Home and Auto insurance

[sphenodont]

i spoke with a Progressive rep, and she told that there was nothing she could do with my rate. i told her that i will cancel my policy and to transfer me to the Customer Retention department.

If Progressive just selectively gave you some sort of retention deal, they'd run afoul of the insurance commissioner. (And Georgia's is a real hard-ass.)

They probably reset your insurance score. Depending how long you've been with them, you might have been in a run-off company, too. They might have also found some creative way to apply discounts you didn't qualify for earlier (like early quoting or something).

 

[cabri]

If Progressive just selectively gave you some sort of retention deal, they'd run afoul of the insurance commissioner. (And Georgia's is a real hard-ass.)

They probably reset your insurance score. Depending how long you've been with them, you might have been in a run-off company, too. They might have also found some creative way to apply discounts you didn't qualify for earlier (like early quoting or something).

Progressive bumped up %20 last year.
When renewal comes in, if it shows another large increase, shopping I will go.
10 years, 4 vehicles and only one B&E claim ($700) paid by them

 

[zardthebuilder]

If Progressive just selectively gave you some sort of retention deal, they'd run afoul of the insurance commissioner. (And Georgia's is a real hard-ass.)

They probably reset your insurance score. Depending how long you've been with them, you might have been in a run-off company, too. They might have also found some creative way to apply discounts you didn't qualify for earlier (like early quoting or something).

i guess it is a game that everyone is playing. if you sit on your hands and believe your insurance commissioner is protecting you, your rates will go up and up. if you speak to the correct department, they might lower your rates (i really don't care how they do it as long as they do it). if they don't lower your rates, you shop around. e.g. cbrsurfr's $626 savings.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Grange?

Don't forget about some of the smaller and/or more local insurance companies. I have home and auto through an Ohio only company as they had better rates than Grange (though they were pretty good still) and would insure my house with the woodburner. Grange would not due to being outside a "protected area" i.e. no fire hydrants since I'm in the country.

 

[cbrsurfr]

New policies are paid for. Locked in $626 in savings. Updated OP.

 

[zardthebuilder]

progressive canceled my home policy, which forced me to look for a new insurance company. i signed up with Geico. since i was on the phone with them, i also signed up for auto. and upgraded my liability coverage with an umbrella policy. in the end, i still saved $250.

i called progressive today to cancel my auto policy and spoke with a retention specialist. she was pissed at Ameriprise, their home insurance underwriter. she said she could have found me another underwriter.

moral of the story: shop around or talk with your company's retention specialist.

 

[Homerboy]

I use West Bend for my home and auto (includes a classic car as well)
Never had an issue a problem or any headaches at all.

I know I could get better rates somewhere if I shopped around and did a bunch of legwork. But the impeccable service I have had with West Bend makes it worth it. When I do have a claim to make, the last thing I want to do is have to fight with somebody to get what is mine adding stress to an already stressful situation.

 

[Aikouka]

I've been with Nationwide for ages... ever since I started driving at 16, and I'm 31 now. When I moved down south from New York, Nationwide doubled my rates (~600 per year to ~1300 per year). Like any sane person, I asked why my rates went up so substantially, and they said that there are more accidents where I moved. I'm pretty sure I checked at least another insurance company, but they weren't much better.

Well, after buying a home, I went with Nationwide for that too, and the home insurance rate is actually pretty good compared to others. It's about $1300 per year and other companies go as high as $2000 per year. However, Nationwide has been a rather horrid experience with their home insurance. I received a letter stating that my policy was being cancelled because I didn't have a latch on my gate, and that's required for an area with a pool. I was baffled, because I have a latch. I gave them a photo and received their photo evidence... their inspector literally took a photo from the other side of the gate where you can see the back of the latch, but not the latch itself. :|

Unfortunately, this tale doesn't even end there. They stated that everything was fine after I provided them the evidence, but I still received a letter in the mail stating that my insurance had been cancelled, but would be active until the month is over. I called them up, and they stated that I would receive another letter stating that the previous cancellation notice would be revoked. I did receive that, and I suspected that everything was fine... until I received another letter a few weeks later. This time, Nationwide reimbursed me for my entire year's insurance rate. :| Yet again, I called them up, and they said that my insurance policy wasn't supposed to be cancelled, but it got cancelled anyway. They told me to cash the check and that I'd need to pay them back because they couldn't possibly do anything about the check after issuing it. (Seriously? No Hold!?) After that, I decided to shop around for car insurance again, and I was able to get a good rate with Geico for about $620 per year with even more coverage than I had with Nationwide. Although, one thing that bugged me about Geico's setup is that you can't determine multi-policy discounts until you actually have multiple policies. So, State Farm may have been a better option as their home insurance is cheaper ($120 per month vs. ~$128 per month) with a car insurance policy.

Anyway, I was rather glad to put a stop on my next payment to Nationwide of $140 for auto insurance and go with a measly $55 payment.