Joyful Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 We are shopping for homeowner's insurance. We currently have Nationwide. But for some reason, they more than doubled our premium this year despite the fact that we have been "claim-free" and with them for several years. I called our local agent who said that Nationwide increased the premiums on many of their clients this year. They re-did a quote for me as if this were a "new policy." But still the quote is more that 1/3 higher than last year's. So, I've contacted GEICO with whom we have auto insurance, and they are agents of Travelers Insurance Co. for homeowner's policies. I also asked another local insurance agent, who gave me a quote with Grange Insurance Co. Both of the quotes were for a premium that is less than last year's premium with Nationwide!! (Both quotes gave replacement costs that were higher than Nationwide's policy from last year!) But I don't know anything about Traveler's Insurance Co. or Grange Insurance Co. If anyone has had any experience with either company (especially if you've submitted a claim), can you please share it with me? I would appreciate it so very much! TIA!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Travelers almost doubled ours last year:mad: without notification or our approval (or request) or without our need. They needed to raise revenue & about 1/2 of the clients got hit with huge increases... we were not alone! Our local insurance rep wouldn't even talk to us about why or changing it to a more acceptible amount. They are WAY OVERVALUING our house! She is just a payment collector & worthless to solve the issue. Finally got a corporate guy. Nothing he can do. He did offer to drop the fee by about $100 per year (thanks!) but was dropping the part of the insurance that was the most accurate (the interior furnishings, etc). They seriously have our house/building and grounds inflated in value. I don't think they will treat you much better than where you are! That said, I would ask LOCALLY to see how they work... it could be different. Our house is for sale & no other company (except High Risk types) will cover us... we are stuck! We are the buyer.. they are the provider... yet they dictate what we have & how much we will pay. :cursing: Soon as this house sells, I am dumping them like a hot rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 All insurance rates seem to have increased this year, so it isn't so much dependent on company. We had Grange before we moved to another state. They were excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa in MO Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 We have had both Travelers for our homeowners and car insurance for the past 10 years. We have not had any problems. Our homeowners is up for renewal in September and it was not increased at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Insurance companies will raise their rates for several reasons, even if you haven't filed a claim. Sometimes rates go up because of claims of others in similar situations, such as several claims in your neighborhood, or major losses due to type of construction. Rates also go up when your home reaches a certain age, unless you do a major overhaul of the house's mechanical and electrical systems. If your homeower's policy is for replacement cost, it doesn't matter if the market value of your home has gone down, the replacement value could have gone up. Finally, insurance companies invest the premiums, including those held to cover future claims, to earn money. Premiums often are raised if the investment returns are low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 Dirtroad - Sorry to hear about your experience. I hope that you sell your house soon! I'm glad to hear the positive experiences though. Any others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 We've had Travelers through GEICO for almost 4 years now without any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 We actually have all of our insurance through Grange, homeowners, auto and life insurance. Our homeowners policy specifically we have had for 9 years and have used it once when my husband's truck was broken into and they stole the lock box out of the cab. We have never had any problems or any rate increases of significance. Based on our experience, I have no problem recommending them. Just from another perspective, I used to work in an auto body shop where I dealt with insurance claims all the time. Grange was always one of the better insurance companies to deal with when it came to paying claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 I thought of something else. We recently had a tornado hit in our community. Alfa and a few others were immediately on site helping families iwth roof damage, trees down, etc. Travelers told some people it would a month! They had a "regional" person covering several counties (atleast 2 of these had been in the same weather systems). I had a Mom at swimming talking about how their entire power box had been ripped from their house, which also pulled wiring from inside. They were in a mess (trees down also). Travelers gave them "the one month speech". They were very frustrated. They took LOADS of pictures and began the repairs on their own. When she told me, it had been a couple of weeks. That is not good. I don't know if it took Travelers the one month... but it was slow & they were NOT on site like Alfa and others (almost immediately). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Dirtroad, thanks for the info. Yeah, it's making me thinking twice about Travelers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Joyful.... Guess what... I just opened my policy for upcoming 2009-2019 with Travelers... they are giving us another 5% increase due to increased cost of construction in my area.:thumbdown: Our policy expires in September... I am dumping them if we can! What Construction? The guys are begging for work and will even do small jobs. There is no demand driving up cost. We can't even give our house away on the real estate market. Avoid them like the plague! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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