Homeowners Insurance

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by house.searcher

Hi everyone, so I have quotes that range from 900 to 1600 for a house in Mineola. Liberty Mutual came in at around 900, State Farm at 1300, and Allstate at 1600. The Liberty Mutual policy is a "deluxe" policy ... I have no idea what that means. The State Farm and Allstate are HO-3 policies with almost the same exact coverages (+/- $500) and same exact deductibles. Has anyone had any experience with these three companies recently? Thanks in advance!

I've been using Liberty Mutual for the past 10 years or so and have been happy with the service I've gotten from my agent. Before that I had State Farm (that dates back to the Hurricane Gloria era), was not impressed and would not use them again unless there were no other choice.

A "deluxe" homeowners policy has extras that you won't find in a bare-bones one. For instance it may have Loss of Use coverage: If something happens and you home becomes unliveable, they will pay the actual cost for you to live elsewhere until your house is usable again. In other words if you have to rent a trailer or live in a hotel or rent an apartment, your policy will cover it. The policy I had with them had no time limit on that coverage either. So if LI were to have had a major hurricane that severely damaged my house to the extent that it took say 18 months to get it repaired (not unlikely, think of what's still undone in New Orleans five years after Katrina!) and I had to rent an apartment for all that time, my policy would have covered it.

You can ask the Liberty Mutual agent what the exact coverages are that the Deluxe Policy provides that their Basic one does not.

Also are your deductibles the same for all 3 companies quoted? You can lower your premium cost by raising your deductible, if you feel you could absorb more of a loss. The premium difference between having, say, a $500 deductible and a $5000 deductible can be considerable.

Also ask each company what their Hurricane Deductible (which is separate from the 'normal' deductible) is, if you don't already have that information. Just FYI, if you have a hurricane related loss, only that deductible will apply. For instance if your normal deductible is $2500 and your Hurricane Deductible is $4000, and you have a hurricane-related loss, only the $4000 deductible would apply... not the $2500 one at all.

[sunkist219]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

My parents got dumped by Allstate. They were then re-instated with Allstate.
I have Commercial mutual. Around $1100 a year for a Cape.
I had Allstate on my last place. They wouldn't hook me up on the new place.

If you guys want, I can check with my agent to see if he can get you a better price/coverage. I wasn't sure if you are happy with your current insurance or not. If you ever want to email me (sunkist219@hotmail.com) with details of what your current rate is, I can always check with him. I wouldn't post it here though (obviously!)

[hotkarl]

Originally Posted by sunkist219

If you guys want, I can check with my agent to see if he can get you a better price/coverage. I wasn't sure if you are happy with your current insurance or not. If you ever want to email me (sunkist219@hotmail.com) with details of what your current rate is, I can always check with him. I wouldn't post it here though (obviously!)

Thanks, but we're happy with it for now. They were the best price at the time for the coverage we needed, and they didn't jack the premium too much this year.

[house.searcher]

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I'll have to examine these quotes more closely now.

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

I've been using Liberty Mutual for the past 10 years or so and have been happy with the service I've gotten from my agent. Before that I had State Farm (that dates back to the Hurricane Gloria era), was not impressed and would not use them again unless there were no other choice.

A "deluxe" homeowners policy has extras that you won't find in a bare-bones one. For instance it may have Loss of Use coverage: If something happens and you home becomes unliveable, they will pay the actual cost for you to live elsewhere until your house is usable again. In other words if you have to rent a trailer or live in a hotel or rent an apartment, your policy will cover it. The policy I had with them had no time limit on that coverage either. So if LI were to have had a major hurricane that severely damaged my house to the extent that it took say 18 months to get it repaired (not unlikely, think of what's still undone in New Orleans five years after Katrina!) and I had to rent an apartment for all that time, my policy would have covered it.

You can ask the Liberty Mutual agent what the exact coverages are that the Deluxe Policy provides that their Basic one does not.

Also are your deductibles the same for all 3 companies quoted? You can lower your premium cost by raising your deductible, if you feel you could absorb more of a loss. The premium difference between having, say, a $500 deductible and a $5000 deductible can be considerable.

Also ask each company what their Hurricane Deductible (which is separate from the 'normal' deductible) is, if you don't already have that information. Just FYI, if you have a hurricane related loss, only that deductible will apply. For instance if your normal deductible is $2500 and your Hurricane Deductible is $4000, and you have a hurricane-related loss, only the $4000 deductible would apply... not the $2500 one at all.

[TeamExit]

i got $690 for the year from interboro, ML3T policy if that means anything. relatively cheap house though, im buying it for 221k.