Insurance thoughts/advice/considerations needed

OK. It's that time of the year for me to evaluate personal insurance.

Currently, my personal policies (not counting medical/dental/vision) are scattered amongst several agents and companies. I feel it's a bit too complicated as I have to check policies or insurance cards to see whom I have a particular policy with.

So, my questions are:
1. Is there a big benefit of having everything under a single agent and/or company?
2. Is there any insurance companies you would recommend (or not).
3. How much of a premium do/would you pay (over the competitors) to have an exceptionally good agent?
4. Do you keep several agents/companies based on price/coverage?

At present, I have policies with:
State Farm, Donegal, Hartford, NRA, Foremost and probably more

Companies proposing are the same, plus Cincinnati, Travelers (for auto) and Progressive (for off-road vehicles). I've told the agents I WON'T do business with Progressive or GEICO. There are assurances that the Progressive division offering this business is not the same as the 800 number or web site but I'm still sticking to my policy. If you have good/bad thoughts about Progressive, please advise.

The only bit of advice that I will add to your information is that when we have a major storm, such as hail, I end up paying for only one deductible on the house and vehicles rather than a deductible on each. They are all insured through one company, Allied.


This has happened once with hail. When the tornado hit our house slightly, in November a few years ago, it spared the vehicles.

I have it all with one agent, and the Homeowners and cars are all on one policy. Don't know how it is done, but I don't have to think about it. I have a 1 million dollar umbrella policy, down from the 2 million that I used to have with a different agent. This agent has said that it is very rare to ever exceed the million, and the cost of the extra million wasn't worth it. That was 5 years ago, and still haven't had any claims, so I guess he is right on that. I do know that the Progressive that the agents sell is a good product, as well as the 800 number policies. Difference is in the cost. Progressive is a good company from what I have seen. My ex had GEICO and never had a problem with them either. I am certain that for every company out there, there are people that have had both good and bad experiences in the past. My only complaint is with the cost, but when you live 12 miles from the fire station, and there is no water really close by to draft from, you can't complain much about the premium, because you will collect the entire amount if there is a fire. The hardest part is to find a honest agent, one that won't take you over the coals. The company sets the premium, but the agent can up the premium and the company will not say a thing. From what I have heard, they split the overage. Don't know if it actually true, but this is what I was told.

As far as Progressive is concerned, I have them for the motorcycle (street bike) with no issues. A body shop friend of mine once told me they were a difficult pay, but his was the only feed back I've had. Everything else (H.O. Umbrella, Auto and fire for the rentals) I have with one company with the exception of wind and flood coverage on the Florida houses. Nobody writes that anymore (for the most part) so I'm in the state pool...(lol...feels more like a cespool) along with virtually everyone else. I know I get somewhat of a volume discount with my primary carrier. Also, longevity with a company may make it (premium cost wise) more costly to move. I can relate to your need to consolidate. Check with your local Farm Bureau agent.

Consolidating can save you money. I consolidated my homeowners and auto insurance to Grange just this year.
I knew a boatowner that had progressive. His boat was sank during a flood. The Progressive claims guy came down from Pittsburgh, looked it over and wrote a check. I was impressed.
I had boat coverage with Erie Insurance Company and had a small claim (boat cover) from that same flood. I collected $500. 11 months later (the following June) my boat was stolen. Erie paid up okay, but once I replaced the boat they would not insure me since I had two claims within 12 months.
Those are the only two claims I've ever had out of 20+ years of boating, and they canceled me that way. Really tourqued me off. I cancelled all my insurance with Erie.

The other thing that came to mind is, That of all the things we spend money on in our lives, there is no leverage with insurance companies because of how much business you have with them. Doc, you mentioned about cancelling your Erie insurance, I doubt they ever really cared. Talk about sad!

bczoom said:

OK. It's that time of the year for me to evaluate personal insurance.

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I can't offer you any input. Just don’t forget, insurance companies are EXEMPT from most Antitrust Laws.

While our government protects “we the people” from collusion, price fixing, price gouging, and predatory business practices of widget manufacturers, we are at the mercy of the insurance industry. They can ride rough shod in an unbridled manner that would put others in prison for years.

Dutch-NJ said:

I can't offer you any input. Just don’t forget, insurance companies are EXEMPT from most Antitrust Laws.

While our government protects “we the people” from collusion, price fixing, price gouging, and predatory business practices of widget manufacturers, we are at the mercy of the insurance industry. They can ride rough shod in an unbridled manner that would put others in prison for years.

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They also get to set the "rules". While you may be doing something that is totally legal (i.e. installing a gas stove yourself). Your insurance company may try to deny your claim for fire damage if they find out you didn't use a professional installer. It's just and example but you almost need to run everything by your insurance agent to see what the insurance implications are.

Insurance companies are bad and the only way to fight them is with the ultimate evil: lawyers.

Consolidating can save you money. I consolidated my homeowners and auto insurance to Grange just this year.

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Thanks for supporting my pay Doc!!!! I personally don't have Grange insurance for a couple of reasons 1.) I'm not particularly fond of everyone I work with knowing my business 2.) Last time I priced them I couldn't afford them even with our employee discount.

We are with Motorist Insurance. I thought they were getting a bit expensive, so I shopped around a little bit. They were the cheapest. It was so bad at State Farm they wouldn't even tell us the amount. They just said thank you for coming in, we can't help you.

BC, for what it is worth, Grange will be offering insurance in PA in the next 8 mos. or so. I believe our time frame is July/Aug.