Author Topic: Shopping Insurance  (Read 2776 times)

This Wife's Life

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Shopping Insurance
« on: January 29, 2016, 10:10:58 AM »
Our insurance for cars, home and rentals has gone up over the past few years. We are looking to shop around...but does anyone know of a website where I can compare insurance rates across all (or several) companies?

sisto

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Re: Shopping Insurance
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2016, 12:03:44 PM »
I just used compare.com, but I hated it. Honestly you are probably better off having a broker look into several options for you. I am still trying to get better auto insurance and thought I'd use the app and see, but I was not impressed at all. I only got 1 actual quote and then several companies that showed up saying no quote given. Then I immediately received a phone call from a company that was willing to help me out if I provided them all the info I had already taken the time to put into the website. Um, no thanks. Last year I did unbundle home and auto because USAA gave me an amazing quote on homeowners, but they were way higher than Allstate for my auto. Good luck with this, it's definitely worth it to shop around.

TomTX

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Re: Shopping Insurance
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2016, 09:07:06 AM »
I've got a great broker if you're in Texas (send a PM if you want contact info). I've never found an online aggregator that can beat him, though they have come up the same from time to time. Been with the guy for close to 20 years.

This Wife's Life

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Re: Shopping Insurance
« Reply #3 on: January 31, 2016, 07:36:32 PM »
Thank you both for your feedback! I was afraid this was going to be a hassle...probably the reason people don't switch.

Rosy

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Re: Shopping Insurance
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2016, 09:48:51 AM »
The easiest thing is usually to find a good Independent Insurance Agent ie Broker - you give them your current coverage, ask for recommendations and he'll come back with the best quote for you. He'll get the policy issued and he'll be your contact in the future.
Looking on line drives you insane, I looked, because my car insurance went up.

On line, Progressive was the only one that was relatively painless and gave me options and recommendations on coverage in plain speak. They were actually the same as my current carrier - but I could save $49 or $98 annually if I paid it in full every six months. So now I am wondering if I could be doing the same with my existing insurer - duh.
State Farm on line quote process had me spitting nails and I'm not crazy about calling them.

The thing is, some of the big insurers will not work with an Independent Agent, so it does pay on occasion to at least get one quote from a place like Geico.

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with my current carrier (Geico) - I can take their driver safety course on line and drop $37, changed deductible on PIP and voila - SAVINGS $53 OR $106 annually - WIN:) and I can leave it on monthly payments.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2016, 11:27:51 AM by Rosy »

misshathaway

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Re: Shopping Insurance
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2016, 06:58:11 AM »
Glad things worked out for you. Last month I switched in to GEICO from Liberty Mutual for car and umbrella and saved 50%! on car and a little on umbrella.

A note to future readers on homeowners - I just barely dodged a bullet on that. I was going to switch to their homeowners too, but it's subcontracted out to another insurer. The guy selling it to me from GEICO sort of danced around this and never actually mentioned the carrier's name. Then he kept calling me to pressure me in to buying. I actually did pay for it b/c it was also about 50% cheaper than Liberty. But something didn't sit right so I called up to find out the carrier and went online to see what the reviews were like. There were tons of 1 star reviews with the same theme. After the homeowner switched over to the new carrier (not going to say which one but it serves New England) the carrier would have an inspection and ask for costly repairs, usually roof. If the homeowner said no, they would either cancel or raise the rate a lot. The homeowner was over a barrel at this point. Most of these people had just purchased the house and had already gone through inspection.

I cancelled the next day and was able to get my money back. Still with Liberty for homeowners. Be warned.