Homeowners Insurance

L

Lolly

Member
Location
Chicago Area
We just received our annual renewal notice from our Homeowners insurance company.. It's higher than I expected so I have been getting quotes from other companies. So far.. it's between Allstate and State Farm.. anyone prefer one or the other? Any other recommendations for good companies. I prefer to stay with the larger companies so no "Joe's low cost Insurance" please..
 

Do you ever read your insurance policy at all? Are you over insured? For instance what is the minimum amount that you can cover your possessions with in the unlikely event of a total loss. This is for contents.

Here in Canada my minimum coverage for furniture, etc., in my apartment is $30,000. The government has just come in with a plan that changes that. I'm going to lower it to about $10,000. I'm sure I can replace everything for that amount.

Also. Is your automobile insurance included in your homeowners policy?

Automobile insurance is a real scam in my opinion. For instance, you buy a new vehicle and you pay insurance on the full value every year.

But lets say you are in a collision and the vehicle is totalled. You don't get the full value. They give you the book value. So why not adjust the premiums every year accordingly?

What I do now is have someone knowledgeable read my insurance policy because in truth most people are not familiar with the terms or know what they mean.

Read the policy yourself. Then give it to someone else to read. Someone like a college graduate who has nothing to do in his or her spare time.

Then go and sit down with your insurance company and ask for a better deal.
 
Get a quote from AARP if you are a member. I cut my car insurance premium in half with them for same exact coverage.
 

It's more important to understand your policy and what you are covered for.

Nothing like a surprise when you have water damage and find out it's not covered in your policy.

Limited protection. Check it out. Water damage now causes more problems than fire and smoke at least in my neck of the woods.
 
Years ago, State Farm and Allstate both tried to get out of offering homeowners policies in Florida because of the hurricanes. The state told them that they could stop offering homeowners policies but that they would also be banned from offering auto policies in that case. That changed their tune dramatically.

When my homeowners policy was dropped because that company left the state of Florida, I tried both State Farm and Allstate for a policy. State Farm was servicing present policy holders but was not offering new ones and Allstate wouldn't insure me because my house was valued under $100,000. I had to go into a state "pool" for insurance and ended up with some company out of New Hampshire. They then tried to cancel my insurance because there was a city-owned tree on city-owned property that "might" fall on my house one day. Nothing wrong with the tree, mind you, but it "might" fall. They didn't mention anything about a comet that "might" fall on my house or that Godzilla "might" rampage through Orlando, but I'm sure their actuaries had those circumstances on a list somewhere. Getting the city to trim the tree and the mention of getting a lawyer seemed to make them back down on the threat. They also tried to make me get flood insurance, but since my house was the highest point in the neighborhood with three roads running down from my lot, I wasn't buying that. If I had to worry about water coming into my house in that neighborhood, I had more to worry about than the flood; I'd need to start building an ark.

You do have to remember, though, that insurance companies don't exist for your advantage......they're in it to make $$$$$.
 
Don't overlook some of the smaller companies in your search. When we moved to the country, we checked into all the "big names", and then someone told us about a small, local area insurance company that has been in business in this rural area for 135 years. Their quote was substantially less than the Major brands, and the one time we had to use their service, over some storm damage to the roof, they were great.
 
This is the first year I have not carried flood insurance because of the cost. I am 22 feet above sea level and not in a flood plain, my daughter is 16 feet above sea level and closer to Galveston than I am. My policy was going to cost twice the amount of hers and she has a large house and I have a small condo. So I decided to take my chances this hurricane season. But I will be worried everytime there is something out in the Gulf!
 

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