Insurance is the expense we love to hate; the necessary evil.It was time to renew my homeowner's policy and it seemed like $728 was pretty high, especially considering the dropping housing values. I realize it is replacement value we need to worry about and not current sales, but still it seemed like a lot so I decided to shop around. MetLife has a deal with the state for employees' discount but I didn't particularly want to switch from Allstate where my agent, Dan, takes good care of my insurance needs, including cars. So, I called him to see if something could be done to lower my premium. I knew I could increase my deductible and that would help. He took time to speak with an underwriter. They have a good discount for people who have been with them for 10 years. Since I moved into my house 5 years ago, I didn't have the discount. Dan explained to her that I had been with Allstate for more than 10 years when considering the previous home and he was able to get my premiums cut in half!!! It does pay to be in good hands, to be loyal to a company, and to have a caring agent on your team.
we just did the same thing w/Allstate....decreased our car insurance by 40/month and also our homeowners by a bit too....we have been w/Allsate forever...I think people just don't think to call and see what their options are....glad it worked out for yoU!
ReplyDeleteI, too, am in good hands! When I called my Allstate agent to increase my deductible, he volunteered to check with underwriting to see if my policy could be "re-written" for decreased premiums. That seriously increased my loyalty to him as my agent well as to Allstate.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say the same. We were ripped off by Allstate for years on our car insurance. They had us on a High risk policy because Justin signed up for it when he was young. They said they couldn't change his policy but he could switch insurance companies and then come back for a better price. This was back in 2000, I think. We switched to Bear River and never looked back. They have great rates and have been good to deal with. The only set back with them is that they have tons of criteria you have to meet to be covered by them. Anyway, good for you guys.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not just Allstate. It's just that we need to check out our options all the time and shop around because there may be savings to be had if you just ask, like Michelle said. But, as I said, insurance is a necessary evil; not something we love anyway. I have heard very good things about Bear River too. I was with them for a while years ago, but they would only do 6 month premiums at the time and I needed to move to a monthly billing. I think that policy is not longer part of their program. I do think loyalty to a company pays off rather than hopping around, but if there's a better deal, I switch (just like I did with the phone).
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