Homeowners Insurace Recommendations

[dfchelbay]

Can anyone recommend a homeowners insurance company. I have GMAC and they are no longer working with my past underwriter. The underwriters they are using now (Safeco) gave me a quote for the next 12 months and it's $1704 MORE than I'm already paying per year. Can anyone recommend a decent homeowners insurance company they have had good relations with, and also tell me which ones to avoid. Thanks

 

[katrina1122]

Our insurance is with AAA. We've found their rates to be great and we've had a few major claims with them....massive basement flooding (18 inches) a few years ago and loss of roof portion on house and garage, fence and interior water damage from Hurricane Sandy. They've been OUTSTANDING both times and did not raise our rates either time.

they even paid to have our cats boarded and put us in a hotel during damage fixes post Sandy.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We have always had USAA; no problems. You have to have a military affiliation however.

 

[StephMK]

We just switched to Liberty Mutual last Dec. and unfortunately had our first HO claim in April for hail damage. They've been great for claims handling - the adjuster totaled our roof & gutters and we got a check shortly after for the repairs. Most around here are getting new roofs but a few neighbors have had issues w/carriers only repairing damage. He went all through our property and found a few minor issues that we hadn't even noticed from the storm.

I can't speak to how our rates will change but we are replacing a wood shake roof w/asphalt shingles and we've been told our insurance will go down. At least until they adjust all renewals for claims, I'm sure.

 

[thunderbug548]

We are using Tower Hill here in FL. I saw them recommended on the DIS a while ago. There aren't a whole lot of options anymore for us though without paying out the you-know-what.

 

[CourtneyL]

We have home, auto, and life insurance through Amica. They had the best rates for us. Amica was recommended by a co-worker who has been with them for 20+ years and has been very satisfied. Best part is that it is a mutual company, so at the end of the year we get a refund check.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

We have American Family for our home for about 8 years. They are great on claims and they offer a $1,000,000 liability because we have a pool. We looked around and noone could come close to what we have. They all said stay where you are.

 

[JandJ]

As a PP said, there aren't many options for Floridians. My parents had Liberty Mutual and they were really good, but they're not writing new policies in Florida. When DH and I bought our house we had Nationwide but they dropped us a few years ago and it's my understanding they aren't writing new policies in Florida.

We've had Universal Property and Casualty for the last 3 years. Our rates have gone up a few hundred dollars every year, but they're still cheaper than Citizens, which is pretty much the insurer of last resort for Florida. Universal was in the local news recently for not paying out in a timely manner and they were fined by the state. Fortunately, we have not had a claim (knock on wood) so I can't comment on that. I like that you can get an actual person on the phone and everyone I've spoken with is very nice and knowledgeable.

 

[dfchelbay]

Thanks for all your responses. I know what I'll be doing for the next couple days...researching and finding a new carrier. I'd never heard of a few of these companies, so I'll be looking into them as well. Thanks everyone, you always come through with the info.

 

[DVC-Don]

I had Tower Hill for our Florida home, but they canceled me a couple of years ago. Their reason was their inspector found cracks in our home that indicated a sink hole. They even sent me pictures of the cracks. I was in NY at the time so my broker there found us Florida Family for coverage. The next time I was at the Florida house I looked for the cracks in the photos but could not find any. I called Tower Hill and they discovered the inspector looked at the wrong house!!!

The big national companies do not sell homeowners insurance in Florida. I see you are in the Miami area so you can discount the replies from other states.

 

[njmom76]

We have Amica as well. Had a large claim last year and we had our check within a week of the estimate being done. We have since had issues with the contractor and our adjuster is helping us work through those issues.

 

[LJSquishy]

We have Safeco so I guess I'm no help! LOL We use them for auto insurance as well and our rates have always been low. I guess it just varies?

 

[Theaberdeenkid]

Just went through a relocation and had to get new home, auto, umbrella.
Did a lot of research and went with Erie

http://www.erieinsurance.com/

 

[gracie1]

I have State Farm. I do a package deal with auto and homeowner and they give a discount. Not sure if they have that in your area though.

 

[shell8558]

I just went through the same thing . Safeco replaced our existing homeowners and the new quote I got was almost 2000.00 more a year! When I called to check , I was told that they quoted me the most expensive plan they had. Regardless - I switched to ASI - it's owned by progressive. The new plan is saving me over 1000.00 from what I paid last year and The new plan includes a hurricane deductible of 1000.00 instead of the normal 2%.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We have Liberty Mutual and are switching to Grange.
Our rates have doubled in the past 2 years after a claim of $1,700 from a lightning strike/hail. They paid $1200 after deductible but our rates have gone up $1400 since. We also have multiple stains from roof leaks but our adjuster states there is no issue, our home is the only one within a 20 home radius without a new roof from the hail.

If you live in an area Erie Insurance covers, they are fantastic. They do not write policies in KY though.