5 Comments

  1. Ugh, we had really expensive homeowners insurance for a while. Our house was built in 1890, so we were told the rates were so high because if there was a fire, you can’t replace the building materials cheaply. Hey, we wouldn’t want to. We’d just want to build a new, modern home. We weren’t interested in reconstructing from 1890’s materials! So anyway, we did shop around a LOT and were able to cut our rate in half. I’m not sure what the magic phrase is. We just kept at it until we found a company that was willing to play ball. Best wishes for a great outcome! We’re dealing with car insurance right now. Our company wanted to know if we were happy with our coverage. We told them yes, but it’s too expensive. So what did they do? They raised the rates. How’s that for customer service?

    • I think what kills me about homeowners insurance is they keep telling me it’s the cost of the house AND the lot. “If there was a fire…” Really? I’m not quite sure what would have to happen for my land to disappear. Sigh. I will keep after it, though. As for auto insurance, I think you just gave a textbook definition of terrible service. Womp womp.

  2. The first thing to note is that homeowners insurance is the cost to repair and replace, not the market cost. So unless you already had a $2500 insurance policy, a $200 increase is unwarranted. Labor and materials did not increase by 3% this year much less 10 or 20%.

    These are the magic words:
    “I have been very pleased with the service from your company, but I will be leaving for company xyz tomorrow unless my rates return to their former levels. What can you do for me?”

    Then they’ll give you some piddly discount, and you can say, “That’s not enough for me to stay with you. To keep me as a customer I need my rates to match what they were last year.”

    Don’t be mean. Just be decisive.

    Go ahead and get a quote or two or five online. And tell them you’ll be pulling your car insurance too.

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