https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Apr 2026 01:40:20 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178670 Thu, 14 May 2015 15:38:38 +0000 MrsBrewer 2178670@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ginabean3: I'm so so on it! Our rates have increased these past 3 years in a row! I mean not a ton, but $10-20/year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178668 Thu, 14 May 2015 15:38:33 +0000 fancyfunction 2178668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a bad experience with Geico. Basically we moved into our house in Sept, and in Nov Geico called to let us know they were dropping us b/c our shed had chipped paint and we had too many trees in the backyard. Say what?? Even though my husband was a loyal car insurance customer with them for years - they said there was nothing they could do. Therefore we dropped them completely and went through a trusted independent agency and are now very happy with our insurance coverage. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178660 Thu, 14 May 2015 15:32:51 +0000 Ginabean3 2178660@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: Us too! We've been really happy with it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178589 Thu, 14 May 2015 15:03:58 +0000 Bao 2178589@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our realtor (my uncle) put us in touch with a trusted agent and he helped us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178583 Thu, 14 May 2015 14:59:30 +0000 Jess1483 2178583@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: we actually had an awesome experience dealing with USAA on a claim. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178549 Thu, 14 May 2015 14:44:57 +0000 chopstixwife 2178549@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you are on the west coast, i generally find that liberty mutual has the cheapest quality rate in regards to home insurance if you don't plan to bundle. Also try First American Property and Casualty Co, AAA, State Farm, and Farmers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178513 Thu, 14 May 2015 14:35:55 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2178513@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>:goodluck: with the house!</p> <p>Your realtor will likely refer you to an insurance agent. But, you can always google one yourself. Some agencies only have one company to shop around while others have a few or several. When you get your policy you will want to make sure it's affordable in case you have to make a claim. For instance an agent may give you a great premium, but the deductibles are $2,500- ouch! You can evaluate companies by checking their AM Best rating. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178490 Thu, 14 May 2015 14:28:20 +0000 Keybee 2178490@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our lender recommend someone for home owners insurance. We compared their price with a few others and went with his recommendation. I know far less about the insurance company then I should. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178464 Thu, 14 May 2015 14:17:38 +0000 StbHisMrs 2178464@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: I have, and we switched afterwards. They're not user friendly. </p> <p>I agree that sometimes you do pay more for good customer service, I worked for Farmers for almost years. Clients stayed with us until the agent and I left, they stayed for the service not the premium ;)</p> <p>I've been shopping too ( I don't like the new agent) and I've found that State Farm and Travelers have been by far the best. </p> <p>Goodluck! In my experience the lender you're going through will give you rec's, you call get the quote then the lender will ask for a binder from the company. The rest is behind the scenes and you shouldn't have to do much unless you need to make a change. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178429 Thu, 14 May 2015 14:01:18 +0000 regberadaisy 2178429@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lisa1783: have you dealt with USAA customer service yet for a claim? I really love liberty and am hesitant to switch to save a few bucks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178413 Thu, 14 May 2015 13:57:14 +0000 lisa1783 2178413@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you want to pull quotes from multiple companies, definitely work through an agent. It's just easier that way. You will also save money (generally) if you bundle so you should ask for quotes on homeowners alone and also quotes for a bundled package.</p> <p>Also, some insurance companies have better customer service but there is a trade off with price. For example, Amica is awesome with customer service (they literally spend almost 2x more on training to ensure better customer service) but you will pay a little more. Liberty Mutual is also great for service. </p> <p>If you or DH has a parent or grandparent in the military, USAA is awesome and really affordable. My DH's dad used to be in the army and we qualify for USAA and the rates are really low for the same coverage compared to other companies. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178369 Thu, 14 May 2015 13:43:12 +0000 aegie 2178369@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>ihave both car &amp; home insurance through liberty mutual. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178244 Thu, 14 May 2015 12:44:41 +0000 bunnylove08 2178244@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Geico will refer you to a third party. We have condo insurance though Travelers and house insurance through state farm </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178152 Thu, 14 May 2015 12:12:12 +0000 MrsBrewer 2178152@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have it bundled with our Auto insurance with Progressive. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178129 Thu, 14 May 2015 12:02:31 +0000 regberadaisy 2178129@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely shop around for the best rate and ask for bundle discounts and any other discounts you might qualify for. </p> <p>We have Liberty Mutual and have been extremely happy. We had to file a claim 2 Christmases ago for a flooded basement due to storm sewer backup. It was so easy to deal with. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2178114 Thu, 14 May 2015 11:55:51 +0000 TrailRunner 2178114@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our lender reccomended an agent who shopped around and found us the best deal. Since she worked closely with my lender she did all the work for me and when I showed up to closing the policy was ready to go. I tried shopping around myself, and the rates I was getting back were so much higher than what the agent got us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2177871 Thu, 14 May 2015 09:44:15 +0000 MaryM 2177871@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The number in your good faith estimate for your loan is likely just a guess. And our bank WAY over estimated what our insurance would be.</p> <p>I went through GEICO. They don't offer home insurance themselves, but they work as a broker to try to find you the best deal (we got two other quotes outside of GEICO, and it was still the lowest). </p> <p>And we got an additional discount on our car insurance for going through them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2177868 Thu, 14 May 2015 09:42:18 +0000 Eko 2177868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would recommend talking to an insurance agency. Many insurance companies won't let you deal directly with the company and have to go through an agent anyway. I would try finding an agent that can pull quotes from multiple companies. I've noticed too that depending on the state, there can be one company that dominates the market. I would also recommend that when you get a homeowner's quote, also include a quote for the car as you get discounts for the bundle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2177864 Thu, 14 May 2015 09:41:15 +0000 ShootingStar 2177864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You choose who you want to have your policy with and then they send what they call a binder to your mortgager. If your mortgage company has given you any numbers including your homeowners insurance, it's just an estimate. </p> <p>We use Amica for ours and I've been really happy with them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2177844 Thu, 14 May 2015 09:36:18 +0000 Truth Bombs 2177844@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You have to find the policy yourself so the amount that goes into escrow won't necessarily be the exact amount that the policy you choose costs. We have always elected to pay insurance and taxes outside of escrow. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2177836 Thu, 14 May 2015 09:34:24 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2177836@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You have to find your policy yourself. Your realtor should have some recommendations for you. Make sure to shop around to get the best rate! I would call at least 5 places. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeowners-insurance#post-2177831 Thu, 14 May 2015 09:33:04 +0000 MenagerieMama 2177831@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are under contract for our first home ever!! Anyhow, it was a very speedy process and I'm still feeling pretty stupid about some parts of it, so help me out hive!</p> <p>Our monthly payment includes a payment for homeowners insurance, as well as paying a chunk into our escrow account for a certain amount of months at closing. That makes sense to me, but...where does the policy come from? I thought this would be like renter's insurance where we pick something out and pay on our own. Does our realtor find it for us? How do we know what it includes? </p> <p>I'll also ask our realtor but I was hoping to take a little bit of the stupid out of my question, ha! I usually research things for ages before making decisions so this week of house searching to contract has pushed me out of my box big time.</p> <p>Also any recs on insurance companies? We have our car and renters through Geico and have been happy, but I don't know if they're good for home insurance. </p>