is replacement. And to replace my home would cost 30-50% more than what they have as the face value IMHO. And the first thing I'd replace is a lawn chair to watch the rebuild.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Snake Farm and Framers. I don't have anything personal against these. I just hear my friends call them this.

I do know as a matter of fact, that State Farm is RIPE with nepotism at the regional level and head quarters. Mostly due to their policy of moving people around the country (so they allow husbands/wives to work at the big offices).

No matter what brand, you will hear bad mouthing.

 

[two_bit_score]

Insurance claims have changed a lot in the way the major companies handle their claims over the last 10 years. It's all about the Average Cost Per Claim from the company side and Loss Ratio vs Expense Ratio.

From the consumer side how quick do you get your car back with the least amount of hassle and are the repairs done to the professional standards you expect? Does the Insurance Company guarantee the repairs for the life time of your ownership of the vehicle or do they leave it to a shop who may not be in business in 5 years?

On any claim with any company will they quibble with you over every nickel and dime? Some companies are notorious about it.

On liability claims against you are they going to refuse to settle until they et to the door of the courthouse, forcing you into a lawsuit and depositions and maybe even going to trial because they insist on shaving a few $$'s off the settlement? There are some companies that are notorious about that also.

How many complaints have policyholders filed against an insurance company with the state department of insurance? That is on record in most states and you can check.

These are the numbers of 'confirmed' complaints (ruled as justified by the insurance department against the carrier) for auto claims in Texas in 2018.
http://www.helpinsure.com//auto/documents/cpautoci18.pdf


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[GeneV]

Who do you use? What do you pay? How satisfied are you?

I'm thinking it's time for me to shop around my insurance. Would like to know what some of you are using and how it compares.

We are using Farm Bureau and just got another renewal increase on our auto. They went up to $1187 for 6 months on four vehicles that are hardly ever driven and not worth much due to age. I have one with just liability and should probably put them all that way. Both of us are safe drivers with no accidents or tickets. Wife had one little fender scrape in 2017 and besides that we only had one deer claim which isn't supposed to count against us. Nothing else in 30 years past.

Home owners is up to about a grand per year on a home valued at $140,000. That doesn't cover ANY of my equipment.

I heard long ago that you should comparison shop for auto/home insurance every few years because they all entice you with lower rates and then slowing creep them up over the years. I generally found that to be true. I've been with Allstate, Travelers, Farmers, and back to Allstate for the last 7 years (4 in our new house).

Just last month I comparison shopped, tried State Farm and Farmers. They came back with more or less what I'm paying now to Allstate, which tells me Allstate hasn't been ripping me off blind, so I'm staying put.

 

[Jim Nelson]

We had Allstate for 30 years on our different homes and vehicles and were pretty well satisfied with them until we moved from our prior home to the one we are in now. I called our agent to have the new home added to our policy and in the conversation she asked if we were going to sell the old home. I said no we are going to rent it out, to which she said that will require a different policy. I asked what I needed to do to get this done and was told that she would handle it and not to worry. The second renter we had did an incredible amount of damage and when I went to file a claim was told that we were not covered because it wasn't our primary living quarters. I argued that the agent had said she would handle it and she couldn't remember.

When we dropped them they didn't even respond, as though losing a 30 year customer was no big deal.

We went with Farmers and so far it's been ok but the agent is much more involved and keeps us up to date on anything changing. A lot depends on your agent.