What are the odds? (Home/auto ins. related)

[Disneefun]

Apologies in advance that this ended up being longer than I thought...

I got my car ins. renewal bill the other day and was shocked at how high it went. And this was with no tickets or accidents -- ever. So I started shopping and found I can save $400/year with another carrier. That's not a small amount of money.

The only wrinkle is that our homeowner's ins. is with the same company that now has our auto ins. Even if we lose the multi-policy discount, that policy is still a great deal compared to anything else I can find.

Now for the question. I've heard horror stories (granted, just a few, but still) of people "unbundling" their auto from their homeowners and then having the company turn around and drop the homeowners policy, too, when it came up for renewal.

I know that companies are looking for "excuses" to drop homeowners ins. in a lot of places, and when you hear these stories, you never know whether the person had a lot of claims or not that also led to the dropping. So you never know 100% what is going on. Still, I worry. (We've never filed in 20 years and while we live on the southern east coast, it's inland, not on the coast. Hurricane damage isn't unheard of here, but it's very rare so I don't think we're considered a high risk area.)

The savings on auto isn't worth it if we'll lose the great deal we have on homeowners. At best we'd just end up breaking even (after a lot of hassle spent switching everything) and at worst we'd end up behind. Even though we could save a lot of money, I'm a bit scared to touch anything for fear of triggering them to drop the homeowner's policy.

Has anyone else heard such horror stories or had a similar experience? Do you think I should take the risk or leave it alone? (And yes, we've called the company we're currently with to ask if they could lower our rate, but no go.) Anyone have an experiences to share? Thoughts?

I know no one here can know for sure or give foolproof advice and I'm not looking for a definitive answer, but I'm just trying to get a feel for how widespread this dropping mania might be.

 

[amcnj]

So the new auto company does not also offer homeowner's insurance? You have checked with your current company and verified the amount of discount you would lose by unbundling? Have you asked them if dropping your auto policy would affect your homeowner's relationship? Have you also shopped for homeowner's and that is why you are saying your current policy is a good deal? I have only changed both types of coverage at the same time, but because each type was less expensive with the new carrier. I would never have thought that dropping just one line would affect anything other than the multi-policy discount. I am interested in hearing if anyone has had problems when dropping one type of coverage with a company.

 

[Disneefun]

So the new auto company does not also offer homeowner's insurance? You have checked with your current company and verified the amount of discount you would lose by unbundling? Have you asked them if dropping your auto policy would affect your homeowner's relationship? Have you also shopped for homeowner's and that is why you are saying your current policy is a good deal? I have only changed both types of coverage at the same time, but because each type was less expensive with the new carrier. I would never have thought that dropping just one line would affect anything other than the multi-policy discount. I am interested in hearing if anyone has had problems when dropping one type of coverage with a company.

1. Yes, the new company offers homeowners, but for $300 more than what we pay, for less coverage. I shopped several other carriers and all want more for homeowners than what we have now.

2. Yes, I know we would lose the discount for unbundling, but it's only $30, which still means we're paying a lot less for homeowners than I would with any other company.

3. Yes, we asked and they said no, but I know what such promises are worth. To me, that only means they won't drop me tomorrow, but who knows what might happen when the policy comes up for renewal in six months.

4. We save only by moving auto but keeping the homeowners with the current company. Moving both means only breaking even, or even losing money. So if unbundling is going to cause a problem, I'm better off sucking it up and staying where I am.

 

[scrapquitler]

Apologies in advance that this ended up being longer than I thought...

I got my car ins. renewal bill the other day and was shocked at how high it went. And this was with no tickets or accidents -- ever. So I started shopping and found I can save $400/year with another carrier. That's not a small amount of money.

The only wrinkle is that our homeowner's ins. is with the same company that now has our auto ins. Even if we lose the multi-policy discount, that policy is still a great deal compared to anything else I can find.

Now for the question. I've heard horror stories (granted, just a few, but still) of people "unbundling" their auto from their homeowners and then having the company turn around and drop the homeowners policy, too, when it came up for renewal.

I know that companies are looking for "excuses" to drop homeowners ins. in a lot of places, and when you hear these stories, you never know whether the person had a lot of claims or not that also led to the dropping. So you never know 100% what is going on. Still, I worry. (We've never filed in 20 years and while we live on the southern east coast, it's inland, not on the coast. Hurricane damage isn't unheard of here, but it's very rare so I don't think we're considered a high risk area.)

The savings on auto isn't worth it if we'll lose the great deal we have on homeowners. At best we'd just end up breaking even (after a lot of hassle spent switching everything) and at worst we'd end up behind. Even though we could save a lot of money, I'm a bit scared to touch anything for fear of triggering them to drop the homeowner's policy.

Has anyone else heard such horror stories or had a similar experience? Do you think I should take the risk or leave it alone? (And yes, we've called the company we're currently with to ask if they could lower our rate, but no go.) Anyone have an experiences to share? Thoughts?

I know no one here can know for sure or give foolproof advice and I'm not looking for a definitive answer, but I'm just trying to get a feel for how widespread this dropping mania might be.

Do you have an umbrella policy? To me, the main disadvantage of unbundling the two policies would be losing the ability to purchase an Umbrella Policy. I'd be nervous not having one, but maybe that's just me.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

When you priced the new company, did you ask about multi-policy discounts there too?

We just went through this. Auto was less than half what we were paying. Homeowners with the new company was about a break even. But when we figured in the multi-policy discount, it did actually come out to a small savings. So a huge savings on one, much smaller savings on the other, and they're both still through the same company.

 

[Disneefun]

When you priced the new company, did you ask about multi-policy discounts there too?

We just went through this. Auto was less than half what we were paying. Homeowners with the new company was about a break even. But when we figured in the multi-policy discount, it did actually come out to a small savings. So a huge savings on one, much smaller savings on the other, and they're both still through the same company.

Yes, we asked. The thing is, our current homeowner's is $300 - 900 less (depending on the company) than any other company. The multi-policy discounts just aren't enough to overcome that sort of difference.

 

[mikehn]

We've never bundled policies. Never heard of a company dropping you just because you are not bundled.

 

[Gina]

I had mine bundled, but switched my auto to another carrier over a year ago. Going through our work-related credit union made the auto rates nearly *half* of what I was paying before, even with the multiline discounts on both auto and home. Huge, giant difference. Unfortunately, the auto carrier doesn't write homeowner policies for where I live, because I would love to save that much on my homeowners also!!

Both my policies with the two different companies renewed in May and August, and I had no problems whatsoever.

 

[cjnix29]

I feel your pain! I just had to do this as my auto insurance went up over $600 a year, with no changes and no claims! We had been with the company for over 10 years, although that doesn't seem to matter anymore. I ended up switching everything. My homeowners went up a little, but not enough to compensate for what my auto went down! Shopping for insurance is such a pain. I agonize over it too. Can't offer any real insight, but just wish you luck!

 

[kymom99]

I don't know, but I can't understand why they would drop a customer in good standing. Heck, what if you didn't have a car anymore?

 

[angierae]

We had our homeowner's and my car insurance with State Farm. I had been with them since 2000 or so without a claim when I totaled my car in April of 2009. I wasn't ticketed, but that August when I came up for a policy renewal, my rates went from $80 per month to $160 per month.

My husband and I had never combined our insurance policies when we got married, but he called Progressive to see what it would cost to add my car to his policy. They only wanted $80/month. My accident didn't matter to them, because I had not been ticketed.

We left our homeowner's with State Farm, and that's where it's at to this day. They've never given us any noise about dropping us.