Need advise on Insurance! NOT STATE FARM

[aarons428]

I'm going to be switching insurance companies SOON and want your guys opinion on insurance companies. Just don't tell me State Farm!!!!

Over the last 3 years my town has been hit with TWICE. Also a town less than 20 miles from me was leveled by an EF4 tornado a little over a month ago.

My parents who have had insurance through State Farm for over 30yrs just got their notice today that their home owners policy has been cancelled!!! Also a lady my wife works with also got her policy dropped! We have heard of many more people getting dropped because THIS AREA IS NOT PROFITABLE!!!!! Are you absolutely kidding me!!!! I'm just waiting for my letter to show up also and I've had ALL my insurance through them for over 20yrs!!

DO NOT BUY YOUR INSURANCE THROUGH STATE FARM!!!!!!

As soon as I get my house repaired and get all the money back from them i'm going to drop ALL the rest of mine from them.

So PLEASE give me your good choices!!

[LM14]

Look for an Independent agent, they can quote a lot of brands. We used to use them at work and they were usually pretty god to deal with.

My daughter and son-in-law had a vehicle stolen last year. His very first claim in almost 20 years with Farmers Insurance. They were total jerks from one end to the other. Finally had to get ugly with them to settle. Would not recommend them from that experience.

If you look at Geico, be prepared to get your claims adjusted by somebody else and argue thru a middle man. I had a wreck with a Geico insured driver and it was a complete nightmare. They don't have their own pool of adjusters and use a pool of available adjusters. They didn't keep appointments, wouldn't return calls and finally settled (their insured hit us) almost 6 months later after we finally had a lawyer write a letter to them. Great commercials, awful service.

Sorry to hear your State Farm issues. I've had them for 40 years and we've had some big claims (3 totaled cars, house, garage and 3 vehicles with severe hail damage and a couple hit and runs. Never a problem. Sad to see them doing that to people. Every time I get quotes thinking about switching, SF is still the cheapest, too.

Good luck,

SPark

[Alan Mclennan]

Geico have terrific commercials tho WWWEEEEEEEEE!

[JOSHF100]

I'd like to know also.. I've State Farm for years...No claims, daily driver getting older, but the rates keep going up?

[ICEMAN6166]

not a fan of state farm either as a customer nor a towing company owner.
from the towing perspective they always took the longest and made the biggest hassle in getting paid.
i can tell several horror stories in that area.
geico on the other hand paid promptly but as mentioned had contracted adjusters who worked for several companys, how this is not a conflict of interest i dont know
dealt with a lot of military and USAA also was prompt and their customers seemed happy
AAA is expensive and wants their towing service for low rates, while the volume of calls is high if you are AAA the pay schedule is not very good.
never had any problems with farmers or Allstate,
progressive is on par with state farm, and after using them for my towtrucks i would never deal with them again.

currently i have safeco for my slick and 64 rambler, the state required policy costs me a little over $20 each per month and the agent is a local independent agency.

i personally think its all a crapshoot, you pay but never know the end result until its time for a claim.

[Greg D]

Aaron,
I have used a few different companies and have had the best treatment, pricing, and claims service with Shelter.
This was for classic car stated value, normal vehicle ins, commercial vehicle, motorcycle, home owners - you name it.
As a self employed driver I don't dare not have the best coverage, Shelter is also the cheapest for the 3 times minimum coverage I carry.
Shelter is the ONLY company out there that would insure my home for a decent amount of money.
Alot of companies have a better "base" price for insurance but as soon as you increase coverage they get way more expensive than Shelter.
It's not just about price and service - coverage limits are important too.
State Farm refused to insure my home for enough to replace it. They are also hard to deal with for classic cars.

[Toyz]

Ya'll should be down here! Everything south of Houston and east of I45 has to have separate policies for flood, wind and homeowners. Naturally, then you end up with the old "it wasn't our event", and basically, none pay in full until an attorney is involved.
My worst situation was Hurricane Ike; after doing a bunch of research and fighting it out, the only real sore spot was the state's "last resort" windstorm insurer. "Yes, sir, it does look as if you have slight shingle damage which might have been caused by wind; we will pay for replacing one square." First of all, the damage was not limited to one area, secondly, under a declared emergency, just TRY to get a contractor out to repair "one square" scattered over multiple areas. Get a lawyer, you say? My neighbor did, and as of three weeks ago, nearly six years later, it looks as if she may get a small settlement.
The crowning blow? The notice five months after the storm to the effect that "we are refusing to renew your coverage for the below checked reason(s): Roof repairs inadequate!!!!!
Auto insurance? Here in one of the highest auto insurance cost areas; I've done well with Progressive, not cheap, but they've held with me through multiple weather-related losses. My older vehicles are with Hagerty; I've luckily had no claims other than towing, their rates and service seem great.
I agree with Ice, insurance companies can put you out of business in the event of a major catastrophe; I kept every truck I could keep running on the road 24/7 during an eighties flood, only to meet as much as 30 weekly payrolls as well as considerable overhead, (including insurance), before the checks started trickling in! AAA? Rates so low I couldn't afford to send a wrecker on a service call, instead utilizing a four cylinder Scout! But "the volume and resulting services will make up for it." Yeah, except all your mechanics and personnel are out running calls, and the customer's cars are beginning to stack up!
Oh, well, that's old times; I'm sure things have gotten better End of rant!
Paul

[banjopicker66]

If you are a veteran, check out USAA. Their service and prices cannot be beat by any competitor - but you need to be a vet. Former dependents of former vets are also eligible(even if you are no longer living with them, regardless of your age) , but the prices are higher.
My dad was a vet, and I am also a vet, but my brother is not - and he had higher costs for similar coverage.

Hope this helps.

[DV65CustomCab]

The only thing you can get from asking this question here is that there is no consistency in regards to insurance companies. Where you live, what you drive, what color shirt you wore this morning all will determine what your costs are.

I've worked for 4 different insurers as well as stints as an independent appraiser over the years. Nothing is constant. The company that is good to work with this year could be the biggest PITA five years from now. They are in a constant state of flux, depending on who the CEO is and what the profitability looks like.

Interesting that some of you had independent appraisers working for GEICO; I was a staff appraiser with them for five years and never, ever heard of them using anyone other than staff. It must have been in states where they don't write policies. Another point of contrast, where I live Allstate is the WORST and MOST HATED insurer of all, yet others have had good experiences. See what I mean about inconsistent?

All you can do is shop until you drop. Get the most insurance for the best money you can, and just hope that if/when you do have a claim they are in a 'peak' where they actually want to serve and retain you as a customer. GEICO used to bend over backwards for people to keep them as a customer; I always told people they were a good company to be insured with, but terrible to work for.

With our trucks, there is no substitute for a collector specific policy and company like Haggerty or similar. They understand the unique nature of our vehicles and also can afford to insure them for a fraction of normal insurance because they know the risks are greatly reduced. Unless you can't meet the policy criteria, you're nuts to use a normal insurer.

[slick4x4]

I have farm bureau insurance.
Home , auto & farm
Not the cheapest.....
But have no trouble at all with them paying