homeowners insurance

That's some good advice , I had Liberty Mutual auto for years daughters totaled a couple of cars didn't raise the rates after a while the rates started creeping up 7 - 10 % every year , my daughters got their own policies my son turned 25 no tickets or accidents , but it kept going up . So I went to see my local agent , that got us the Homeowner policy with Travelers , well she saved me $3400 a year for the same coverage . Call Liberty to cancel , they don't want that to happen , so they start crunching numbers wow we can save you $3200 a year off my policy Really NO Thanks . You've been F'ing the chit out'a me for how many years My bad for not doing this sooner , bottom line review your insurance and shop around .

 

Yep, been there done that. Dad had Geico more than a decade, I suggested that we reshop. Found a better policy, more coverage, $1200 / year less. Guess who? If you said Geico, you win!

I was tempted to move to another insurer, but I decided that would be shooting myself (my Dad actually) in the foot.

They have algorithms which estimate how likely you are to leave their fold. If you are considered "unlikely," you will pay more than the equal risk "likely." Prove them wrong, move to the "likely" category, and you will get a better price. You do that by reshopping regularly.

Greg

 

I did not know that thanks for the insight

 

I have USAA for both my house and auto insurance. I've been with them since I turned 18. I didn't serve, but my dad was a Navy man, so that was my 'in'.

When I got my place up north a couple years back I called USAA and was told that they won't write new homeowners policies in Michigan unless the policy holder was active duty military at some point. I respect that as I shouldn't get the same benefits as someone who served, but it still seemed a bit odd. They'll still handle my auto insurance, existing homeowners policy and other needs, just not a new homeowners policy.

I ended up with Farm Bureau up north. I've been happy with them.

For the record, both places are far enough away from hydrants that the basement savers (AKA fire department) wouldn't have much to do by the time they arrive.

 

I would guess a DD 214. Also known as discharge papers.

 

I was on my parents policy and moved to my own policy at 18. That was a long time ago and I'm not sure what their non military membership requirements are these days. I believe if I were to leave USAA that I wouldn't be able to come back as I personally have no military record.

 

Warning: This is a rant about our terrible experience with State Farm. We moved to Selective and they've been great. Skip this if you don't want to read the rant.

Had State Farm for over 20 years for almost everything - Home, cars, life, wife's disability insurance, much more. Had only one minor fender bender claim for wife's car in that whole time, well over 10 years ago. Went in for annual "insurance reviews" every year, which somehow never saved us anything but often resulted in us needing to buy something else. Kept getting notice after notice of things that were no longer covered, too, despite being part of original policy purchased. Thousands upon thousands out every year, pure profit to them and nice commissions for agent. And then...

Finally had some water damage to yard and very minor amount of that entered basement after a neighbor diverted water (massive amounts) onto our property. Called up agent to ask them to inspect, see if anything was covered, etc.. Agent - who collected over 20 years of commissions, remember - was less help than a stranger. Told me nothing would be covered over phone and fought me on even getting inspector out to file a report, which might have been helpful even if no coverage, as it would have documented damage. Finally connected me with the claims department, who took their sweet time, gave us runaround in scheduling, etc. We finally told them to forget it, took care of it ourselves as we needed to get the repairs done, and went to the brokerage that handles our business coverages.

They hooked us up with Selective, who saved us a few bucks. I had a minor fender bender last year (other driver cited) and Selective was awesome. Everything just handled with a phone call, and they worked it out with the other driver's insurer. Awesome service.

So, we still have some life and DI with State Farm as we bought the policies years ago and it probably makes no sense to change due to age, etc. But would I buy more from them? NOT A PENNY! The agent was just plain lazy, but the claims group was just as bad. Worst treatment of a 20+ year, highly profitable customer, I could imagine.

Oh, by the way, Selective wanted to know that the stoves were professionally installed, and said they might come out to inspect but never did. Had to explain that they were pellet, not wood stoves, and as I recall little or no premium change. Guess I could have just said that, but I want people to know about our terrible State Farm experience, so they can consider it as part of their decision. Just lousy, lousy service and no recognition of two decades of forking over money with almost nothing but profit for them. It's been at least two years now, and I'm still steamed every time I think about that company.

 

USAA I understand now will insure all military whereas before it was only officers and such. I have had USAA since 1988 and started with auto insurance only. They have been wonderful and the best coverage and cheapest all along.

They will cover previously insured as dependents of military if they were already insured thru a family policy but in order to get USAA someone has to qualify which used to be just military officers but more recently they will now cover anyone that is in the military.

If you cancel or they cancel, you will likely not be able to re-insure with them unless you did serve and meet their requirements. I believe they are including enlisted folks now as the requirements for being accepted into any branch of the service has more stringent requirements than what they used to be back when.

I do not think anyone that had a family member that served is eligible for coverage with them unless they were covered previously by a parent that qualified. Hope this helps answering questions some have above. You can always call USAA for answers and possibilities and to see if there is a way to become insured by them. They were and likely still are pretty selective about who they will insure. The # is 1-800-531-6388.

Hands down they are the best deals on any insurance out there for anything they cover. I have had other insurance companies for business etc; and they all suck to a large degree. USAA would not write business policies nor insure certain things like motorcycles. Not sure they haven't changed some stuff but I also like to separate some things for obvious reasons. For home, auto, etc; they are impossible to beat though.

 

I use a small local insurer who has a bevy of agents who write their policies... good rates but they won't let me have my stove in my shop even though I have a wall separating the 1/3 that's used for auto repairs from the shop section where I work on my fabricating and engine building stuff. Never have any flammables in the heated side except for aerosol cans. To comply with their standards I pull the horizontal vent out of the wall and cover it with a small patch of plywood. Then I stack boxes in front of the stove so it's pretty much invisible... when the inspector came around two years ago he never said anything about the stove.

 

I notice that in northern Ohio many home owners have dug ponds on their property to have a ready source of water for the fire fighters in case of a fire... good idea.

 

Why not research the legality of having a stove in a separated room and then educate the insurance agent with that info? Believe it or not, I had to do the same thing with class A vent pipe. Insurance company's form asked if the stove was vented with metal pipe and from there on it just kicked out the ability to insure. I explained to them the difference between class A and single wall metal pipe but it fell on deaf ears. Even went so far as submitting the technical data sheets for class A! It wasn't until I finally got a rep of the class A company to sent a personal letter of compliance which I forwarded to the insurance company that they were satisfied. The rep laughed and said I get this at least once a year....