Homeowners insurance doubled.

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Just got the renewal for my homeowners insurance and the cost has doubled. I have insurance thru progressive, which I think is actually thru someone else. I had just moved my auto insurance out from them to GEICO, so I can see a slight increase due to losing a multiple policy discount. I did notice that the dwelling coverage has went up by 66%, which is a ridiculous amount now, and could probably build two of the houses now for that price. I'm going to call them about that and see their justification for the large increase. In the mean time I've been getting quotes from others and although they may not be as much as progressive, they are still 50% more than what I've been paying.

I'm curious as to what others are paying, I know rates around the country vary based on location, so what one pays in florida would be alot more than some in north dakota. But right now I'm sitting at $1500 for the overly-inflated dwelling coverage(565k) with a 1000 deductible.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,751
595
126
When I shopped around most companies wanted $1000+/yr to insure my unremarkable 3 bedroom house. But state farm was fairly reasonable for awhile until they decided to raise the risk in the area or something and allstate was $500 bucks or so.

My experience with multi policy discounts is they usually aren't worth it. The insurance agent always hems and haws about the big discount but they usually raped my so bad on either the home or auto I stood to lose hundreds of dollars to take advantage of the discount. I actually have one now and its the first time its saved me any money versus getting the cheaper auto and the cheaper home. And all it saved me was $50 or something. If I shopped around more I may well find I'm still losing money.

You pretty much have to shop around because they're all over the place. Staying with one company doesn't seem to make any sense. They all seem to find a reason to jack the rate up sooner or later. Geico kept raising my auto insurance rates a little bit every year even though I was getting older, had no accidents and my cars were the same and worth less. Seems like using the boiled from on "loyal customers" is kind of par for the course.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,344
126
The only way to save with insurance is move. My insurance guy told me that straight up. For me the big saving wasn't actually on the move from insurance company "A" to "B". I saved a little bit. But where I really got some big savings was the retention/save rate that "A" gave me six weeks after going over to "B".

In my case I was paying allstate something like $1400 a year for two very boring cars, zero tickets or accidents. Rates just kept creeping on me. Finally switched to Geico and dropped that down to about $1000 a year. 6 weeks after switching my Allstate guy called me back and offered me a deal for $800 a year. So I moved back over there.

It's just how the game works. Shop around, move your policy, and wait for the retention call backs.
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Yeah multi policy discounts are such bull shit. When I got my home owners through Geico (travellers), they told me they were introducing a multi policy discount "soon". After 1.5 years, they finally implemented it. Turned out to be ~ $15
 

Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
4,399
190
106
Yea you should call around at least once a year to several places for car and auto insurance. Even if you don't switch many track if you are shopping around and keep rates a little lower than if you don't shop.
You would not believe how many just keep paying and never question if they can do better. My SiL was paying about $700 every 6 months for car insurance. Moving around dropped it to the high $200's. She does not speak much english so hard for her to shop and she did not know they are not all the same.
 

Xonim

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,131
0
0
How's your credit score?

We shopped around a bit for homeowners / auto policy last year when we bought our house. Progressive was one of the highest. State Farm and Allstate were pretty average. American Family? Literally half the quoted rate from Progressive.

When we seemed shocked at the rates, the agent basically told us that AmFam has transitioned to clients with higher credit scores as they're less likely to make ridiculous claims (think $500 for this, $600 for that, etc), which allows them to offer lower prices. Progressive offers to pretty much everyone, so while their rates are ok if you're under 23-24, they're terrible if your credit score is decent.
 

Uppsala9496

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 2001
5,272
19
81
OP, what state do you live in?
Shop around and if you can't find any cheaper options available think about adjusting some of your coverages and deductible to adjust the premium.
 
Nov 7, 2000
16,403
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it seems SOP for insurance companies to start with a competitive rate to win your business, then steadily raise it over time assuming slight increases won't be enough to motivate you to look again.

You could probably save substantial $ by switching after every term. Your situation is a little more drastic, but all you can do is shop around. If they went up across the board due to other factors you may just be screwed.
 

SaurusX

Senior member
Nov 13, 2012
993
0
41
I can't speak for other states, but Texas is experiencing 20+% increases across the board. It's mostly attributable to the prices of building materials.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
I have SF on my daughter's house outside of Denver.
the policy coverage is for whta I paid for the house.
I recently (last year) contacted Progressive and Farmers on coverage.

Both insisted that I was under covered and the replacement value of the property was about %50 more; the rates would have gone up 25-30% more.

Given that the property recently developed an inground indoor pool and SF is having to cover $5-7K in costs; I suspect that come fall, I will have to re-evaluate the policy insurer :p
 
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CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Mine went up over 40% this year. I was told that the underwriters are now using GPS to locate the nearest firestation to my house and determined that it warranted a raise in my rates. When I asked my Allstate agent 3 TIMES for the result of the underwriter's review I was told they would get back to me. They never did, I cancelled and changed to Liberty Mutual. My rates are back to the same as they were before.
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
I can't speak for other states, but Texas is experiencing 20+% increases across the board. It's mostly attributable to the prices of building materials.

See my response above this. I live in Texas. I had a small increase due to increased replacement cost, but the majority was related to what I described above.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
146
106
www.neftastic.com
When I was in the process of closing on my house, I had to get some insurance quotes quick.

I called State Farm first - reputable and popular in this area: HOLY RIDICULOUS.

I called AllState next: They didn't even know where the subdivision was (and eventually got back to me with a ridiculous quote AFTER I already closed on the house).

I called Liberty Mutual last, which was actually recommended by my mortgage broker: Quoted me less than HALF of what State Farm quoted for more coverage than State Farm offered, and also took the time to quote for my auto policy as well as the combined discount rate, and email me multiple quotes. Unfortunately their auto rates were a bit more than I'm paying Geico for less coverage overall, so I just stayed with Geico for auto. But guess who I picked for homeowners?

My insurance rate hasn't changed in 3 years (knock on wood).
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
When I was in the process of closing on my house, I had to get some insurance quotes quick.

I called State Farm first - reputable and popular in this area: HOLY RIDICULOUS.

I called AllState next: They didn't even know where the subdivision was (and eventually got back to me with a ridiculous quote AFTER I already closed on the house).

I called Liberty Mutual last, which was actually recommended by my mortgage broker: Quoted me less than HALF of what State Farm quoted for more coverage than State Farm offered, and also took the time to quote for my auto policy as well as the combined discount rate, and email me multiple quotes. Unfortunately their auto rates were a bit more than I'm paying Geico for less coverage overall, so I just stayed with Geico for auto. But guess who I picked for homeowners?

My insurance rate hasn't changed in 3 years (knock on wood).

Same friggen experience I had, though for my current property. LM agent was friendly, very knowledgeable and emailed me everything. Even responded on a holiday. My neighbor clued me in to them. Wish I would have changed sooner.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Same friggen experience I had, though for my current property. LM agent was friendly, very knowledgeable and emailed me everything. Even responded on a holiday. My neighbor clued me in to them. Wish I would have changed sooner.

My broker basically told me I should shop around, but he recommended this particular Liberty Mutual agent for two reasons - she knew the subdivision well and insured a good portion of the homes there (likely from his referrals), and she was the broker's insurance agent as well, so he had first hand experience.

I figured I'd do my due diligence just to make sure that this wasn't a case of "you scratch my back" between broker/agent.

To be fair, I've been meaning to call her and get auto quotes again too. I haven't had to deal with Geico for auto except once (filed a claim "just in case", ultimately the at-fault party's insurance did take responsibility so I was able to just close my claim). But I'm figuring I'd rather deal with my local agent and Liberty Mutual after having the brief dealing with Geico for the claim that never happened, even if it means paying a few dollars more a month.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
Definitely get quotes from several companies and don't necessarily go with the same one that does your car insurance. For me, Progressive has by far the cheapest auto insurance. But they want something like $400 a year for renter's insurance, and that's after the multi-policy discount. My State Farm renter's policy is only about $150 a year.

I think companies purposely jack up rates for one type of policy in order to keep them low for other policies. Then lure people into using them for all their insurance by promoting multi-policy discounts that really don't amount to anything. It makes sense; they have to make money somewhere. It's like how cheap airlines charge more for bags and will nickle and dime you by charging for snacks, drinks, pillows, etc.

A lot of people are so afraid of change that they'll gladly throw away hundreds of dollars a year just to make things slightly easier or to avoid change. My parents for instance - they could save hundreds by switching from State Farm to Progressive for their car insurance, but they refuse because they've been with State Farm for a long time. No other reason.
 

rsutoratosu

Platinum Member
Feb 18, 2011
2,716
4
81
Do you know what type you have ? HO1/2/3 ? I have HO3 and paying around 880 a yr in NYC.

I called allstate a while back and they wanted me to change all the windows to hurricane proof before they would insured me.. no other place had special requirements.. its very weird how every insurance company works.

I'm no where near hurricane zone.. but whatever..
 

BarkingGhostar

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2009
8,409
1,617
136
I'm betting a lot of things go into one's charge/quote for insurance on anything. In this day and age, your age and credit worthiness probably plays a lot into the final figures.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
Do you know what type you have ? HO1/2/3 ? I have HO3 and paying around 880 a yr in NYC.

I called allstate a while back and they wanted me to change all the windows to hurricane proof before they would insured me.. no other place had special requirements.. its very weird how every insurance company works.

I'm no where near hurricane zone.. but whatever..

What happened this past fall when Sandy visited.

Only a Cat 1-2; had it been a little stronger and moved up the coast 100 miles; you would have a swimming pool in the rooms that faced east ward.

The insurer was protecting their ass in terms of potential exposure later on.
 

rivan

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2003
9,677
3
81
Shop around. I saved myself $1100/yr switching from one major national name to another after my rates almost doubled over the course of 7 years.
 

rsutoratosu

Platinum Member
Feb 18, 2011
2,716
4
81
What happened this past fall when Sandy visited.

Only a Cat 1-2; had it been a little stronger and moved up the coast 100 miles; you would have a swimming pool in the rooms that faced east ward.

The insurer was protecting their ass in terms of potential exposure later on.

That sucked
 

runzwithsizorz

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2002
3,497
14
76
Yea you should call around at least once a year to several places for car and auto insurance. Even if you don't switch *many track if you are shopping around* and keep rates a little lower than if you don't shop.
You would not believe how many just keep paying and never question if they can do better. My SiL was paying about $700 every 6 months for car insurance. Moving around dropped it to the high $200's. She does not speak much english so hard for her to shop and she did not know they are not all the same.

Umm Yeah, Mr. Runz, this is your insurance agent calling, and we couldn't help but notice that you have been getting quotes from our competitors. Actions such as this cannot be tolerated sir. This is thoroughly explained in paragraph 9, article 18, section 22, page 386
of your policy. :eek: