I’ve had Liberty Mutual for about 10 or 12 years, and was basically happy with them. Unfortunately, they are pulling out of the Georgia market, and they kind of went crazy in the last couple of years. I’m in a legal action right now regarding a Lightning Claim from a few years ago where they told me I could take all the time in the world, and then they denied the claim because I didn’t file it in 90 days. I did report it within 90 days, just didn’t finish the work.
I had State State Farm for a very long time, and I was very happy with State Farm. Unfortunately, when I got hit by the tornado, in a disaster like that, the insurance company sends in a bunch of outsiders as hired guns to get bonuses for settling claims quickly. Average homeowner has no idea what he’s lost in something like a tornado. We documented everything from day one, and we had the financial ability to hold out, but again we entered a legal action, which ended the relationship.
I had nationwide for a little while, it was OK, but I had no claims.
Early on I had Allstate, and I won’t say anything negative about Allstate, but I will say that I will burn my own house down with me in it before I use them again. I think all state is just as good as AT&T any day. I assure you that that is not a compliment.
This summer I changed from Libert Mutual to Kin. I knew nothing about them, but I called my real estate but when are friends and insurance friends and even the state insurance commissioners office, and they had nothing but positive things to say, so I’m trying them out. Libert Mutual had raised their rates from about 250 a month to almost 400 a month. With Kin, I’m paying about 350 a month.
I bought my house all beat up in 1991 for $90,000. I constantly improved everything, and when I got hit by the tornado in 98, I added a second floor and doubled the size of the garage, which I had also built in the beginning, and then the addition. When I bought the house, I built an 8 x 12 stick frame shed, like you would stick frame a house, with electricity. A year ago I expanded it to 16 feet, but the last 4 feet are open at the end. That is to store gasoline and flammables away from both the garage and the house.
The garage is about 27‘ x 45‘, with a 12‘ x 45‘ carport next to it. Both the garage and the shed are very minimal construction. 2 x 4 framed, no insulation, no sheet rock or finish on the inside (except a half bathroom), wooden trusses or rafters, and vinyl siding on the outside. I wanted it cheap and maintenance free.
The garage has a 50 amp panel, independent electric heat in the bathroom to keep it from freezing, and I have 115,000 BTU furnace overhead that I turn on in the winter when I have to work out there. I got it used, and I probably use it no more than 20 hours a year.
Well, the $90,000 house is now appraised at about $640,000. I bought the cheapest house in a great neighborhood, and fortunately the neighborhood has just continually skyrocketed as one of the better areas in close in Atlanta. I’m not bragging on any of this, I’m offering it for comparison.
I’m all alone in the house now, so when I went to Kin, I changed a lot of my coverages. The insurance company use percentages to determine the rates on things like the shed and the garage. I reduced those percentages considerably. I’d almost be happy if the shed burned down, but if the garage went away, I wouldn’t replace it with an insulated sheet rock jewel, I’d build the same glorious wooden shed. That reduced my premiums significantly.
I pay a little bit more because I have an unusually high value in tools in the garage, and the furniture and possessions in my house are higher than usual, with several things being a line items like my hundred year old piano, concert organ, artwork, etc.
350 a month is apparently a very good deal for that much coverage. Also, my roof is in excellent condition and we rarely have bad weather here, so I didn’t go with full replacement coverage on the roof. But I do have a rider for catastrophic damage like a tornado. If a third of the roof blows off or a tree falls on it, they will only pay the depreciated value of that section. They had to do that because every time there was a rain storm and a little hail came down, everybody wanted a new roof.
My home alarm is not Wi-Fi, it is hardwired, and it reports via a cell phone type link, the hardwired telephone link, and actually will send out an email. Most fire alarms fail because they go off, but they don’t automatically contact the fire department.I have fire/heat detectors in the crawlspace, the first floor, the second floor, the attic, and in two places in the garage. There is a high water float switch in the crawlspace if the sump pump grabs out. That’s not expensive to do if you do it yourself, and that saved a lot of money. A lot!
I’m 150 feet away from the closest fire hydrant which saves money. And then I have fire extinguishers everywhere, and four places on the property where I have water hoses. All of that stuff adds up.
Again, not bragging, but all of those little items are easy to do or consider, and can make a dramatic difference in the cost of insurance. If I didn’t have those line item deductions, the insurance would probably be over 450-500 a month.
Now let me talk out of the other side of my mouth like usual. With my family, we have the financial ability to replace the house without insurance coverage. Most people don’t. In negotiating all these items, be very realistic about what you can afford out of pocket if something bad does happen. And trust me, after two hurricanes, a tornado, a flood, and several fires on our properties, s*** really does happen!
My two cents, hope it helps
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