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Underdog

Home Owner's Insurance Policy

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Thinking of changing up my policy that I have had for a long time.  Keeps going up, and no longer personal.  Does anybody have any strong feelings or negative feelings about their policies that should be a consideration?   

 

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The past few years we've been using an insurance broker. I thought it would only raise my costs compared to buying directly but he can comparison shop a few companies and so far I've been happy with the coverage and premiums. Might be worth a try, it certainly feels more personal

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I have New Jersey Manufacturers for homeowners. They're a bit picky when you sign up. They send an adjuster to inspect your property and will note things that must be repaired before they will issue a policy. 

In my case a few minor repairs I probably should have done in the first place.

I've had to file several weather related claims and never waited more than 10 days for a check. 

They also offer a replacement cost rider which I have used. A large branch fell on my 10 year old  Weber. Value was $200 replacement was $900. I bought a new one sent them a copy of the receipt and was reimbursed the difference in less than a week.

If you can get the auto insurance there is a discount if you have both.

They're one of the only things I will miss about NJ when I finally leave.

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6 hours ago, Shocker said:

The past few years we've been using an insurance broker. I thought it would only raise my costs compared to buying directly but he can comparison shop a few companies and so far I've been happy with the coverage and premiums. Might be worth a try, it certainly feels more personal

this might be a good idea. I use a broker for my shopkeepers insurance.....

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9 hours ago, Underdog said:

Thinking of changing up my policy that I have had for a long time.  Keeps going up, and no longer personal.  Does anybody have any strong feelings or negative feelings about their policies that should be a consideration?     

I've always tried to buy locally and have a relationship with the agent, just in case. But, I've experienced the same thing, the first year, they are competitive, then the next year, they go to screw you (and this is without ever filing a claim). It's always the same answer, "I have no control on the renewal pricing". I know dealing with most insurance companies is a pain...

So now, I just do a quick shop around for price at renewal time, loyality doesn't seem to exist with local agents anymore. I'm with Geico for Homeowners, Auto and RV.

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I used to have state farm via an agent. They were screwing me on auto so I moved all policies from them. I went to NJM. Saved about 6 bucks a year on homeowners, but got an extra $50k of coverage. In theory they sent an adjuster around when I moved the policy, but I never saw them and they didn't make me change or fix anything. Also my State Farm homeowners wasn't really going up by any real amount. About $60 in 8 years. 

I think shopping around is good. However having discussed this with lots of people and having read up on practices, there's a few things that affect long term outcome. 

1) Most businesses that have you pay for ongoing service from their business will seek to maximize their revenue from their existing customer base. At this point they ALL use third party services to evaluate how likely a given customer is to leave or stay. If you get flagged as likely to leave easily, they will generally tend to turn the screws a bit less and a bit less rapidly on you. If you are flagged as unlikely to leave, you will get FUBAR. 

2) If you respond to an ad, you will be flagged as having been acquired by an ad, and generally, that means they will expect to recover acquisition costs sooner rather than later because you are clearly attached to acquisition costs, and you are likely to leave when approached with other ads. 

3) The more niche you insurance, the quicker they seem to mess with you. i.e. the guys with boats and motorcycles got screwed more sooner. 

 

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