How to find the best deals on insurance?

[rugorak]

So not too long ago (Augest) MMM mentioned he had helped someone find ways to save money on their insurance. But didn't say exactly how one should go about that? Other than phone calls and online. So that is what I am looking for. Specifically home owners, landlord, and car insurance.

While I think we are doing fairly well I am not sure we have the best deal. Currently everything is through GEICO or their partners (since they don't directly do home owners/landlord insurance in my state). Some coworkers in the same position have said an agent helped them get the best package. We have always shopped ourselves.

So what would the crowd here recommend? We do care about coverage, not just cost. So for example I know we could get slightly cheaper car insurance. But it would be with a crappy company that would make us go through hell before paying us a dime. I've had some claims with GEICO over the past decade plus and they were always good to deal with. Never had too much red tape. Home owners we haven't had anything but the company has dog breed restrictions. Not an issue for us at the moment but as we are involved with a shelter and our dogs are older it isn't impossible that at some point far in the future we may want to adopt a dog that may run afoul of their restrictions. Especially since most shelter pups are mutts of unknown breeds.

Thanks in advance!

[AMandM]

We are also currently with GEICO for both auto and home insurance. At the suggestion of a friend, we recently got quotes from policygenius.com (an online broker) for equivalent coverage. They found us several better deals, including one that is $2000/year lower!  I could hardly believe it--I read through all the coverage details, believe me!

They are brokers, so they get paid by the insurance companies. They don't deal with all companies (e.g. they don't write with Erie, which was also recommended by another friend), but they do include at least some of the big names, if that matters to you.

[Ready2Save27]

Going through insurance changes now, and one thing I would recommend is calling every company you are considering. The online quotes do not take into account all available discounts. Online Geico quoted me over $1,000 more for the same coverage than when I called. And don’t be afraid to ask if other discounts are available than what they bring up.

You can also do a defensive driving course online for auto insurance. It’s $20 and 6 hours, good for 3 years, but saves you around 5% for those 3 years. Depending on what you pay, this may be worthwhile.

[Buffaloski Boris]

Insurance seems to be very state/area specific.  In some places the well-known, national insurers are a really good deal.  For me, they simply haven't been.  I'm going with regional or state specific carriers and getting a much better deal. 

[kpd905]

We are also currently with GEICO for both auto and home insurance. At the suggestion of a friend, we recently got quotes from policygenius.com (an online broker) for equivalent coverage. They found us several better deals, including one that is $2000/year lower!

Whoa, what were your rates, and what are they now?  Our combined auto and home with Geico is around $1300.