I'm on the hunt for new insurance. I currently use Allstate, but home insurance costs have climbed, and I've got a new 16 year old who will occasionally be driving the family car, so it's time to compare costs. I'm looking for information from anyone who has recently done cost comparisons, to find out which insurance companies to look at, which could provide me with the lowest rates.
Some relevant information pertaining to my search:
I don't care much about the details of the home insurance coverage, just that it's cheap, we haven't made a claim in 25 years, we're just looking to protect ourselves against near/total loss of the dwelling, not to get new roofs/siding every few years from hail nicks.
For car insurance we're looking for legal minimum coverage as well, just liability, we're willing to foot the bill on any damage we cause to our own vehicle.
Bundling is fine if it saves money overall, but not required, we could buy seperate home and car insurance.
Buying Cheap Home and Auto Insurance
byu/slash121200 inFrugal
Posted by slash121200
4 Comments
An insurance broker is an intermediary who acts on behalf of a client to find and purchase insurance coverage from multiple insurance companies, aiming to secure the best policy for the client’s specific needs and budget. Unlike insurance agents who represent one or more specific insurance companies, brokers represent the insured client and are not contractually tied to any single insurer, allowing them to offer a wider range of options and potentially more competitive rates.
First, insurance doesn’t work like you think it does. Your rates are based on your personal circumstances (zip code, type of vehicle, credit history, age & driving history of drivers, etc.) so I might get an amazing rate from State Farm based on my details, while you’d get a terrible quote based on your details. You just have to shop around.
Second, state minimum coverage is a horrifyingly bad idea. My state, minimums are 30/60/10. With that coverage, if your kid totals a $40,000 vehicle, you’ll be writing a check for $30k, just for property damage. If someone in that vehicle is injured, you’ll be writing another check for bodily injury over and above the $30k your insurance will pay. (If you don’t have the money, don’t worry … they’ll get a judgement against you and just take every spare dollar until your debt is paid.
Third, just looking for the cheapest possible insurance can also be a terrible idea. Company A costs $2,000 and has a 99% claim satisfaction rating. Company B, $1,800 with 70% claim satisfaction and tons of complaints about slow payouts and lowball settlement offers.
Allstate? Are you rich?
I am a frequent insurance shopper.
Just start gathering quotes.
We currently have full coverage on 7 vehicles and a good policy for our home in a bundle either Allstate.
Most companies will n a lot of places have eliminated roof replacement values and have gone to roof depreciation values. I was still able to get roof replacement with Allstate and at a better rate with everyone than Mercury who was depreciation only.