Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I currently have State Farm insurance for these items, but I think their premiums are high, especially for the car. I would like to shop around for better rates for the entire package, but concerned about quality of service in case something happens for which I have to file a claim. Any suggestions from personal experience as to which insurance companies I should be exploring? I live in Cary.
I currently have State Farm insurance for these items, but I think their premiums are high, especially for the car. I would like to shop around for better rates for the entire package, but concerned about quality of service in case something happens for which I have to file a claim. Any suggestions from personal experience as to which insurance companies I should be exploring? I live in Cary.
Not what you were asking for but in the event that you are hit by someone else (their fault) and they also have State Farm, you can expect State Farm to be complete obstructionists. Ask me how I know...
Check out NC Farm Bureau, also USAA if you have access. Although lately USAA has been on the high side.
I just went thru this process in December 2013 as well as December 2012. I'm been with USAA for 20+ years and delighted with their service, but their homeowners is higher in NC than what we anticipated.
Both times, I called two different Farm Bureau agents that were recommended by CD members. Getting phone calls returned, accurate quotes and answers to my questions was virtually impossible with BOTH. If that kind of customer service is coming from the sales team, I sure don't trust the claims department. But, I do THINK their quote was the cheapest. (Not quite sure since they couldn't or didn't bother to answer my questions.) YMMV.
What I also discovered is that USAA used a higher value for a total rebuild of our new construction home (completed Jan 2013). That was the primary difference in the premium cost. USAA also covers jewelry losses differently if you carry a rider, so that was more expensive too. Effectively, our homeowners coverage with USAA is "better". (Umm, maybe.)
I also found that USAA auto was consistently less than any other quote for identical coverage. Liability umbrella premiums were all about the same. For us, the higher costs on the HO was mostly a wash due to the lower auto premiums.
I included Amica, Liberty Mutual (another less than stellar sales experience), and Geico in my quotes. And I'll probably go through this exercise again at the end of 2014, but not with Farm Bureau.
I called two different Farm Bureau agents that were recommended by CD members. Getting phone andcalls returned, accurate quotes and answers to my questions was virtually impossible with BOTH. If that kind of customer service is coming from the sales team, I sure don't trust the claims department.
I had exactly the same experience last year when I shopped rates. Farm Bureau was recommended by others here, so I included them. They were horrible in responding, and when after 2-3 weeks they finally did I told them not to bother with a quote.
I had exactly the same experience last year when I shopped rates. Farm Bureau was recommended by others here, so I included them. They were horrible in responding, and when after 2-3 weeks they finally did I told them not to bother with a quote.
Relieved to hear it wasn't just me! I was beginning to take it personally.
I always recommend Erie Insurance, owned by Crismond Insurance. There is only one office in north raleigh, so you talk to the same two people every time. Michelle is fantastic. We've had them for years and have never had an issue when we're owed money.
I'm not sold on the bundling concept and so recommend parsing it out. We switched to Amica last year for homeowners insurance and were very happy with the price (about 45% less than what our previous company was changing our premium to) and service (responded quickly to calls and questions). Granted I haven't filed a claim with them, but I haven't ever in twenty years of home ownership so not sure how that end of the operation works (though I found favorable reviews online).
And with Geico for auto coverage, we're always very low on the premium side of things. And it's a myth that they have lousy claims processing and customer service. We've had two reportable incidents over the past three years and they were so easy to work with (and fair) that it would be silly to suggest someone else could be better.
I'm not sold on the bundling concept and so recommend parsing it out. We switched to Amica last year for homeowners insurance and were very happy with the price (about 45% less than what our previous company was changing our premium to) and service (responded quickly to calls and questions). Granted I haven't filed a claim with them, but I haven't ever in twenty years of home ownership so not sure how that end of the operation works (though I found favorable reviews online).
And with Geico for auto coverage, we're always very low on the premium side of things. And it's a myth that they have lousy claims processing and customer service. We've had two reportable incidents over the past three years and they were so easy to work with (and fair) that it would be silly to suggest someone else could be better.
If you have a liability umbrella, you cannot parse it out. The umbrella requires that all underlying insurance be with the same company. (There may be some rare exceptions to that, but I am not aware of any.)
And if you have any significant assets, you should seriously consider adding a liability umbrella to your coverage.
I just went thru this process in December 2013 as well as December 2012. I'm been with USAA for 20+ years and delighted with their service, but their homeowners is higher in NC than what we anticipated.
Both times, I called two different Farm Bureau agents that were recommended by CD members. Getting phone calls returned, accurate quotes and answers to my questions was virtually impossible with BOTH. If that kind of customer service is coming from the sales team, I sure don't trust the claims department. But, I do THINK their quote was the cheapest. (Not quite sure since they couldn't or didn't bother to answer my questions.) YMMV.
What I also discovered is that USAA used a higher value for a total rebuild of our new construction home (completed Jan 2013). That was the primary difference in the premium cost. USAA also covers jewelry losses differently if you carry a rider, so that was more expensive too. Effectively, our homeowners coverage with USAA is "better". (Umm, maybe.)
I also found that USAA auto was consistently less than any other quote for identical coverage. Liability umbrella premiums were all about the same. For us, the higher costs on the HO was mostly a wash due to the lower auto premiums.
I included Amica, Liberty Mutual (another less than stellar sales experience), and Geico in my quotes. And I'll probably go through this exercise again at the end of 2014, but not with Farm Bureau.
I've been with Usaa for 3-4 years and the one thing I have been amazed by is how polite and responsive the people are when you talk to them. It almost feels embarrassing how pleasant they are, like they are gushing over you or something. Just goes to show how jaded and used to horrible service we have all become accustomed to.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
