Opinions on homeowners/auto insurance - use an agent? Buy direct?

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1

We have used a local owned insurance agent forever (he’s actually a neighbor). Every couple of years they shop around with their companies to make sure we are getting the best rates/coverage.

We are now in the process of moving (locally) and our real estate agent offered to have his company give us a quote so I said “sure.” The RE referral gave us a quote from Travelers that is slightly lower than what my current agent quoted and I am pretty sure it is apples-to-apples, especially with the auto, since I want to still have stacked coverage and full tort etc.

I have always liked having a local agent in case I need anything or have any questions. We haven’t had any homeowners claims ever however. I feel like I have heard negative things about Travelers and I don’t want to be a number to anyone in case I ever need anything. Am I overthinking this? :wink:

2

Everything is relative. Which other insurance company are you considering ?

Some insurance companies are difficult when handling claims while others are great. With Traveler’s it will be in the which company is better as Traveler’s is a responsible insurer to the best of my knowledge.

3

I had to switch from Liberty Mutual after 30 years as the rates were getting crazy.

After lots of research on price and customer satisfaction, I ended up with Amica for both. I’ve never had a local agent and my 3 combined claims over 30 years were handled without a problem.

Price was about half. My “loyalty” over the years probably paid for all of LMs commercials.

USAA looked to be the best choice if you qualify (armed services members/family), but Amica was next.

4

We also have Amica. Customers for 38 years. Homeowners, all cars (4), umbrella policy, dropped term policies when D2 graduated HS.

No homeowners claims, 2 auto. Excellent quick service. H totaled his car, highway ice and smacked the bridge abutment and guard rail. Adjuster was out the next day, check received in less than a week. Other one I backed into someone’s car and bent their back panel, plastic so all had to be replaced. Again, less than a week.

Disclaimer: we are in Michigan with no-fault so ymmv. We also have no dedicated agent, just call the state headquarters.

5

Amica here too, for home and car. Several claims, one quite recently when I had water damage. It is expensive, but an agent is here promptly. When a worker cut himself outside my home, an agent was here within 2 hours.

There use to be an Amica employee on CC, sorry she’s gone.

6

I think it depends on how much research you’re willing to do. Local message boards can be a good source of information about how claims are handled by different companies in your area.

I’m not sure that an agent, particularly an independent agent, can do much for you on a claim. They might advise you to hire an independent adjuster to make your case to the insurance company, but that’s something I’ve read is pretty common in our area for HO ins. claims anyway.

In our case, USAA refused to insure our home and directed HO ins. to an affiliate company that has sky high rates. We stayed with State Farm for the house(s), even though they dropped our car insurance after H had a second accident within a year or so. The SF claims took a very long time to settle. We went with USAA on the cars, and now State Farm wants that business back. No thanks.

7

It’s a personal decision. Some folks prefer bricks-and-mortar offices nearby; others are happy using an 800 number. (I’ve been in the latter camp for years.)

8

We researched options 2 years ago, and tried Amica, USAA, and Safeco. Ended up with Safeco, partially because we could work with a local personal agent. I’ve heard great reviews of Amica and USAA. However, Amica was a lot more expensive, and USAA was very difficult to work with on the sales end.

With USAA, I rarely talked to the same agent more than twice. Each agent had a slightly differerent review, resulting in different quotes for what I thought was the same home & auto needs. As part of the process, they wanted to send an appraiser to review our home in person. I believe it was due to the age of our home. I had never heard of that requirement, but had no problem with it. However, the inspection would be scheduled only AFTER you started the policy (typically several months after). I wanted a fixed price, not one that might change AFTER the policy starts.

USAA would also not quote (in writing) the discount we were supposed to receive for having multiple policies (home, auto, umbrella). Different agents gave me different discounts, but again, I could not get them to include a fixed amount on any emailed quote. They said it would only apply AFTER we agreed to start the policy, and a fixed quote would be sent with the final paperwork. It was a very frustrating experience.

The downside of a personal agent (at least in our experience): We’ve had (3) different agents in about 40 years. In general, we’ve had excellent service for the first 2-3 years, then service seems to wane. You still need to re-evaluate options periodically, and of course it is easier for them if you are on auto-pilot renewals.

We switched one after our first accident in nearly 30 years. I felt the agent should be able to help guide you with the process, or at least be available for questions, but we were basically left to do everything on our own with the national company. That may be typical, but it was disappointing, so we tried another company.

Summary: I think an agent is great, but you need to find the right agent!