I have been searching for home insurance and it is due. To my horror, the premiums quoted from various agencies are all over the lot, from $500 to $1000+. They are covering basically the same thing. Why such a variation? They are basically all rated A- companies.
Thanks.
Yes, prices can vary. I got tired of comparing, so we hired an insurance broker who gets the quotes for us and she also knows which agencies are good about servicing claims promptly with a minimum of fuss. She does all our policies and gets us good rates but complete coverage. Insurance is one area we don’t want hassles or holes in coverage. We sleep well at night knowing we are OK in case bad things happen. The amount she saves us in hassles and reduced premiums more than makes up for the charge for using her (I think her agency charges about $100 per policy each year.)
Where can I get feedbacks about insurance companies. I saw ones on Yelp from the low end of the quote and customer reports are mixed, some good but the bad ones are really bad. I am thinking, most posters are reporting bad experiences.
Well, I was a personal injury for the injured party and two of my brothers were attorneys for defense. We got a pretty good sense of which companies worked with their insureds and which ones were balky. If you know any attorneys in your area who practice personal injury or insurance defense, you might ask them about good & bad.
As I said, we ultimately chose to delegate this task to the independent insurance broker, as she has a LOT of experience making claims for clients and knows which insurers cooperate and which don’t.
Amica is always highly rated by Consumer Reports and others.
Plus, their rates are good.
We have been with Amica for over 35 years, my parents even longer. We have home, auto (5 cars currently), umbrella and some term life. The rates are very favorable, but we have almost all our policies with them. No homeowner claims, but 3 auto ones. We live in no-fault Michigan and all were paid very promptly and fairly. We have seen no increase in rates due to these claims. We also carry high deductibles on everything so maybe that helped.
I think some companies have lower initial rates to attract business, but you have to watch how they treat replacements. The most expensive policies will rebuild exactly, so if you have old moldings you will get moldings. Others will replace to like-kind. Others will just use a general replacement cost system that may or may not be good for you.
i too have Amica for everything. My PI attorney was delighted to work with them. They covered my medical bills last 3 years. House and cars have been with them 28 years.
We have USAA. Cant promise they are the cheapest all the time, but they are easy to deal with. Had State Farm for some in the past. No more.
Long time USAA member. We have had to make a few claims and have been very pleased with them,
Another person who uses Amica. We have homeowners, auto, life and liability with Amica. Rates tend to be a little hgher, but we have always gotten great service on the auto claims we have made. Make sure when you compare you are comparing exactly the same policy.
Judging by the premiums you mentioned in your original post, I’m guessing you are NOT in Texas. For those of you who are, you can visit http://www.opic.texas.gov/ to compare the coverages different companies offer. Other states may have similar web sites.
Amica in CA has very high rates, wonder why.
As stated by some others above, each insurance company views risks and sets rates based upon its own actuarial assumptions and past claims. However, If you have quotes that vary from $500 to $1000 for the same amount of dwelling and liability coverage, you are most likely not exactly comparing apples to apples.
While there are some typical insurance forms (often referred to as HO-1, HO-2, HO-3, HO-5 etc.), those are only suggestions by the ISO. Each company is free to write its own insurance policy - subject to any approvals or requirements contained in state law. There are also riders that are really necessary, or at least should be considered by most persons.
A good agent should make you aware of the available coverage options. Some agents just quote the cheapest possible rate to get the business, while others ask a lot of questions and give you options. The OP’s original question is also valid - insurance companies have their own termpermant concerning claims. Some give white glove service and pay almost any claim, other will fight you tooth and nail before they pay a cent. Non-standard / high risk insurers are almost always impossible to deal with.
To see if you are comparing apples to apples, ask:
Are your policy quotes for Comprehensive/All Risk coverage or Named Peril coverage for the dwelling? What about the contents - Comprehensive/All Risk or Named Peril? Is there a guarantee that your home will be fullly rebuilt regardless of cost (or with some companies an extended replacement cost - say 150% of coverage amount) to account for inflated costs and supplies due to massive damage in a location? Will claims be paid at Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value? Do you have Ordinance and Law Coverage - if not, the replacement cost coverage may not pay vary much because changes in the building code may not allow your home to be rebuilt as it was just before the loss! If you have Ordinance and Law, is it limited to 10% (like many insurance companies that advertise a lot) or is it up to the full value of the home? Is water/sewer backup included, if so how much? How much liability coverage is included? Does liability extend to personal torts such as slander/libel/defamation/false arrest?
My only caution is that before you believe the online compliants about “standard name brand” insurance companies, keep in mind that many of the complaints could have been avoided if the customer bought a policy or rider that covered circumstances that are not covered in the normal insurance policy.
If you are eligible for Armed Forces Insurance (afi.org), I HIGHLY recommend it for homeowners insurance. Inexpensive, straightforward, excellent service, they don’t try to rip you off. Kind of like USAA used to be. I had USAA for 25 years, and they have definitely changed, jacking up the rates significantly on people, even if they had no claims.
Really, check into Armed Forces, if you have any possible eligibility.
sorry, I am bit too old for the armed forces even I want to, they don’t want a person who is going to get medicare and SS in 6 mon. would they? 
Chubb is also considered good.
Homeowner’s insurance is a very twitchy industry. Get a high deductible and hope you never have to call them for any reason. Don’t call them to ask a question about something - it could go on your record as a claim, even if there is no payout. That happened to us with USAA.
When shopping for new insurance after a move, one company denied us after finding a glitch or two on someone’s MVA record. It turns out these were true glitches, not tickets or accidents or anything. But they ran away from us even though we weren’t getting auto insurance from them or umbrella coverage either! Twitchy.
“sorry, I am bit too old for the armed forces even I want to, they don’t want a person who is going to get medicare and SS in 6 mon. would they?”
Ha ha! You know what I mean, Armed Forces Insurance. If you or your spouse have ever been in the military, Dept of Defense. Awesome deal. Worth marrying a veteran for. 
I have heard from numerous people in the insurance industry, Chubb is the absolute gold standard. I have had them for several years - absolutely great service.
Their Masterpiece policy has some of the broadest and most comprehensive coverages available. (Everything I listed in my previous post - and more.) They even send out an inspector to totally document the size and measurements of your home, the interior finishes, any unique and custom decorations etc. They document all of this in a written insurance inspection and appraisal report to confirm that you have sufficient coverage and also so that in case of any claim, your house is rebuilt with same materials. (If you have plaster, you get plaster - not drywall etc.)
Of course this incredible coverage and service comes at a price. But if you have a high value or custom home, you are probably more concerned about having it properly rebuilt than saving a several hundred dollars per year - Chubb dominates this market. Another potential problem is that Chubb’s minimum target market is $500,000 - $1,000,000 homes - the exact minimum policy varies by location. However, other general insurers (such as Travelers, etc.) have comprehensive higher value home policies available that along with riders/endorsements can get similar coverage.
We have Chubb and after the inspector came they sent us a book, an actual book in the actual mail, about our house. I was amazed. They did pester us to redo the roof but we got that done.
In our previous house I almost paid for some sewage coverage. For if the municipal sewage somehow backed up into your house. But I had read in the newspaper that that was covered by the utility itself and it saved us some money to know that.
Also, when we had USAA for homeowners we paid a bit extra for an inflation rider. I thought that was worth it. We also paid a small amount to have our computers, laptops, and iPads covered. There is no deductible for that coverage and it covers everything - even spilling coffee on your keyboard. Definitely worth it when you have kids in college!