Shopping Homeowners' Insurance?

[LoveBWVVBR]

Well I posted on Facebook and got a word-of-mouth referral to a local agent. I'm working with her now, and she says that my current company is great for condos where I live but not great for single-family homes (which I have). She thinks other companies will be better, and now there really ARE other companies writing where I live! The one thing I wish I had is my renewal. I don't usually get it until July, but I want to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples. I have my policy from last year so I know what I need coverage-wise, but the poster above who got hit with a huge increase in S. Fl out of the blue has me worried!

 

[JandJ]

We're in Florida, too, but luckily not in a flood zone. We were loyal to our national company - renters before homeowners and a jewelry policy, but then all of a sudden they dumped us (they were NOT on our side!). We'd never even had a claim. Anyway, I was lucky enough to meet an independent agent at, of all places, Disney World! I didn't need their services at the time, but took their card and about a year later when we were dumped I called them and they got us a non-state policy. It's gone up a small amount each year, nothing huge and it's much cheaper than the state company. Before I remembered I had their card I called all over to local brokers from the "big" companies but no one would write a homeowner's policy.

If you have found a broker you like who can find you a good policy that's awesome and I wish you good luck

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

There are a lot of companies in fla that will write at diff times of year, in different areas, ...We have had Tower Hill for 3 yrs(this is 4th) and they can be tough to get accepted. My good friend and I (also neighbor) came up with long lists of companies from google search. She got a renewal notice from her co thatwas about a 30% increase and just started calling around to the direct co. She had her coverage in front of her, gave them her info and they came back with rates all over the place. She went with one that was about the same price as prior year.

Some of the companies wont write during hurricane season so you can always reshop in the winter .

 

[usd2bmd]

A lot of Florida Insurance companies are trying to stay profitable. Most of the "big name" companies are actually split from their counterparts as a way of minimizing loss to the company as a whole. Hurricane Andrew (way back) was the devastating to the state and bankrupt a lot of companies.

2004 was a bad year for storms as well. It is an unfortunate spot to be in to want to shop around but have extremely limited choices. I wish you good luck in your search.

 

[msmama]

I don't think it counts against you if you call to ask questions about your policy. At least, if it did, THAT would be a reason for me to change insurance companies.

Just posted this in the auto insurance thread, but I called for a random question and while on the phone they wanted to make sure that everything was correct. There were a few things that weren't (for instance, having an alarm system, having fences, some other minor things that I never would have thought of) so by checking to make sure everything was correct and up to date, my premium dropped by about $400.

I'm in NY (hard hit by Sandy) with an inground oil tank so there are about 2 insurance companies out there that will even look in my direction so I feel your pain.

I used USAA as an agent (my insurance isn't through them, but they helped me find it)

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We're in Florida, too, and have Tower Hill Insurance. So far, so good, knock on wood!

Our house is valued at something like $275k, 2700 sf plus a Florida room (400 sf) and I think our rate for last year was something like $1800. We're a bit inland, not directly on the coast.

At our previous house, we had Allstate for years, till they dumped us after the bad hurricane season in 2004. We had a couple of other small companies, but when we moved to our current home in 2010, I tried a new agent recommended to me by our mortgage officer and got a pretty good rate. We started out around $1400-1500 that year and it's gone up about $100 or so per year, which is not unexpected. I haven't bothered to shop around, figuring it's not easy to find coverage in Florida, but if our next renewal is much higher, maybe I will.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

So far the best quote is $1300 less than what we have, complete apples-to-apples comparison I'm checking with another agent tomorrow to see if she might write for different companies. Why I didn't do this years ago is beyond me. I was so convinced that hardly any companies wrote out here...don't know when that changed, but glad it did I'll be checking annually from now on.

 

[MillauFr]

These companies have ZERO loyalty to homeonwers...it works both ways.

Agree. The companies have zero loyalty. Always shop for the best combination of low rates and good service.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Agree. The companies have zero loyalty. Always shop for the best combination of low rates and good service.

My new agent says that it needs to be shopped annually as there is just a lot of fluctuation even in individual companies in any given year.

As it worked out, there are only 3 companies that write where I live (I'm one block from the open Atlantic on a barrier island). However, that third company is saving us $1300 this year! I'll take it! Shopping this annually or maybe even every 6 months will be my new norm as long as companies keep writing out here (some areas can only get the state insurer of last resort).