Its past time that I guess I have to play the game and get all my insurance quoted.

Back story - Home, 2 cars, boat, camper, personal liability all with AmFam and has been for like 20 years. Felt some loyalty to them as they have been great on some claims, 2 roofs (one last year), basement flood, totaled boat/truck/trailer), but time to look around. Last time I switched years back after finding lower rates, the new "lower" cost company was up over what I had been paying in a year - so not looking forward to this.

Anyways - open to any recommendations you guys might have.

we've always carried farm and house insurance with Cameron mutual and or farm bureau

automotive insurance we switch quite often. usually rake shop every year if not every 2 years. I hate it when your insurance rates on vehicles go up as they get older and worth less make zero sense.

Been doing insurance restoration for almost 40 years.

If you are a veteran, or can qualify for USAA. give them a look.

State Farm used to be the easiest to deal with and we got the best deal for the homeowners, not so much today.

Farmers was also good, but they have become one of the worst, so much so that we quit doing estimates for Homeowners with Farmers.

AmFam, Allstate have always sucked.

Make sure the company you go with has their own adjusters and not a sub. Subs will fuqk the homeowner every time.

sorry, I couldn’t be more helpful, but in todays world, they all pretty much suck.

Oh, and if you have a basement, check out the policy very carefully, most now only offer a $5K max for sewer and sump failure. That 5K will barely cover the cost of clean-up.

I wouldn’t shop around. Go to an independent insurance company that represents many companies, and ask them to shop your needs and give you a quote.

Amica if they are licensed to do business in your state.

I have used Amica for the last 10 years or so and very happy with them. Most have never heard of them because they don't really advertise.

I deer ran into my new SUV in 2018. They allowed factory parts and my pick of body shops.
They almost insisted that I get a rental car on their dime. But I just drove my pickup a week or so while the repairs were being done.

I have had Shelter on autos for 32 years and homeowners with them since 1997.

I shopped around a couple different times and the guys who looked at my current rates said they couldn't beat them.

YMMV.

USAA if you qualify.

Another vote for USAA if you qualify or Armed Forces Ins.

Depending on the location, Armed Forces might edge out USAA. It happened while I was stationed at Ft. Lewis WA and Ft. Riley. Now I'm back with USAA.

Was with USAA over 20 years. Got way to high. Was shopping around again the first of the year. they weren't competitive. State Farm won out. They go up I'll do it all over again. There's no loyalty in insurance.

It has been said that one should reevaluate and shop for new insurance every 4-5 years.

Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated. I'm not USAA eligible - will head down some of the other suggested paths this week. Again THANKYOU!

Farm Bureau.

Anybody but State Farm- - - - -they're OK as long as you never have to make a claim. If you have a claim against somebody insured by them, hire the sleaziest ambulance chaser lawyer you can find and head for the courthouse- - - -they will start serious settlement negotiations five minutes before the trial starts.

Farm Bureau has been incredibly good to us for over 25 years.

Spot on

Based on past experience with Farm Bureau, it may be difficult to beat the quates. I would suggest finding a broker that represents multiple insurers. I have Chubb Private Client, which is pretty expensive, but they did not cancel me when we made a claim 5 days after moving in for a new roof, gutters and garage doors to the tune of about $50K. The nice thing is, I tell him what my guns, knives, reloaders, etc. are worth and just add it to my content coverage. Make sure to check that you are insured for replacement cost. If you lose your house in a fire, it will be extremely difoof luck.

Regards,

Kris

I am in the same business. Yes on usaa. Farmers in my area has been much better. They actually return calls and pay quicker. Just did a 150k claim with farmers and it went great.

I usually recommend smaller to regional carriers. They are more broad on what they try to cover vs try not to. State Farm does suck usually. Travelers even more so.

I was a regional marketing senior manager for 40 years. Managed a 40 mil portfolio for a regional carrier. Go find an independent agent of good reputation that has multiple markets. They can customize your coverage. I won't go into it but pricing has moved up nationally. This is a discussion with alot of moving parts reinsurance loss cost storm severity western fires distracted driving etc etc

Price, coverage, deductibles and claims are all very important but are not exactly equal, especially when it comes to Home Insurance.

I good price is always a plus, but if you ever have to use it and the claims adjuster is less than helpful and you end up paying a Schit ton out of pocket, that price wasn’t so good after all.

Example.

You have an exterior fire, one side of your house needs new siding, windows, soffit and facia.

The siding cannot be matched to the rest of the house for a variety of reasons. Same with the sofit and facia, cannot be matched.

What does your policy say, will the Insurance company pay to side the whole house so it matches, or will they only to side the damaged side leaving you with an oddball exterior unless You pay to side the whole thing.

I have seen this happen many times over the years, same with shingles, tree falls on your roof and damages 25% of one side, shingles cannot be matched, insurance will only pay to replace the damaged ones, you pay the rest.

Also, do not be under-Insured.

A half burned house can often times cost way more than the cost of a similar home new.

You will have smoke damage, water damage, fire damage, all will have to be removed before the new construction can even begin. Very costly.

And do t forget about code violations and upgrades.

Tearing apart a fire or water damaged house will often times find wiring and plumbing that no longer meets code. If these have to be dealt with due to the damage, the electrician and the plumber must put this back to code, make sure the policy pays for this and whatever the general contractor has to do to accommodate the change. It can cost a bunch.

Dad always used MFA/Shelter insurance, as long as I knew him. Dad was notoriously cheap, too. Lots of Missouri farmers have no choice but to be cheapskates, and MFA had the best rates. Dad used them until he gave up his driver's license at 85 years old.

I can only think of one time he had a claim, maybe two. The old barn got hit by lightning one stormy night and burned to the ground, and another time when soybeans caught fire in the old combine and burned it up. No problems with MFA. Dad knew the agent real well, though, it's a small town.
Having a personal relationship with the agent is never a bad idea, they can help grease the way when/if necessary.

True, it’s much easier to have a local agent, a real face, then an internet company like GEICO, or Progressive.

We installed high impact shingles the last time we had roof damage from hail. State Farm covered the repairs including the depreciated cost minus my deductible. We had to pay for the upgrade on the shingles, but it paid for itself in less than 2 years. It is a flat 25% discount on top of all the other discounts we get.

https://www.acuity.com/

Shop around all you want.

I am with Farm Bureau. Simply adjusting your deductible can help a lot.

I would do my own repairs anyway, me and the wife built this place from the footings up.

Difference between a $200 deductible and having a $5000 deductible was $640 on the annual.

Insurance is for catastrophic loss anyway, it’s not for you to file little dickie $400 claims for the gas grill melting a 2ft square of your trailer house vinyl siding.

I would tell you to get yourself the the public library and check out the March ‘23, September’23 and November ‘23 issues of Consumer Reports for homeowners and automotive insurance. They rate them all in a side by side comparison. As a group, I do see that USAA is rated #1 overall in the back issues that I have. Dad was in the state guard and I’m not sure that qualifies, but the wife’s dad was with Patton’s tank destroyers so that should get us in for a look. Guess my own going commando once in a while won’t qualify.

If using a family member to quality that family member must had had USAA as well.

My father-in -law was in WWII, he had State Farm his whole life, because he did not have USAA, my wife could not qualify for USAA.

Bummer, they sure don’t tell you that in the advertising. Lots of other choices out there though.

American Family seems to be fine for us on the cars and house, but they don’t give a bundle discount for a vehicle and rental property. Allstate does, so I have the truck and rentals with them. Florida was a whole nuther thing as there were only two insurance companies that would cover places down there due to the hurricane potential. Even then the premiums were horrendous.

I use Cornerstone Ins, they are in Columbia. I pay ridiculously low auto rates and claims have been painless.

I didn’t know the Columbian Cartel sold insurance.

I went through this a few years ago, I found Alfa to have the best rates/coverage