Posts Tagged ‘Home Insurance’

Website – https://www.nationwide.com
Located – Columbus, OH
Phone – 1-800-882-2822
Employees – 36,000
Revenue (bil.) – $21.832
Description – Call it truth in advertising — Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company has offices throughout the US. The company is a leading US property/casualty insurer that also provides life insurance through its Nationwide Financial Services subsidiary. In addition to personal and commercial property/casualty coverage, life insurance, and financial services, Nationwide also offers such specialty lines as professional liability, workers’ compensation, agricultural insurance and loss-control, pet insurance, and other coverage. The company sells its products through such subsidiaries as ALLIED Group, Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance, GatesMcDonald, and Scottsdale Insurance.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

mrmazda’s Full Review of Nationwide Mutual Home Insurance Company

Nationwide is da’bomb!!! I have used them for my auto insurance for over 7 years and I have also used them for my house insurance and they continue to impress me with their low rates.

For my home insurance policy, I have total coverage on my house, full replacement regardless of cost and $100,000 contents replacement and it costs me $244.00 a year. That is over $100.00 cheaper than I could find it anywhere else.

Nationwide also provides something that I don’t find often with chain businesses and that is a high level of customer service. Not just being nice to you when you walk in the door but remembering who you are, even if you only make it in the actual office once a year or something. Anytime I go in or call, they always know who I am and ask me questions about my life or what’s going on from previous conversations we have had. That is invaluable to me as a customer because it makes me feel special and important….not just a number.

Overall, Nationwide is the best in my book. If nothing else, give them a call just to get an estimate on your insurance costs. It could save you money.

Skayfox’s Full Review of Nationwide Mutual Home Insurance Company

I have had a Nationwide Homeowner policy for approximately 11 years. During most of that time it has been a tenant policy. However, I am not treated any differently than a home owner. When I call my agent, I feel like I am talking to a friend. He always seems to show a personal interest in my account. When I call with a question, problem, or change, he acts like I am his only customer. No question, problem, or change is ever too large or too small.The few times I have spoken with representatives from the Nationwide Corporate office, I have been treated with respect. I think they try to make every customer feel important.Thankfully I have not had any claims on my homeowner policy. However, the one claim I had with my auto policy was handle quickly and without hassle.I feel the price of my homeowner policy is very reasonable for the coverage and service I receiveNationwide also offers several discounts including home and car and long-term customer. The company knows how to make its customers feel appreciated.The handbook I receive explaining what is covered under my policy is comprehensive and easy to understand. It has saved me several phone calls to my agent.

KLP’s Full Review of Nationwide Mutual Home Insurance Company

As a homeowner, with an expensive antique furniture collection, I have spent some time researching insurance companies. I have met with quite a few insurance reps and have considered many companies. The reason I decided on Nationwide was simple. Their track record.

I did a lot of asking around and it seemed that people who have Nationwide Insurance for home or auto have nothing but positive things to say about the company.

I called to make an appointment with a Nationwide agent and was delighted when she offered to come to my home for the appointment. We met at a time that was convenient for me, after work in the evening, and we set the appointment for two days after my original call.

When I met with my Nationwide agent we went over what was my current policy. She pointed out some areas that involved unnecessary expense and in the end provided my home and belongings with better coverage for significantly less money. She showed me away to have my collection fully covered against theft and damage for only a few extra dollars a year.

Unfortunately I have needed to use my policy for storm damage to my home. The claims department was helpful and processed my claim quite quickly. In no time at all, about 10 days after my initial call, I had the check and the repairs were made.

I have found Nationwide to be a great company to work with. Ask around, I’m sure you know someone who has coverage through them and odds are that they are satisfied.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.erieinsurance.com
Located – Erie, PA
Phone – 1-800-458-0811
Employees – 4,250
Revenue – $1,132,291,000
Description – Formed in 1925 as a Pennsylvania auto insurer, Erie Insurance Group has rolled down lots of other roads since then, offering personal auto, property, and life insurance through its subsidiaries Erie Family Life Insurance and publicly-traded Erie Indemnity. The group also offers commercial coverage (including auto, liability, and workers’ compensation) for smaller businesses. Doing business in a dozen eastern states, Erie Insurance Group sells its products through more than 2,000 independent agencies. The company has slowly but steadily expanded its territory, choosing to concentrate on growth in areas it already serves.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

prh2s’s Full Review of Erie Home Insurance Group

I’m putting this review in the homeowner’s category, although really it’s an assessment of the complete property/casualty package available from Erie: auto, homeowner’s, and personal umbrella liability (PUL) (if you don’t know what a PUL policy is, visit the FAQ at www.insweb.com/learningcenter/qa/umbrella-a.htm). Those who are interested only in homeowner’s insurance can skip to the second and fourth sections of the review.

Personal Umbrella Liability: Excellent

When I was shopping for property/casualty insurance last year, I started by looking at the strength of companies’ PUL policies. Erie’s was as comprehensive as any I found, and more comprehensive than those offered by GEICO and Amica (two popular favorites). Rather than bore you with the details of the policy contracts, suffice to say that Erie was the only one of the three to respond affirmatively to each of the following test questions:

* A mother watches as my car accidentally strikes and kills her young child. The mother suffers no bodily injury, but sustains severe psychic trauma. Will your policy pay for the mother’s injuries?

* I rent a cottage in Scotland for a weekend. I build a fire in the fireplace, and sparks from the fire burn the cottage to the ground. Will your policy cover the damage, and will you have a representative in the UK to defend me?

* I host a large party, with a caterer providing refreshments. I sign a contract with the caterer assuming full liability for any negligence on the part of the caterer. The caterer serves tainted food, and several of my guests become ill. Will your policy cover the liability I assumed in the contract?

Of course no policy offers complete coverage in every possible situation (which is why it’s wise to make sure that your PUL covers the risks that you most need/want covered), but Erie was willing to touch things that many other insurers wouldn’t: psychic injury, damage to rental property outside the US, and contractually assumed liability. Incidentally, psychic injuries like the one hypothesized above are not uncommon, and coverage for such injuries has been the subject of a lot of litigation. Most insurance companies whose policies cover only “bodily injury” refuse to pay for psychic damages that are not accompanied by physical suffering. It’s reassuring to have a policy that covers all kinds of injuries.

(This year’s PUL policy renewal included an amendment stipulating that Erie would no longer cover personal injuries brought about by mold and fungi. I gather that this has become a standard exclusion, given all the hysteria over household mold. Still, any exclusion is hard for the policyholder to swallow–especially in a PUL policy, where comprehensiveness is most desired.)

Homeowner’s: Excellent

Our homeowner’s policy is Erie’s “Ultracover,” an HO-3 “special form,” “all perils” affair. It is exceptionally good: it covers full replacement cost of the dwelling, “ordinance or law” expenses (when repairs cost more than simple replacement, due to changes in local building codes), and damage to other people’s personal property held in the homeowner’s custody. There are many other nice extras, too, which Erie brings to the policyholder’s attention by placing an “X” in the margins of the contract next to “coverage not found in most homeowners’ policies.” This makes it a little easier to comparison shop among policies.

One quirk of our homeowner’s policy is its coverage for loss of use (i.e., payment for alternate lodging while repairs are done on the home). Most policies provide a fixed amount of coverage–usually up to 20% of the value of the insured property–but Erie’s promise is more nebuolous: “we will pay all reasonable additional living expenses while you and members of your household reside elsewhere.” This raised a red flag, but my agent quickly allayed my fears by providing examples of additional living expenses Erie had approved for other clients. All were very comfortable arrangements.

Auto Liability: Good

There are already plenty of Epinions praising Erie’s auto insurance. This isn’t the place to add another one. I will note, however, that those who expect to do more than occasional driving outside the US and Canada may want to look at a PUL, since Erie’s auto policy is geographically restricted.

General Matters

Finally, here are some of the other things about Erie that merit consideration:

* Excellent financial strength ratings from everyone–except Weiss (www.weissratings.com), which gives Erie a “C” because of weak profitability. I find this puzzling, since Erie has long been among the most profitable property/casualty insurers.

* Low premiums. Very low premiums. My auto policy, for instance, costs nearly 20% less than a comparable policy with GEICO–and almost 50% less than a policy with State Farm. The homeowner’s policy was about 20% less than it would have been with Amica or Travelers (my former insurer). There’s no mystery as to why the premiums are so low: Erie’s underwriting is as stringent as any in the business.

* Good customer interface. It’s nice to have an agent rather than a phone rep. I also enjoy the quarterly magazine Erie sends to policyholders, which is full of smart safety tips.

khahn86351′s Full Review of Erie Home Insurance Group

I have been an ERIE Insurance customer for almost 3 years now. My husband had his auto insurance policy through ERIE many years ago and seemed pleased, so when we purchased our home, we called ERIE for a quote. I don’t seem to remember whom we compared them with (approximately 3 other companies) but ERIE offered the best coverage at the lowest price.

Since ERIE’s homeowner’s insurance products are available only through local independent agents representing ERIE, we got in touch with a local agent and received our quote immediately over the phone. Our agent, Ron Nanosky, came out to our home to get our policy in order. Not only was I impressed with the professionalism, but the convenience as well.

A little about ERIE . . .

Erie offers Personal Auto Insurance, Personal Property Insurance, Commercial Insurance, Reinsurance and Life Insurance. They have also been a top-rated company for 75 years, consistently earning an A (Superior) rating from the A.M. Best Company.

Currently, ERIE Insurance Group’s service territory includes: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin & District of Columbia.

ERIE Insurance claims policyholders will be contacted PERSONALLY within 24 hours of any claims report, available 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. They also will provide CASH in an emergency loss situation.

Depending on how you set up your mortgage, you can have your homeowners insurance put into your mortgage. My husband and I pay our homeowner’s policy separate, and ERIE offers payment plans for people like us. We currently pay the policy in full each year, but there are options to pay monthly if policyholders need a smaller payment.

Policyholders also receive a complimentary issue of “IN SYNC” three times a year. I personally wish they would send issues monthly since it is filled with consumer & safety tips for families. I read it front to back whenever it arrives in our mailbox.

ERIE’s HomeProtector Programs

ERIE currently offers 5 types of HomeProtector policies. The first I will discuss is called the Ultracover Policy. This policy covers your home and any attached structures, with a guaranteed replacement cost settlement. It also covers other structures on your property that are separate from your home. Personal property coverage is also included, and loss of use, which covers the additional expenses you may incur due to temporary relocation. This policy also covers personal liability for bodily injury, property damage or personal injury claims, and medical payments to anyone injured in an accident on your property.

Some of the optional coverage’s available include sewer or drain back-up, incidental business occupancy, earthquake coverage, scheduled personal property, enhancement endorsement, expanded endorsement, personal computer coverage endorsement and dwelling and other structures such as siding and/or roofing restoration coverage.

The Extracover Policy and the Broadcover Policy seem to offer the same coverage as the Ultracover Policy, just at a lower amount of insurance. This basically means value of your home and personal property depends on which policy will be right for you.

Renters also should carry insurance, so ERIE offers the Tenantcover Policy. This policy covers personal property, loss of use, which covers the additional expenses you may incur due to temporary relocation, personal liability for bodily injury, property damage or personal injury claims, and medical payments to others as described above.

And for the Condo owners, there is the Condocover Policy providing coverage for personal property, additions or alterations to the condo, loss of use, loss assessments up to $5,000 if the condo association’s coverage is inadequate, personal liability for bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury claims, and medical payments for accidents on the property.

http://www.erie-insurance.com/default_ie.asp

In all honesty, I had never visited ERIE’s Website until I decided to write this review. I found a lot of helpful information that I was unaware of previous to my visit.

The Website provides ERIE Insurance Group’s background information, allows anyone to locate a local agent, describes their policies and coverage’s, and even offers advice and tips for safety.

One of the options I found interesting was Access Erie. Access Erie allows policyholders to submit a claim online instead of via phone. But for those without Internet access, you still have the option to call 1-800-FOR-ERIE to submit claims.

Overall, the Website was simple and easy to navigate, with the pages load fairly quickly on my Pentium 4, 1.8GHs computer.

A little about my policy

I am not an insurance agent, but I do know what I need covered in my home because of past experiences. We carry additional coverage on our computer, jewelry and collectibles. We also chose the sewer/drain back-up coverage because of our neighborhood sewage lines history. ERIE also provides a discount since we have an alarm system on our home.

Since we pay our policy yearly, we receive a declarations summary of our policy. This provides our agent’s contact information, our coverage’s and protections, as well as our deductible amounts we chose. When our policy is up for renewal, ERIE automatically send a renewal declaration summary with your bill. If we want to add or remove any options, we are able to do so with a simple phone call to our agent. ERIE then sends out an amended copy with the corrections.

I have called my agent on several occasions to make changes to our policy. We have never had a problem and the changes were made faster than we expected. Thankfully, I have never had to file any claims with ERIE, but I am confident that if I did, I would be completely satisfied with their response.

Ready to switch to ERIE?

Erie Insurance Group Home Office
100 Erie Insurance Place
Erie, PA 16530
Phone: 1-800-458-0811

Or if you live around Northeast Ohio, give my agent a call:
Ron Nanosky @ America’s Insurance Agency – 330-757-9045

© khahn86351 2002

Bryan_Carey’s Full Review of Erie Home Insurance Group

Headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie Insurance Group is a full- service insurance company wide a wide range of services to protect individuals and businesses from catastrophic losses. This company was founded in 1925 as an auto insurance provider. Today, it has expanded its product line to include a broader range of financial services. And one of these is Erie Homeowner’s insurance, designed to give property owner’s peace of mind.

Types of Policies:

Erie’s Homeowner’s policies are broken into four areas:

HomeProtector- The most popular product sold, this protects personal property and belongings. The four options offered here are: Broadcover (covers building and identified perils), Extracover (covers, building, identified perils, and all building risks), and Ultracover (covers all risks on both personal property and building).

TenantCover- This is Erie’s renters insurance plan and it covers loss of personal property, personal liability, medical coverage to anyone who is damaged while at your residence, and living expense reimbursement if relocation becomes necessary.

CondoCover- This product is intended for condo owners and it protects the structure, personal liability, medical coverage, etc.

Mobile HomeProtector- This is similar to the other products except it is intended for those who own mobile homes. It also protects against personal liability, structural damage, medical coverage, etc.

Pricing:

Erie’s Insurance coverage policies vary in price based on the level of coverage selected. If you want to minimize your costs as a homeowner, the least expensive option is the Broadcover homeowner’s policy. Depending on what you do with your property, this level of coverage will probably be adequate. And the price of this product is low. In fact, the prices of most all Erie products are lower than the industry average, making this company one of the better choices for homeowner’s insurance.

Customer Service:

If you have questions about your homeowner’s policy, you should always try to contact your local agent first but if this is not possible or if you have forgotten the number or if you need to talk to someone after regular business hours, Erie’s general customer service is available to assist you at 800-458-0811. If you need to file a claim and cannot reach your local agent, you can call the claims hotline, 800-367-3743.

Final Thoughts:

Erie Homeowner’s insurance provides a cost effective way to protect your personal residence and other property from damage. I have used Erie Homeowner’s insurance for a couple of years now and while I have not had to file a claim (knock on wood), I have still interacted with Erie on other levels and my experiences have been mostly positive.

First, let’s talk about pricing because among the many factors involved in selecting homeowner’s insurance, cost ranks pretty high on most people’s lists. And this is one area where Erie scores high marks. The insurance the company offers to protect your home from the elements is priced competitively and this is one of the main reasons why I selected Erie and dumped my former insurance provider, Nationwide. I didn’t have any bad things to say about Nationwide, but it couldn’t match the prices offered at Erie. For almost exactly the same protection, my premiums per month were about fifteen percent lower using Erie.

Another thing offered by Erie (and many other companies) is a discount if you have more than one policy. This can help save consumers even more money and it provides incentive to switch your other insurance coverage over to Erie. This is exactly what I did with my auto insurance coverage. Again, I had been using Nationwide for many years and I didn’t really have any problem with them. But again, they were unable to match the prices for the same coverage. So, once again, I switched to Erie and my homeowner’s premiums were reduced a little more as a result.

Besides pricing, other important factors to consumers include the claims filing process and customer service. Like most people, I have never filed a claim on my homeowner’s insurance so I cannot comment on the Erie’s effectiveness in this area. But I can comment on the customer service and so far, it has been good- not incredible or fantastic, but good. I haven’t had any problems getting my mortgage holder to transfer the money (I send in one large payment that combines my mortgage payment, property tax, and insurance to my mortgage company) each month to Erie, and Erie has never had any problems collecting the money and applying the premiums. My personal dealings with Erie have also been courteous and professional.

I can only think of one small complaint I have had with Erie. One day, they contacted me and advised me they would discontinue my policy if I didn’t upgrade my electrical service. According to one of the tenets of my policy, I was forced to upgrade my level of amp service to my house to continue coverage. Erie told me they would cancel my policy if I didn’t comply. Even though I was a little peeved at the inconvenience, I gave in and made the necessary changes. Given Erie’s lower rates and my level of satisfaction, I decided this was a good idea and I upgraded my electrical service. It didn’t cost that much and it was worth it to keep the low premiums that Erie offers. Besides, the added amps made my property more valuable.

Overall, my experience with Erie has been positive and I can’t see changing to another carrier unless I can find another company that will offer the same coverage for an even lower price. Considering what I have and what I pay for it, I cannot imagine another company with the ability to offer a better deal. I could lower my coverage and save some money, but I would rather have the peace of mind. Even though the odds of having to file a homeowner’s claim are low, saving a few more dollars by switching to a lower- coverage option wouldn’t be worth the worry.

For now, I will stick with my homeowner’s coverage with Erie Insurance. My ExtraCover policy is inexpensive for what I get, and it’s doubtful any other company will be able to match the low premiums charged by this insurance provider.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.statefarm.com
Located – Bloomington, IL
Phone – 1-888-559-1922
Employees – 68,000
Revenue (mil.) – 61,611
Description – Like an enormous corporation, State Farm is everywhere. The leading US personal lines property/casualty company (by premiums), State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the #1 provider of auto insurance. It also is the leading home insurer and offers non-medical health and life insurance through its subsidiary companies. Its products are marketed via some 17,000 agents in the US and Canada. Competition has increased with the fall of barriers between the banking, securities, and insurance industries. State Farm’s efforts to diversify include a federal savings bank charter (State Farm Bank) that offers consumer and business loans through its agents and by phone, mail, and the Internet.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

ms hollywood’s Full Review of State Farm Home Insurance Group

Why would anyone trust their home, car or property in the hands of someone they have never met? Yet so many of us do just that.

In my search for insurance I had called many agents. A particular agent stood out because of an intangible sincerity that simply did not come across with other companies I had called. But I still wanted to see this agent and his staff in their own environment. And I wanted them to see me, to know the person they were insuring. From the moment I stepped into my agent’s local office, I knew they were good people. Their office was full of personal awards, charitable involvements, things that say these are real people.

That was 10 years ago. During 7 of those years I must have had 3 or 4 accidents. Each time I made the fateful call, the first question was “Are you O.K.?” My agent and his staff were always available when I needed them. Even when leaving a message about some small inquiry, I would get a call back within the hour. At the beginning of my policy, I drove a ’73 Super Beetle convertible. They were one of the few companies to offer me 100% coverage.

Five years ago my car and home were broken into. I called State Farm and was quite emotional. They were supportive and caring. They simply asked for receipts on the items taken and covered the exact cost.

Then, 3 years ago I bought a Jeep Wrangler without anti-lock brakes. I have had SIX wrecks since. One day I received the letter that State Farm was dropping me. I had suspected this would happen since the last accident was costly. They were still kind. They reminded me that 2 accidents would fall off next year and that they would be glad for me to return then.

I recently purchased a home and called to ask about home insurance. Upfront, my agent told me their rates would be high since I no longer had auto insurance with them. He advised me to wait until I could come back for auto insurance. THAT is the kind of honesty and concern that keeps me loyal. I believe the bad reviews I have read. I also believe that these stories can apply to any company. Remember, Independently OWNED and OPERATED. The moral of the story again…it is NOT the company; it’s the agent behind the company. And always go with a local office. Let them see your face and you see theirs. THEN decide.

moneyhoney’s Full Review of State Farm Home Insurance Group

Yes I have been an employee of a State Farm Agent. I am proud to say that I am insured by State Farm and because I worked there and saw what this agent did for clients in their time of need, I will remain a State Farm Client.
We had a tornado rip through our area and we had in excess of two hundred claims, auto and homes, some severely damaged and others that you had to search for the damage but each one was taken care of as if they were out in the cold.
In one situation an elderly lady lost her home to fire, and needed help to remember what she had in her home! My agent said take your time and ask questions let her fill in the blanks. Less than three weeks later she was in a new double wide and had replaced a major portion of her personal property. It was so nice to be able to help someone who needed HELP! I love the concept of insurance to spread the cost of loss among a lot of people so that one will not have to endure the cost of the loss alone.

calwaone’s Full Review of State Farm Home Insurance Group

State Farm has insured our homes for years, and always come through when there was any problem to be dealt with. The best thing that I like about State Farm is that the company doesn’t try to sell you a policy that is too expensive or that insures more than need.

Often, it is natural to want to insure your home for the amount it cost you to buy it, or for even more. Now, often, it will take that much to replace it, should it be totally destroyed. But, often, it will not. In my case, the homes have gone up so much in worth, that I would not need that full amount as insurance. Remember, the foundation will probably not burn up. The grounds, the yard, will not disappear. You paid for those things when you bought your home, but, do you need to insure for them? I don’t think so.

Liability is a really important item to be high on, though. Realize that if a dog you’ve never seen before bites someone you’ve never seen before on your lawn, you could be completely liable! If a burglar breaks his leg while trying to get into your home, you could be liable for his injuries! Now, that sounds crazy, but it is true. I used to work as a claim’s agent for an insurance company, and you wouldn’t believe how far your liability extends if/when there is an ‘incident’. Be prepared not to lose your home and everything you own because of ridiculous liabilities.

I like to insure the home I live in, with a life insurance type policy, also. If my husband were to die, the home would be paid for. It is not an expensive thing to do and it lets me sleep nights. State farm just includes it in the price of my policy. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, things can happen. Do you have children to rear, do you have enough money coming in, by yourself, to pay those mortgage payments if something should happen? Consider this when you are making the policy. You can add it on, anytime, with State Farm. I like that security blanket.

State Farm Home Mortgage has been fair with me. They replaced the carpets and linoleum in my home when the washer went crazy and flooded all over the flooring. They paid for new flooring, when I just plugged in the vacuum cleaner, and fire shot out of the socket, burning a hole in my kitchen floor linoleum. They pay quickly and they pay a fair sum to repair or to replace what should be.

I recommend State Farm to every home owner!

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.travelers.com
Located – St. Paul, Minnesota
Phone – 1-888-695-4625
Employees – 33,000
Revenue (bil.) – 24.477
Description – The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) is the largest American insurance company by market value.[2] It is also the second largest writer of commercial property casualty and personal insurance in the United States. Travelers has significant operations in New York, New York, Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota. The company has field offices in every U.S. state, plus operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Shanghai and Canada. In 2008, the company reported revenues of US $24 billion and total assets of US $110 billion. Travelers, through its subsidiaries and approximately 14,000 independent agents and brokers, provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals.

Source: http://www.wikipedia.org

Reviews & Ratings

mommabunny’s Full Review of The Travelers Company Home Insurance

Two years ago we moved into our home in Mobile, AL. This is our third home and once again, it was time to shop for homeowner’s insurance. I got quotes from several of the big name carriers, and decided to check with Traveler’s primarily because we had our auto insurance with them.

A big consideration for us was a flat deductible for all losses. It seems that the trend lately is to provide a separate 3% to 5% deductible for Hurricane losses. This could be a big bite if we lost our $175,000 home in a big storm. Being this close to the coast, this is a pretty substantial risk to us.

Travelers offered a flat $500 deductible: a winning point.

We chose to sign with them, and are reaping the 10% discount for having our auto insurance with them as well.

When I read through our new policy, I noticed a provision for loss of frozen food with no deductible. This turned out to be a real boon when we returned from a two week vacation to find that our the breaker had tripped to our huge upright freezer, leaving a mess of rotten meat and seafood. The $500 some odd check didn’t get rid of the mess, but it did allow us to replace the food.

I try to keep up on policy pricing, and so far, Travelers has remained quite competitive, and their customer service has been excellent.

dbhoutx’s Full Review of The Travelers Company Home Insurance

Before I get too far into this review, I want to mention that I have never filed a homeowners claim, so I am focusing on everything but claims experiences. Perhaps someone who has filed a claim will read this review and will be inspired to write about their claim filing experience.

I bought my first home 4.5 years ago, before I was married and a few months after I returned to Houston from Tampa, where I attended graduate school. (Read my review on USF – Tampa.) I was very excited when I was offered a job at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (Home of the Texas Heart Institute) since I really wanted to be back in Houston. I decided to rent an apartment for six months and would find a house during that time. Thus, I knew I had my work cut out when I arrived back home. Fortunately my parents live in Houston so moving and the associated problems were a bit easier to deal with since my parents were willing to help me out!

Three months after returning home, I found my house. Now, it was time to get insurance and do all of the other things associated with buying a home. Since I already had my car insured through GEICO, I made my first call to them and asked if they could provide homeowners coverage. They transferred me to that department. Through my conversation with them, they explained that another company underwrote the insurance and they acted as agents selling the policy.

I got my quote and to my surprise, the price was very reasonable. Of course, I had been covered under a renters policy through them previously so it gave them an idea that I was claims free and a reasonably good risk. Getting the insurance was painless. All I had to do was provide GEICO with information about the Title company so they could coordinate the coverage periods. This was easily accomplished. My house was insured at the time I took possession.

My rate was very reasonable considering I what I was used to paying for renters insurance. I got tons more coverage for only 5 times the cost of my renters policy. In fact, the total exposure went up by a factor of 10 or so. Since the day I purchased the initial homeowners policy, I have increased the coverage 25-30% including adding excess personal property coverage, up to the maximum allowable limits, and have only faced a 15% increase in the policy costs.

Each time I need information about the policy, I make a quick phone call to Travelers representatives and have an answer within a few minutes. Only once did it take longer than a five minute phone call to get the information I needed and that was because the representative needed to talk to an underwriter about what could be done to increase the coverage. Even then, I had an answer within a couple of hours. Most recently, I decided to consolidate all of our insurance and other financial information into a single spreadsheet. I called my representative at Travelers who coordinated obtaining all of the other insurance information about all of my other policies. My home fax was busy that day collecting all of the face sheets from each policy so I could track how much insurance we had and how much it cost us.

In addition to our regular homeowners policy, when I got married, we added a valuable items policy to cover our jewelry. Unfortunately this is a very costly policy. We pay a premium of about 75% as much as our homeowners policy for a very good jewelry policy. Or course it does cover a lot of jewelry and provides for coverage for virtually any loss. I am sure a self inflicted loss would not be covered, but I did not read the policy to be sure. Since it covers our watches and wedding/engagement rings and some other jewelry I have given my wife, I figure we will not loose the items for any reason other than an accident.

So far as a policy holder paying premiums and having not filed a claim, I am a happy policy holder. I hope that should I ever need to file a claim, I will still be as happy! The rates are better than most of the other big insurers and I make sure each year that this is true. Give them a call and get a quote.

kevlog’s Full Review of The Travelers Company Home Insurance

As some of you know, my wife and I woke up 2 weeks ago to find a scene from the Titanic playing itself out in our basement! Stuff floating everywhere, water shooting everywhere, electrocution hazards everywhere (I found out later-after sloshing through the ‘lake’ in my cutoffs about the hazards!) and a general disaster in process! How did this happen, you ask? A simple thing really; the hot water hose leading in to our GE Washing Machine simply wore down and snapped. From now on we’ll be sure to shut off the water after each and every load of laundry we do!! (Do you do this? You might want to consider it!)

So you get the scene here right? Toys, books, games, family heirlooms (Auntie June’s Santa Claus toilet seat cover!! :-O ), some of my precious breweriana…all ruined!! It was a major drag to say the least, but our experience with Traveler’s Insurance turned the whole experience in to a somewhat positive experience. Thanks to a kindly fire Lieutenant who said he’d submit a thorough Fire Report which would help with our insurance claim (“insurance???” I thought to myself!” Oh yeah, homeowner’s insurance!”) we started the process of itemizing our losses. So, for two days I sat in the backyard, surrounded by molding rugs, books, my precious college diaries, etc., making an extensive list for our insurance adjustor. (this, while neighborhood kids kept asking ‘When’s the Yard Sale?’) The adjustor from Traveler’s called us promptly, put us at ease, told us step by step what we needed to do, and even gave us advice on getting the smoke and mold smells out of our basement. Lysol Antibacterial Mountain Scent spray works wonders to kill mold! He told us to include everything, including hours spent cleaning up, garbage bag costs, and he reminded us to keep all receipts from the plumbers, the electricians, the pump rental place, etc., that would come in handy in the coming weeks. We held on to all our bags of damaged items, but Traveler’s never felt it necessary to send anyone out to inspect, since our paperwork, fire report, etc., all supported our claim.

I followed his advice and proceeded to transfer my itemized lists to an Excel Spreadsheet to make his life easier. (He was VERY appreciative and and I believe it sped up the whole claims process) I faxed him all the receipts, the Fire Report, as well as a copy of a complimentary letter I had sent to our agent regarding our adjustor’s excellent, professional service (call me a brown-noser, it’s ok) and within a few days we had our check!

The total our adjustor came up with was exactly 250 dollars above the amount we requested and our deductible was…..drumroll please….250 dollars! Needless to say, we were happy with Traveler’s and feel confident knowing they handle our homeowners insurance. How very appropriate their umbrella symbol was in our case! Our water damage, it should be noted, is different than weather related water damage which is NOT covered by most homeowner’s policies! You need a special FLOOD policy for that sort of protection.

Now, if we could just remember to shut off those hoses after every washing!

Thanks for reading!

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.USAA.com
Located – San Antonio, TX
Phone – 1-800-531-USAA (8722)
Employees – 22,700
Revenue (bil.) – 14.418
Description – USAA has a decidedly military bearing. The mutual insurance company serves more than 6 million member customers, primarily military personnel, military retirees, and their families. Its products and services include property/casualty (sold only to military personnel) and life insurance, banking, discount brokerage, and investment management. USAA relies largely on technology and direct marketing to sell its products, reaching clients via the telephone and Internet. The company’s USAA Alliance Services unit provides discount shopping (floral, jewelry, and home and auto safety items), and travel and delivery services to its members.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

hotaru25′s Full Review of USAA Group Home Insurance

I selected USAA for renter’s insurance because of the great deal that they have given me while I was finishing up setting my auto insurance account.

The friendly representative asked me if I would be interested in a special offer–I really liked that, she did not force it on me like so many other companies do. I received an offer that for 25 dollars a year, I would receive up to 3,000 dollars of insurance coverage on everything of value in my dorm room. With an offer like that, who could resist? I accepted right away (after checking and discovering that there was no catch to the coverage).

They proccessed the papers quickly and ensured that I understood everything involved in the process–something you don’t find every day in an insurance company that uses jargon and round-a-bout answers to get one’s money (I know from personal experience). I thank USAA for the great deal and for the friendly personnel that do not act like used car salesmen that force candy-coated deals onto the unsuspecting consumers. Finally, a company that is truthful and genuinely concerned for their people.

cbermom’s Full Review of USAA Group Home Insurance

Long ago, my father was in an insurance pool. Through that pool, he was able to get auto insurance through USAA. He had insurance through them for 3 years before the pool switched him. He loved the insurance, but was unwilling to join the military in order to keep it!

When my husband joined the Army, my father asked if we could get insurance through USAA. He was still praising the company after all these years. At the time, though, USAA was only available to commissioned officers and not to enlisted members of the military.

A couple of years ago, all that changed. USAA became available to enlisted members of the military. My husband and I immediately called and changed our coverage. We were surprised to find out how much lower our premiums were. We were able to save well over $50 on our auto insurance!

When we bought our house, we signed up with USAA as our homeowner’s insurance. We had never needed to call on them for anything…until recently.

I went away for a couple of weeks during which time, we had a power outage at our house. We have, in our garage, a large chest freezer that was filled with food my mother-in-law had given us. Her father had owned cattle and had slaughtered a cow. We probably had 1/3 of a cow in our freezer, not to mention some game meat as well as fresh frozen corn from the farm. When the power outage occurred, the GFCI switch on the outlet went. The freezer sat with no power for nearly a week until I got home. By the time I returned everything in the freezer was completely defrosted.

I was upset by all this, but thought there was nothing to be done until some friends told me that should be covered under our homeowner’s policy and to call and find out. I did.

The gentleman I spoke with was incredibly friendly and attentive. I explained what had happened and he told me to try to make a list of what was in the freezer so I could value it. He suggested I call some grocery chains to get prices. My husband and I sat down and made up a list as best we could of what was in the freezer. I then called Kroger, a large grocery chain and got prices for everything.

I phoned my USAA agent back and left him a message with the total price of what we figured to be in the freezer. He called me back later that day and said a check would be sent out to us for that amount. That was all! I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I was expecting a hassle and a lot of running around, but the agent took care of everything and really put my mind at ease!

We are absolutely thrilled with USAA and will keep them for as long as we remain attached to the military.

ralwine’s Full Review of USAA Group Home Insurance

I selected USAA insurance when I first rented an apartment. My experience with their auto insurance was great, and their rates were the best I could find. I even went to the Metropolitan kiosk in the mall, and the agent there asked who was currently insured with and said he couldn’t possibly beat their rates.

Not everyone will be eligible – it’s only for those either in the military service or their close relatives. They provide service by phone to most locations, having agents only in areas with a large military population. I have had no problems in that regard – their customer representatives are quality. I’ve called at odd hours to make policy changes, and they are made and applied right then. Oh, did I mention the annual profit-sharing check we get? Our Subscriber Savings Account means we are issued checks when the company’s profits allow. I’ve had only one year in 18 when I didn’t get a check, and that was 1992 (remember Hurricane Andrew and a few other natural disasters?).

When I purchased my first home, naturally I got USAA Homeowner’s insurance. I’ve not been disappointed. I have made two claims, one due to a terrible lightning storm that arose suddenly and we had no time to turn off the electrical equipment we had running. I had no problem getting through, although I was on hold for a while, and it turned out there were calls coming from all our my region due to the same storm.

They replaced the TV/VCR, Bearcat police scanner, and a number of other items that were fried by the lightning. They asked only that we get the estimated replacement prices from our local area. The Bearcat was old, and they bought us a new one. We did pay our deductible, but it was pretty minimal.

Not very long afterward, another storm rolled through and we lost a very old and tall oak tree. Whew – it missed the house! USAA not only covered the tree removal, which was over $800, they waived our deductible because we’d just paid it for the previous claim! We did have to send a picture of the tree to show the damage, but that was it. The check arrived for the tree surgeon before he’d even hauled all the wood away.

I was very surprised at the exceptional service and ease of getting replacements for even old items. Their policies do cover replacement costs, and the items are replaced “in kind,” or by the same brand (not some cheaper version of the same item).

Guess what? They did not raise our rates! I am so very pleased with USAA, both auto and homeowner’s insurance, that I’d recommend them to anyone eligible.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.allstate.com
Located – Northbrook, IL
Phone – 1-800-ALLSTATE
Employees – 38,000
Revenue (bil.) – 36.769
Description – Ya gotta hand it to Allstate. The “good hands” company is the second-largest US personal lines insurer, behind rival State Farm. The company’s Allstate Protection segment sells auto, homeowners, property/casualty, and life insurance products in Canada and the US. Allstate Financial provides life insurance through subsidiaries Allstate Life, American Heritage Life, and Lincoln Benefit Life. It also provides investment products, targeting affluent and middle-income consumers. Allstate Motor Club provides emergency road service, and adding to its repertoire, the company also offers the nationwide online Allstate Bank.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

psimon’s Full Review of The Allstate Home Insurance Company

This past Sunday, from about 3AM until way after lunch we had a really nasty storm blow through our area. Torrential rains, gale winds, thunder, the whole works. Lots of fun.

About 9AM, we noticed water dripping from the door frame of our upstairs bathroom. A sort time after that, we noticed the ceiling in the bathroom getting wet. Around 10:30, while having my coffee and reading a soggy newspaper, I had the joy of watching my patio glass table get blown over, and watched it shatter all over our paver deck. I got in the car and drove around the block to look at the back of the house, and noticed shingles missing over where the water was coming in. It was a fun day so far.

We realized the damage was really mounting up. Time to call the insurance company to see if they would cover it. I was expecting to hear that it was an act of God, and ‘too bad’! Boy was I wrong!

Allstate (of NJ) responded within an hour or so. Their claims folks were on the phone with us determining exactly what happened. An hour later, we got a call saying that someone would be out to check on the roof. By 4PM, a roofing company was out to our place. In what was still 20-30 mph winds, someone went up on the roof (2nd story) and made temporary patches to keep things from getting worse. I know I wouldn’t have gone up there then.

By Monday, they were on the phone with us telling us everything that the roofer had found (which was more than I realized), and that they were cutting a check to repair/replace everything! We were amazed. We couldn’t believe that they handled it that fast.

I am VERY impressed with the speed and helpfulness of the claims office. They were right there to help us, and keep things from getting worse. They cut the check in, what we thought, was record time. To us, the service was far better than we ever expected.

We sure are glad we are with the good hands people. I wish other services responded as efficiently and as quickly as Allstate. You can be sure, they have my vote as an excellent Home Insurance company.

An addendum…. The check showed up 3 days after we filed the claim! Sure can’t beat that!

cnzmom’s Full Review of The Allstate Home Insurance Company

I have dealt with a lot of different insurance companies in my lifetime and have come to realize that it isn’t necessarily the insurance company, but your agent that makes or breaks your opinion. My current Allstate agent has gone above and beyond for my family. Last winter here in Atlanta we were having terrible problems with ice on trees and power lines, there were huge outages all over the city and metropolitan areas. Our Allstate agent called us to make sure we were not impacted by the power outage and reminded us of our coverage and how we could take advantage of it. I can honestly say that I slept a lot easier knowing that should we be impacted by the storm we were covered for just about everything. It wasn’t the insurance that impressed me with Allstate, it was my agent.

Profilewriter’s Full Review of The Allstate Home Insurance Company

One day a sheriff appeared at our front door. The very sight of a uniformed officer was shock enough, but when he held out papers he was serving on our young son, we were horrified.

Patrick? He must be mistaken, we exclaimed. Who could be suing our 11 year-old, and why?

Turns out that several years before, Patrick, then a third grader, had been playing touch football in the schoolyard during recess. During the game, one of the children fell down and broke his leg. Time had passed and the boy could remember the name of only one other child who had been playing. Yup, Patrick. Our son was being sued along with the school and the teacher who had been on duty.

The sheriff who served the papers was a kind man. I don’t recall the chain of events exactly, but at some point we invited him in, and, seeing our upset, he told us not to worry. “Contact your homeowners’ company; they’ll take care of everything,” he advised.

We got ahold of our son. Did he recall the accident? Vaguely. Did he know the boy? Yes, a little. Had the boy suffered any long term effects? Did he limp? No limp, Patrick said. No effects that he could see.

We later learned that the boy’s father is a lawyer. Did he see the statue of limitations running, and decide to put in his claim when he could? Did he need money for a new car? Luckily, we never had to be involved in any of those issues, because the sheriff was right. Miraculously, amazingly, our homeowners provider, Allstate, took care of everything.

It turns out that all sorts of actions by children are covered under homeowners insurance. A neighbor told of how her pre-school son decided to cut the screening out of all the porches on the neighborhood, and her homeowners policy covered the damage.

In our case, Allstate sent an employee to our home to talk with Patrick about what had happened. And that was it. At one point, we heard that the school had settled with the injured child, but we never even learned how Allstate had handled our part of the lawsuit.

Allstate made a difficult situation very easy, and did so graciously. That was a benefit of homeowners’ insurance that we never anticipated.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Home insurance is clearly a major expense, but many people who don’t own a home are unaware of how much it costs. Read on to learn more about how much money you need to insure your home, as well as some details on the factors that affect home insurance rates…

Costs vary significantly throughout the different U.S. states. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the national average rate was $764 dollars in 2005. However, premiums ranged from as little as $457 per year in Idaho to $1144 in Louisiana and $1083 in the state of Florida.

On a monthly basis, this comes to about $64 dollars – not much different than the telephone or electric bills of many people. However, these are only averages; it is very possible that you will need to pay more or less than this amount. It can be helpful to compare several quotes and understand the factors which affect homeowners ins. rates.

Premiums differ depending upon the home’s value, vulnerability, and security or safety features, along with various characteristics of the insurance policy like deductibles and limitations. Using the same ins. agency for homeowners insurance and car or motorcycle coverage often leads to discounted rates for homeowners.

Premiums are also higher in areas frequently affected by natural disasters. When compared to the expense of replacing or repairing a home that is severely damaged, the cost of home ins. is relatively little. Banks typically require that mortgaged homes be insured until the loan is paid off, so that they will not risk losing their collateral.

The above-mentioned statistics and details should give you a general idea of how much income you need to pay for home insurance and what you can do to avoid paying high premiums. Comparing different companies’ quotes will provide a more specific range of costs.