Why such a HUGE difference in price of State Farm vs. Allstate for Home Insurance (Madison: homeowners insurance)

[jonboy123]

We just bought a house on the Limestone County side of Madison City. I got a quote from State Farm for $1350 AFTER our car discounts and a quote for the exact same thing from Allstate WITHOUT a car discount for $550. Why is there such a big difference? It just seems odd that there's such a huge difference in the price.

[Sarges Dad]

Originally Posted by jonboy123

We just bought a house on the Limestone County side of Madison City. I got a quote from State Farm for $1350 and a quote for the exact same thing from Allstate for $550. Why is there such a big difference? It just seems odd that there's such a huge difference in the price.

That is strange. I live in Limestone county and State Farm was the least expensive.

[autobahn]

One is for a year and the other is for 6 months? Also make sure you get the sinkhole insurance rider. You are not covered for sink holes with a standard homeowners policy in Alabama.

[Southlander]

Or flooding. That's a separate insurance policy.

[jonboy123]

No they are both for a full year. Maybe State Farm considers it Madison City prices and Allstate considers it Limestone County prices? But still it shouldn't be that much of a difference, should it?

[HsvMike]

Originally Posted by jonboy123

We just bought a house on the Limestone County side of Madison City. I got a quote from State Farm for $1350 AFTER our car discounts and a quote for the exact same thing from Allstate WITHOUT a car discount for $550. Why is there such a big difference? It just seems odd that there's such a huge difference in the price.

Did you have your home built, or did you buy an existing home? Because Allstate has the lowest homeowners insurance around for new construction homes.

[Sarges Dad]

Yes it could. State farm was that much less than Auto Owners for me when I built my new house. I am in rural area and my rate is around $650.00 a year with VFD.

[Charles]

Could be each carrier has specific targets they favor. Different auto insurance companies (I think) favor certain types of cars???

Also, sort of related, purchasing insurance isn't too hard for auto, and it isn't too hard for homeowners. What's hard is purchasing both from the same company because of bundled or packaged discounts. I haven't searched in a awhile but I'd like to find a one-stop-shop website that allows comparison shopping for a whole package. That is, given my auto insurance requirements and my homeowners insurance requirements, which company has the lowest rates for the whole thing?

[NicoleC]

There can be huge differences; it defies logic. But do be sure you are comparing the EXACT same coverage; the standard policy terms vary among providers. Also be cautious when using internet/telephone brokers, because I have seen them use the bait and switch tactic when quoting prices -- when you call back there's some bogus reason why you couldn't get THAT rate they quoted.

[Southlander]

We have homeowners AND auto with Alfa.
My mom had both with State Farm, but they went WAY up on her homeowners. The agent said they really wanted to get out of homeowners. Of course, they're the guys who insured a lot of homes in Florida and the coastal areas.