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Yes I mentioned they were a broker. I like this particular Allstate agency ?
Brokers and agents are two different things. The terms are not interchangeable. The point Dudley is making (I think) is that something is not kosher here. Either the person you are speaking with at the Allstate Agency is doing something shady, that the agent who owns the place doesn't know about, or the Allstate agent is violating their contract with Allstate (doubtful).
Aren't most HO policies paid by the mortgage holder? It is part of my escrow account, so my credit rating is not a factor.
Matt
If one pays their HO insurance through their escrow account:
-A portion of your mortgage paymemt funds your escrow account
-Periodically, the bank makes payments on your behalf to your local tax authority and your insurance company
If you don't pay your mortgage payment on time, your escrow payments may be delayed. Thus, the insurance company doesn't care about the bank's credit scores.
I understand what you mean but the insurance companies don't look at it that way.
Yes I mentioned they were a broker. I like this particular Allstate agency because they are the most competitive when it comes to auto, and I've called around from big companies to small.
As for homeowners, while the best price is still important, bottom line is I want to be sure I am covered should anything happen, and claims go smoothly. So I gather Occidental is still legit. I'm sure some carriers respond quicker than others for claims. Are there ratings you have access to? I also tried Nationwide and they simply said they couldn't come close and to stick with what I have. How much better would I be able to do than $1500/yr for a 2700sf with other carriers?
The NYS Department of Financial Services has the claims research data you are looking for. You can call their consumer services bureau.
Occidental is an A-rated company, and is admitted to do business in NYS by the DFS. However, I have no idea how your policy was underwritten so it's tough to know if you are being properly covered by the policy. The carrier itself is fine however.
I'm a big fan of online websites for all companies that I use and State Farms is very user friendly and easy. After the tropical storm that wrecked my car(20k damage) it was fixed and paid for within a week. The adjuster was at my house within a day. To me that's a great company.
If you settled a claim within a week due to a Sandy-related auto loss, you are one of the luckiest people on Long Island. Grats!
Under normal circumstances, most carriers pay pretty quickly. It's in their best interest to do so, as to avoid losing customers, as well as avoiding complaints filed with the state by consumers.
Brokers and agents are two different things. The terms are not interchangeable. The point Dudley is making (I think) is that something is not kosher here. Either the person you are speaking with at the Allstate Agency is doing something shady, that the agent who owns the place doesn't know about, or the Allstate agent is violating their contract with Allstate (doubtful).
It's very tough being an Allstate agent (not brokers) nowadays. They are hog-tied by their underwriting guidelines and since they are captive agents, they cannot place you with another company.
My Allstate broker put me in another company immediately, they had no choice.
My Allstate broker put me in another company immediately, they had no choice.
Crooks
Look at the declarations of your policy with the other company. On the insuring agreement page, you will see the insurer and binding agent is NOT Allstate. He didn't place you anywhere...someone else did.
i am not sure if you all heard of CLUE but it is like the credit reporting agency of the insurance world. it logs every claim a company paid out on your behalf on your home, liability policy and car.
regardless of who's fault or even if it was vandelisim it is all there in clue.
other companies you shop around to use clue to judge you and your property.
what you may not know is a flood claim gets flagged to not only you but to the property as well.
that can hurt resale value alot. when the potential buyer checks on getting insurance he may be rejected or given an obscene rate based on the claims of former owners.
you are entitled to one free clue report a year. it can be as important to check as your credit history.
it could have wrong information about you.
you can get it here . you want to review both reports ,auto and personal property.
Thanks for that info, but do you know if it will reveal why the previous owners at this house filed a claim? It asks for my info so will it only provide MY previous home's claims? That's not the info I'm looking for - I need to know what was filed for this house previous to my owning it - unsure if it was a flood (we're not in a flood zone, but the basement could've been flooded from rain - something was definitely filed).
I tried to get the report but was unable to verify my identity and I'm currently locked out.
Thanks for that info, but do you know if it will reveal why the previous owners at this house filed a claim? It asks for my info so will it only provide MY previous home's claims? That's not the info I'm looking for - I need to know what was filed for this house previous to my owning it - unsure if it was a flood (we're not in a flood zone, but the basement could've been flooded from rain - something was definitely filed).
I tried to get the report but was unable to verify my identity and I'm currently locked out.
Property CLUE reports "should" list all claims at the property, regardless of who the owner was at the time of the loss/losses. From the CLUE reports I've reviewed in the past, it does not get into all the specifics of the claims. Just the date of loss, the loss amount, and the type of claim (e.g. water damage, wind damage, theft) will be listed.
Last edited by Dudley76; 02-19-2013 at 09:19 AM..
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