Gotta be plenty of homeowners out there. We're buying a house. Gotta get insurance lined up for the casa. So I'm researching a bit. Can anyone say, "Yeah, we're pretty happy with ________ (such-and-so) company"?
I would talk to your current car insurance company, as you can get a multi line discount. Also, talk to your realtor and mortgage broker. They should have insurance agents that they do business with that can give you a competitive rate.
I'm an insurance agent and I freakin hate the skyrocketing rates of my main company the last few years even with all the discounts I get. That said, it's pretty good coverage. What are your priorities? Cost? Quality of coverage? That's pretty much it, and the relationship between the two isn't necessarily 1-to-1 positive. There's a lot of overpaying out there. PM me or whatever and I can get my employees to grab some quotes for you.
Couldn't get a message 2 u but read the rep post I sent you. Gave my contact info. (An offer of help deserves at least a rep.) Thanks.
I've found Liberty Mutual to have extremely competitive rates. And my agent is incredibly responsive. So I'm very pleased with them, and I shopped my rate extensively about 2 months ago.
Get a quote from an agent who handles Imperial. Their rates are good and the one time we had a roof claim due to hail they paid without any issues.
Hate Liberty Mutual - I had them for about 5 years. They were fine when I didn't need them. Decent rates. I filed a water damage claim. They paid out without a problem. Sold that home and bought a new one. Tried to give my business to Liberty Mutual. They wouldn't give me coverage for the water issues on the new place. Switched to Allstate. Cheaper. Fine service, but haven't made a claim with them. Hopefully I never will. I suspect any brand name insurance company is the same. Just use the cheapest.
It all depends on what part of town your new home is in. If you're buying a home anywhere in northwest Houston/Katy I recommend getting a quote from Homeowners of America. A lot also depends on the age of the home (some companies only want to insure homes 20 years or newer), the square footage (to determine replacement cost), and the amount of coverage that you want. I'd also recommend Imperial or Bankers. Let me know if you have any questions.
As a matter of fact, the house is in 77449 (Katy). New construction. I told my wife if we're gonna be paying this much in property tax we might as well start having kids (the higher taxes certainly owing much to the school district). Why Homeowners of America for Katy?
Homeowners of America has ridiculous rates, but they tend to only write in west/northwest parts of Houston/Katy/parts of Richmond, since they're further away from the Gulf. I did a quote with HOAIC for someone last year who bought a new home in Aliana. It was a pretty big home, I think close to 3,000 sq ft, and it came out to like $1,100 per year or something crazy like that. The company that I've been using the most is Bankers, since they have competitive rates and great deductible options. They separate wind and hail from the Named Storm deductible, which saves you thousands if you have a wind/hail claim on your home. American Risk is another company with good rates, and they're locally based in Houston off of 59 and 610 by the Galleria. They have spotty claim reviews, so I won't completely vouch for them.
Sure, I work with Rockland Insurance, my email is munozagency@gmail.com. You can email me if you have any questions about quotes or just general insurance questions. You'd be surprised how many people don't have the coverage that they think they do.
My advice is to only deal with an A+ rated carrier. I see a couple names being thrown around and I personally would be very hesitant to place my insurance with them. It's nice to save a couple hundred dollars, but not at the expense of having a large claim and the carrier not being able to pay it. Also, I believe your mortgage should require them to be "A" rated as well
If you're more interested in the customer service than saving a buck, USAA has been really good to us. If you qualify, check into 'em. We've also gone through our credit union in the past.
I agree, if anyone wants to look up carrier ratings, use AM Best, Weiss, DemoTech, Moody's, etc. Bankers is a B+ rated company, not an A or A+, but I can vouch for their claim service. My parents and a customer of mine both had claims with them and had no problems at all. Homeowners of America is an A rated company, through DemoTech.
Sugarlamd Liberty mutual office are the best I have dealt with. I needed coverage for my house and a rental. A lot of people won't do that. Costco was pretty cheap. I left them when I needed two houses covered. They are quite picky about who they cover though
Homeowner here. Been having State Farm, then Farmers, and now All State, but we found that the coverage of the last one was a lot better, not cheaper, than the first. I actually would recommend all these three. I was about to say that. Just because the same insurance company does a "discount" for you having also car insurance with them, doesn't mean you'll be getting the same coverage. Make sure you see LINE BY LINE on what you're getting the coverage for. Have one raise or bring down the premium and incidental damages amounts, and see if you can compare them apples-to-apples instead of just "it's cheaper."
