Need insurance company recommendations (and suggestions for switching)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Here’s the deal: We’ve been with the same insurance company for our homeowner’s and vehicle insurance for many years, and recently added an umbrella liability policy. I don’t love the company and don’t hate it–they are what they are, and we’ve never had any problems with them. (I won’t name them, but they have a representative named “Jake” who wears khakis. :slight_smile: )

Recently, the spouse had minor damage to his car (somebody sideswiped the back panel) and needed to get it fixed. As it turned out, we didn’t have rental-car coverage on the policy, but they still got us a much better rate than we’d have paid normally.

However, the car took a lot longer to fix than expected, because the insurance company kept dragging their feet on sending an inspector out, and then there was some issue about where the parts were coming from and what they’d pay for, and it just ended up being a big annoyance. It took two weeks for a minor repair, so we had to pay for a rental car for all that time.

None of this particularly bothers me, to be honest, but the spouse is pissed about it. He wants to change insurance companies, and I can’t budge him on it. I waited a while hoping he’d cool off, but he’s still adamant about it. He doesn’t usually get this sticky about things, so I told him I’d look into it. Probably wouldn’t hurt to see if we can get a lower rate anyway, but I still want a solid, reliable company.

So…I’d like recommendations for insurance companies that are good, reliable, and you’ve had good experiences with. I’ve heard AAA is good, and apparently they do homeowner’s insurance, too. Is it worth it to join the AARP and try to get something through them? (We’re eligible but haven’t joined yet). Are there any gotchas I should know, especially about changing homeowner’s insurance (I don’t want to have to get home inspections, etc. - I can probably convince the spouse to keep the homeowner’s where it is if it’s a hassle, but I know you get rate discounts if you have everything in one place).

Anyway, thoughts appreciated! Thanks!

2

Any insurance company is going to do an inspection on your home. It shouldn’t require entering your house though. They just stop by and take a few pictures and make sure you have railings on your porch and that your roof is in decent condition, that the house actually exists, etc. Your agent (if you have one) will ask you when things like electrical were upgraded.

Any company that writes both auto and home is going to want both your policies and any company worth its salt will give you a discount for having both. Also, any company that writes you an umbrella policy is going to want the underlying auto and homeowners policies to be written with them so they can make sure the underlying coverage is in force at all times. I’d go to an independent insurance agent and have them do quotes for several companies and also go to the big direct writers like Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, etc. You probably have large regional direct writers in your geographic area, too.

I’m surprised State Farm sent out an adjuster for what sounds like such a minor claim. I’d look for a company that’s up to speed on you submitting pictures of minor damage yourself. Now that you know rental reimbursement isn’t included on every policy you’ll obviously want to verify that (and emergency roadside assistance). And, since it seems like it might be important to your husband, find out what their policy is on replacement parts. Many companies have it in your policy that they can use after market parts rather than OEM. For homeowners you might want to think about things the company will help you do to prevent losses. I know of a company that will get you a discount on certain theft prevention devices for your home. Others might offer a deal on a device that alerts you if there’s a water leak somewhere as water damage (not flooding) claims can be huge.

Do some Googling for insurance company rankings for your state to see which ones have good rankings for customer service.

3

I’ve been insured by the Khaki people for 30 years, and their response has always been exemplary, sometimes even jaw-dropping. Just goes to show that you cannot always depend on anecdotal accounts from a few other people.

I had nothing but bare-bones minimum liability, with roadside assistance. I drove an old beater, requiring roadside assistancde often, and they always paid in full promptly and cheerfully. No questions, asked, once against a towing receipt written on the back of an envelope.