I was with USAA for roughly 15 years, but had noticed a massive uptick in what I was paying. I just went with a Katy-based Allstate agent who was able to get insurance (homeowners and auto) that is almost identical to what I had with USAA but for about half what I was paying. Comparing apples-to-apples, the coverages are identical, although I have a 3% deductible rather than 2% on the wind/hail clause.

We have amica. USAA was crazy expensive compared to Amica.

Mine went from 4K to 6.8k this year. Someone referred me to scott.mcnab.mahx@statefarm.com who was able to get me down to 3500, then I bundled car insurance (comparable switch, no real savings on just car insurance) and my home owners went down to 2500. Highly recommend.

Call a couple brokers in you area and let them do the shopping for you.

Always a good idea to shop around but insurance rates have gone nuts across the board.

I've always used liere. Last year I switched to goosehead because they found me lower. This year my policy doubled so I shopped goosehead and liere again. They found the same policy, but goosehead was going to charge the finders fee again so switched back to liere.

Homeowners is with homeowners of America now.

Who?

https://www.google.com/

https://hoaic.com/

That's crazy, I'm with USAA and have shopped around a couple of times in years past, nothing significant enough to make a move though. Will have to keep an eye on it next time it though. Following this thread JIC.

Not a fan of the finders fee.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Not a fan of the finders fee.

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Yep...moved away from them for my homeowners and landlord insurance because of it.

htxag09 said:

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I've always used liere. Last year I switched to goosehead because they found me lower. This year my policy doubled so I shopped goosehead and liere again. They found the same policy, but goosehead was going to charge the finders fee again so switched back to liere.

Homeowners is with homeowners of America now.

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Goosehead will waive the "finder fee" if you push them.

My dad pointed out that he could get the same rates they offered without the fee and they offered to forego them.

Not a vet, legacy as well. I've heard all the complaints (justified I'm sure) about USAA, but I've always had good experiences. I shopped a couple of times and they were always slightly higher but, in the ballpark, so I've stayed. Might need to shop a little harder. Might go the broker route this time just to make sure my shopping is thorough enough.

Just beware - a lot of companies will give you a low rate the 1st year to get you to switch and then next year it'll be right up where your last provider was.

Doesn't mean don't do it - you'll save money in year 1. But it probably won't last.

Htownag11 said:

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Just beware - a lot of companies will give you a low rate the 1st year to get you to switch and then next year it'll be right up where your last provider was.

Doesn't mean don't do it - you'll save money in year 1. But it probably won't last.

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This...State Farm has duped me twice by doing this. As Bregxit said, I may just have to get more proactive and begin just switching every year.

I thought it was just me, but I have USAA, and my policies have jumped up significantly this year as well. I even dropped a car from my policy, since my wife has a company car, insured through her employer, and it still went up. Homeowners, auto, and umbrella is running me $10K per year now.

Bregxit said:

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Daddy-O5 said:

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That's crazy, I'm with USAA and have shopped around a couple of times in years past, nothing significant enough to make a move though. Will have to keep an eye on it next time it though. Following this thread JIC.

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If I am reading your username correctly you're a veteran. I'm a legacy. My Marine buddy and I were comparing our policies and it looks like two different companies handle vets versus non-vets. His is the Garrison company, mine is Casualty Insurance Company. His policy is less than half of mine and we have very similar homes in the same neighborhood. I am guessing that's the difference.

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I'm a legacy, and I'm with Garrison.

Harris County is crazy expensive for insurance. I'm giving Gooshead another chance and they were the cheapest I could find, which was a renewal with Safeco (Liberty Mutual). I called about a half dozen brokers to get quotes, and it seems the number of companies insuring in Harris County is very small and they're all raising their rates.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Not a fan of the finders fee.

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They tried that the 2nd year, I told them to pound sand, and they quickly gave in. I switched agents this year because the previous one went MIA and wouldn't return phone calls or emails (drove around almost a month in a new car with no insurance after I submitted everything via the portal with zero movement from their side). I finally called the 800 number and explained what was going on, and they got everything covered and switched me to a new agent, and I told them I wasn't paying another one of their fees, and they didn't charge it. This is their last chance. If this one goes MIA, I'm moving on.

aTm2004 said:

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Dill-Ag13 said:

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Not a fan of the finders fee.

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They tried that the 2nd year, I told them to pound sand, and they quickly gave in. I switched agents this year because the previous one went MIA and wouldn't return phone calls or emails (drove around almost a month in a new car with no insurance after I submitted everything via the portal with zero movement from their side). I finally called the 800 number and explained what was going on, and they got everything covered and switched me to a new agent, and I told them I wasn't paying another one of their fees, and they didn't charge it. This is their last chance. If this one goes MIA, I'm moving on.

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Look on the bright side, sounds like your agent helped save you a quick 8% right there.

Bregxit said:

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Daddy-O5 said:

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That's crazy, I'm with USAA and have shopped around a couple of times in years past, nothing significant enough to make a move though. Will have to keep an eye on it next time it though. Following this thread JIC.

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If I am reading your username correctly you're a veteran. I'm a legacy. My Marine buddy and I were comparing our policies and it looks like two different companies handle vets versus non-vets. His is the Garrison company, mine is Casualty Insurance Company. His policy is less than half of mine and we have very similar homes in the same neighborhood. I am guessing that's the difference.

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I am a legacy. My insurance was with Garrison. The annual premium had ballooned to roughly $7500. I had looked a few times but never found anything that would have made the hassle of switching worth it.

I expected the same when I talked to this local Allstate agent, so when I got that quote it was a no-brainer. But I do anticipate this deal might inly be for this year and will balloon next year. In which case I will treat it like electricity and switch (if I find a better deal).

Holy crap just got our renewal and our policy went from $3900 to $7200. Never filed a claim. Ridiculous.

I did a quick check and Amica beat the Goosehead recommended Safeco by $500 on the year.

My dad went with State Farm recently and said they were equally as good.

I've had the same Farmers agent since 1991 when I first started to drive. We've gotten to be friends over all those years. But I had to drop him when Farmers doubled my car insurance and would only insure my new house up to 50% of replacement cost. It sucks for him because there's nothing he can do about it as an agent, but he understands why I had to let him go.

It's a toss-up of who I would rather deal with - insurance agencies or AT&T

wessimo said:

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Holy crap just got our renewal and our policy went from $3900 to $7200. Never filed a claim. Ridiculous.

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Yep. Had USAA for years. The one time I filed a claim they denied it. And they got too expensive.
There aren't many companies that are worth being loyal to anymore.

.

Goosehead (Mercury) home quote was up 1k, and Progressive auto was up another 25%, so we went with Matt Tupa at State Farm and got our home and auto back to what it was, and only $250/yar for a 1MM umbrella policy. Kyle was the point man.

Kyle Packman, Insurance Account Representative
Matt Tupa State Farm
14531 FM 529 Rd Suite 175
Houston, TX 77095
(P) 281.345.1650
kyle.packman.wkk2@statefarm.com | agentmatttupa.com