Who do you guys have for homeowner's insurance? I'm thinking about switching mine, due to cost ($3k/year).

1/27/2011 10:25:07 AM

http://www.erieinsurance.com/

what kind of coverage do you have?? my policy is $419/year

[Edited on January 27, 2011 at 10:28 AM. Reason : .]

1/27/2011 10:26:14 AM

nationwide is on my side

1/27/2011 10:26:22 AM

traveler's

1/27/2011 10:27:00 AM

amica

1/27/2011 10:53:28 AM

what is the best way to shop for homeowner's insurance? calling up each company and ask for a quote?

1/27/2011 10:54:04 AM

farm bureau for auto and home...I've had several other places compare and they said they can't touch my combined rates

1/27/2011 11:38:32 AM

Quote :

"what kind of coverage do you have?? my policy is $419/year"

I was thinking the same thing. Is your house filled with priceless valuables?

Hell - I have a house, two cars, umbrella and life for almost 1/2 of that.

1/27/2011 11:42:48 AM

my house is water-front, so that's why it cost so much to insure.

1/27/2011 11:49:36 AM

lake or ocean?

1/27/2011 11:53:10 AM

ocean

1/27/2011 11:53:29 AM

Atlantic or Pacific?

1/27/2011 11:55:04 AM

Gulf of Mexico, so I guess Atlantic

1/27/2011 11:58:35 AM

I did a LOT of research when I switched from State Farm due to rate hikes. AMICA insurance is at THE TOP of every independent review/website there is for homeowners and auto.

They may not insure in your area. They are very picky underwriters. You cant have a trampoline, have to state that guns are locked unloaded, etc. I had to answer 4x more questions. But this is to protect current holders of policies from getting unwanted risk to the pool.

1/27/2011 1:11:28 PM

Don't have home owners, but renters and car with Amica. Can't speak for their claim handling as I've never had to use it, but their customer service has been phenomenal and their rates were by far the best when I was shopping for car insurance

1/27/2011 1:56:16 PM

i has liberty mutual......haven't had to use them, but their rate isn't that bad...

1/27/2011 7:19:47 PM

Also have Amica. I shop around a bit every couple of years just to see, but the prices/ coverage/ customer service is really tough to beat.

1/27/2011 7:43:14 PM

3k is probably right for the wind coverage. I know I got sticker shock when our total insurance cost went from the $450 it was in cary to the 2.8k it is here.

1/27/2011 7:54:56 PM

metlife $200/yr thanks to a group rate through my employer

its also cheaper because i don't have to insure the outside structure bc i live in a townhouse but it is classified as a "condo"

1/27/2011 8:02:04 PM

does the amica coverage include your personal belongings with you while you are outside the home? (like taking valuables with you on a trip?)

1/28/2011 1:10:05 AM

NC Farm Bureau

1/28/2011 1:17:26 AM

I've been in the insurance business for about 3 years. Just stay away from all the big name insurance companies (Nationwide, StateFarm, Allstate etc) except maybe Farm Bureau. I would recommend going to an independent agency in your area and get them to shop it out for you. Most of them represent 10+ different companies.

1/28/2011 11:56:12 AM

"does the amica coverage include your personal belongings with you while you are outside the home? (like taking valuables with you on a trip?)"

I dont know, but I will find out if I can find my coverages book. One SUPER nice thing about AMICA that I never had with State Farm... They sent me full policy coverage booklets telling me everything they would and would not cover. I read it cover to cover. Pretty big, but very appreciated.

1/28/2011 2:10:43 PM

farm bureau for auto and home...I've had several other places compare and they said they can't touch my combined rates

1/30/2011 7:13:20 AM

Your rate will vary heavily with the value of your home and the area. Even in Raleigh if someone is quoting their insurance for a $175K home <1 mile from a fire station versus $250k home 3-4 miles from a fire station there will be a difference.

1/30/2011 12:27:29 PM

Bump. I need help on couple questions for real estate/home insurance folks.

Are home insurance premium for properties for rent different than home insurance for the house you live in. To clarify if I have two houses...1 I live and 1 I let rent, do insurance company charge the two premium differently?

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 12:52 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 12:52 AM. Reason : ..]

8/18/2014 12:51:44 AM

DO NOT USE FARM BUREAU

8/18/2014 1:14:17 AM

the one you rent will be an investment property. These typical carry higher rates. I guess it stems from the thinking renters will not take extra care of something they don't own.

8/18/2014 2:36:11 AM

I have several homes, and when State Farm, about 5 years ago, decided to jack up all my rates by about 30%, I switched. I did a lot of research on the 'best' insurance company, and ended up with Amica. They have very strict underwriting policies, and are not easy to be insured by compared to the others, but have very good rates. I am in the process of making my first claim, ever, so I'll let you know how the claims process works.

8/18/2014 9:40:30 AM

I "have" a home with fair market value of $277K with a premium of $1600/year. Is that normal? Be nice I'm new at this.

8/18/2014 10:59:15 AM

Jesus. Mine's less than half that for a value of ~200K.

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 11:12 AM. Reason : ]

8/18/2014 11:12:12 AM

last... That is sky high.

Unless you are in some area of unusually high risk, I would seriously shop around for other coverage.

8/18/2014 12:28:51 PM

Yup. talked to some people at work that they said the same thing.

8/18/2014 12:30:10 PM

You can easily switch, and you'll get a prorated check back. I'd start shopping around. You'll want to overlap your coverage by a day. If you escrow, you'll want to mail the refunded premium back to your mortgage company so you don't have an escrow adjustment on the following year.

8/18/2014 12:45:44 PM

traveler's dumped me (or, rather, didn't renew) after the tornadoes and a claim a few months after i posted

moved to amica and they've been fantastic...lower rate, lower deductible, more coverage...we had to put in a claim over a rusted-out water pipe that ruined our bathroom and they were easy to deal with

8/18/2014 1:14:27 PM

Any of yall have condos with HOA for outside and pay for an HO-6 policy for the inside and if so, any recommendations for coverage...?

8/18/2014 3:47:31 PM

I rent my house so I don't have any experience from the home owner's side, but I do work with a restoration company that fixes houses after you make a claim due to water damage, fire damage, tree on house, etc.

Some of the best ones to work for from my side have been Amica, USAA, and NC Farm Bureau.

Ones that we dread working for include Travelers, Allstate, and Nationwide.

Most are somewhere in the middle

8/18/2014 4:19:03 PM

Given that I haven't ever really shopped around, this thread at least makes me feel better about having home and auto through Amica, which I ended up with mainly because of parental recommendation.

8/18/2014 8:09:37 PM

What are you guys paying for amica?

8/18/2014 8:11:53 PM

$729 for my main home.

8/18/2014 9:29:25 PM

wolfpack0122

How so on the worst? Im with Nationwide and mixed on the claims process (with auto). Havnt had to do home yet.

8/18/2014 10:26:48 PM

Quote :

"Any of yall have condos with HOA for outside and pay for an HO-6 policy for the inside and if so, any recommendations for coverage...?"

yeah, I do. I have Nationwide and I pay $300/year for mine. had to file a claim a few years ago when a laptop got stolen out of the trunk of my car, was no problem. I live a block from the Ashley River, so my rate might be higher than a comparable one that isn't in a flood area.

8/18/2014 10:51:15 PM

^^ They are quite strict on what they allow on their estimates. They essentially believe that the estimating software they use (and most insurances use) is perfect and won't allow for additional "extras" that we usually try to throw in to help both us and the homeowner out. Just for an example off the top of my head, we had to replace a section of subfloor on a job and in addition to the line item of replacing the subfloor, we usually add in extra labor hours for adding additional blocking etc. And tried to get extra hours because the subfloor was nailed, screwed, and glued down so it took longer to demo. But they believe that the $/ft price of the estimating software pretty much covers all cases.

They are also extremely strict on how fast we have to react to a claim and how often we have to update them. Which is good for the homeowner, but creates a very heavy burden on the contractor. A lot of contractors refuse to do Nationwide work because of this.

And it could be a coincidence as I've only had a few large Nationwide jobs, but each one I've had, Nationwide dropped the homeowner afterwards.

8/19/2014 6:07:08 AM