Author Topic: Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips? SOLVED!  (Read 2063 times)

Goldy

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Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips? SOLVED!
« on: March 22, 2019, 12:14:52 PM »
Our homeowners insurance cost has gone up yet again to $2,200 from $950 two years ago so its time to start shopping around.  Do you have any tips or tricks for one stop shopping?  I'd rather not visit each and every insurance website to find the best option. 

Also, are insurance brokers basically the Edward Jones of insurance (higher cost etc etc) or is that a viable option?  I know some people have "an insurance guy" but these people also have "an investment guy" so I am leery. 
« Last Edit: April 10, 2019, 08:04:15 PM by Goldy »

GizmoTX

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips?
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2019, 11:03:02 AM »
An independent agent offers one stop shopping among a variety of companies. We just went this route after years of State Farm.

Bundle your insurance from the same provider for a multi policy discount: home or renters, vehicle, umbrella.

Get the biggest deductible that you can handle & that makes financial sense. You don't want to make a claim for small stuff because it will either increase your future premium or cause the company to dump you. Check what the premium is at each deductible price point; at some point increasing the deductible does not cut your premium enough. Self insure your deductibles.


HipGnosis

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips?
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2019, 11:25:00 AM »
I haven't used it (yet), but I saved https://www.everquote.com/blog/home-insurance/ when I read about it somewhere.

Duke03

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips?
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2019, 11:00:13 AM »
Insurance companies are out for blood right now because of all the huge natural disasters across the country over the last few years.  My insurance has doubled in the last 4 years.  Remember Insurance company's have one the best rackets around.  They will not lose money in the long run.  If they deem they paid out too much in claims they just raise everyone's rates.

ChpBstrd

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips?
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2019, 08:53:04 PM »
First, understand that every quote you get will be an "intro rate" which will be jacked up 10% or more per year. There's no use complaining, they'll just say the cost of claims went up at 4X the rate of inflation. In reality, they know most people won't go through the trouble of shopping. They make their profits on customers who've been with them 5+ years and haven't thought to shop.

The only way to win is to shop for new insurance every 2-4 years to get the intro rate again from a different company.

The downside is that you'll spend about 8 hours each time you shop. The upside is I save $300-500 (in a LCOL area) every time I shop. That's per year! And I shop every 3 years. Imagine how high my rates would be if I stuck with one company! Thousands of dollars are at stake with one of the easiest personal finance hacks imaginable.

To save time, develop a list of information requested by the first broker to offer you a quote. Then copy/paste this info for all subsequent brokers. Expect widely varying quotes.

Second piece of advice: A big emergency fund is a lot cheaper to maintain than low-deductible insurance. Ask for a $5k or $10k deductible on your homeowners policy and save hundreds of dollars per year for self-insuring. The ROI of this simple move is excellent. Plus, even if a hailstorm hits and you eat the entire cost of a new roof from your e-fund, you'll continue saving for years thereafter because you didn't file a claim.

Goldy

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Shopping, any tips? SOLVED!
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2019, 08:03:20 PM »
Well I gave an insurance broker a shot after doing about a dozen quotes myself and the broker came out way ahead of anything I could find.  He was able to find home insurance for $975 (instead of $2200) and also decreased my auto ($580/yr) umbrella and boat insurance.  My total insurance decreased from $3190 down to a much more palatable $1840 with same or better coverage.  Thanks for the tips everyone!