[scottiee]

I live in Miami I pay about 6000 a year. [2800 square feet] What I did to get it so low and I did mean LOW was to meet with my insurance person she had some great ideas to get it down. There are no other companys here.

[GatorFan]

There is a downside to shopping every year. If you have a claim and you have a huge premium increase you may not be eligible for another policy with a new company. Also a company that offers you a much lower premium may not be collecting enough premium to actually pay their claims, purchase adequate reinsurance after a catastrophic loss. The old saying that if it sounds to good to be true it probably isn't applies. I do agree that having a local agent that you can actually walk into their office and talk about your polices is worth paying a few dollars. After all we buy insurance to protect our investments. Having an agent who recognizes that and understands coverage's is priceless.

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by Cedwards38

Never fall in love with your homeowners or auto insurance policies. Always be shopping and always be ready to switch.

That has become a way of life since here in FL for the past 10 years.
My prime criteria in seeking coverage is a local agent, name with a face. Too mnay companies, like State Farm have grown too big and have lost the customer is king attitude.....a disease that is quite prevalent here in TV due to the sheer volume tha is brought to many businesses by TV expansion.

Another point to make is depending who one insures with and who their re-insurers are affect their rates. If one is with a high claim rate re-insurer, increases are a way of life....with no additional service or coverages....and in some cases increases with select coverage reduction or elimination.

The State Farm comment that had me laughing in their face here locally was we can get our premium to be more like what your used to having, all we need to do is reduce the coverages!!! No Thanx State Farm.

[Halibut]

We have our home and 4 vehicles in Alabama insured with USAA and just got our annual "rebate" check. This year it was $397! This is the largest one I've seen in quite a few years. They send one out every year based on how the company is doing financially. They call it a dividend or premium rebate. Does anyone in FL get these?

Ours was $83 this year, for one vehicle.

I've always trusted USAA for auto and property insurance because I believe they will absolutely do their best for me in case of an accident or loss, as they always have in the past. Basically, I'm very loyal to USAA and have been willing to pay slightly higher premiums over the decades for that confidence. But now you got me thinking! Maybe I should shop around. It's not like my wife or I have had a claim of any sort in the last 15 years, and we drive even less now.

[rayschic]

I used Challenge My Rate. Takes one minute to get a quote from all the major car insurance companies. I also used them for my home owners insurance.

Challenge My Rate

[bimmertl]

Great rates don't mean great service, for that matter neither do local agents with a face. Claims are handled by the insurance company adjusters, not agents.

For all of you that have ended up with the largest private homeowners carrier in the state, good luck! No doubt plenty of friendly agents have placed a lot of people with these clowns. The company did agree and pay the fine.

Largest private insurer in Florida fined $1.3 million for long list of violations | Tampa Bay Times

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by bimmertl

Great rates don't mean great service, for that matter neither do local agents with a face. Claims are handled by the insurance company adjusters, not agents.

For all of you that have ended up with the largest private homeowners carrier in the state, good luck! No doubt plenty of friendly agents have placed a lot of people with these clowns. The company did agree and pay the fine.

Largest private insurer in Florida fined $1.3 million for long list of violations | Tampa Bay Times

A little do diligence works wonders!

[GatorFan]

[QUOTE=bimmertl;818368]Great rates don't mean great service, for that matter neither do local agents with a face. Claims are handled by the insurance company adjusters, not agents.

For all of you that have ended up with the largest private homeowners carrier in the state, good luck! No doubt plenty of friendly agents have placed a lot of people with these clowns. The company did agree and pay the fine.

Largest private insurer in Florida fined $1.3 million for long list of violations | Tampa Bay Times[/QUOT

Do not confuse them with a Universal of North America. Two different companies

[Villages Kahuna]

Originally Posted by sr1436

I just got my homeowner renewal for January and nearly fell over, a 26% premium increase. I have USAA and have been member for 35 years. Called them and they are saying due to across board rate increases. Reviewed my coverages with them and nothing exceptional. 26% increase is crazy.

Anyone else having like rate increases? Recommend other providers?

You're lucky to even have USAA homeowner's insurance here. You must have had it for quite some time.

USAA hasn't written a new policy in Florida for several years. For our particular area the potential for hurricanes and sinkholes has lead to the USAA decision to control risk by simply not creating exposure by writing new policies. The result seems to be that the limited number of insureds they have here must carry the brunt of any losses the experience here.

[mixsonci]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

You're lucky to even have USAA homeowner's insurance here. You must have had it for quite some time.

USAA hasn't written a new policy in Florida for several years. For our particular area the potential for hurricanes and sinkholes has lead to the USAA decision to control risk by simply not creating exposure by writing new policies. The result seems to be that the limited number of insureds they have here must carry the brunt of any losses the experience here.

I just got a homeowners policy with USAA in September for Florida (TV) with sinkhole protection.

[kaznerm]

Originally Posted by mixsonci

I just got a homeowners policy with USAA in September for Florida (TV) with sinkhole protection.

I just requested a quote from USAA about two weeks ago before all the sinkhole scares. They referred me to an agency in South Florida that writes all their policies. That agency quoted us a fair policy but it was with Tower Hill Insurance that seems to be a mediocre company based on reviews.

Who quoted your USAA policy?

[graciegirl]

That is another factor in rate increase.

[jflynn1]

You mean an A or better rating from AM Best, and the company should be admitted in the state of Flroida. A.M. Best Company

[samhass]

Originally Posted by Skybo

Just be aware that if you have sinkhole coverage now and change your homeowners insurance, you may not be able to get sinkhole coverage with the new company.

I just found that out this AM. I called to upgrade our insurance because we are adding some space to the house. Then I thought I would shop the policy since we have been with TV insurance agency for seven years. WRONG. Allstate also told me this AM that they have not offered sinkhole insurance for three years AND advised me to stay where I am if I have sinkhole insurance already.

[yabbadu]

I quote out my policies every year before renewal and it always works to my advantage!