Today I've been kept busy with finding the right home owner's insurance for us. We have to have a quote to give the bank on the day of closing and there are so many options we haven't decided yet. However, we are running out time, as we are closing next week, and should probably make the decision soon.
I'll put a warning in here: this next bit is the confusing whirlwind of insurance hunting and results I encountered today. If you are not up to the tedious task of reading and/or reading and wishing you hadn't read the excerpt below, feel free to skip on down to the next set of squiggles! :D
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The one thing, I think, that is most bothersome about the whole ordeal is that you have to fork over all the information about you possible and then listen to your phone ringing off the hook for days, before the insurance agents will finally send you an email quote. And even then, there's all the fine print saying that what they sent you may or (more likely) may not be how low your quote is.
Then once you decide on a few speculative quotes, after harrowing hours of figuring out what exactly they DO cover, comes the researching required to make sure you're not being swindled or making a contract with a company known for not paying out.
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) people generally only post comments or reviews when they're unhappy with the company, making it seem like any and all insurance companies are villains.
All in all, I spent all day researching and reviewing with the result that we still haven't made a decision yet. However, some of the things I learned are:
- Amica has the highest ratings for Consumer Satisfaction 8 years running (according
to the consumer reports)
- Travelers has, easily, the most negative reviews on both home and auto
- In general, the low quotes given to you are if you switch to do your auto through
that company also, giving you a multi plan deal
- Farmers seems to have a decent amount of positive reviews compared to most others
and is much cheaper than Amica (though, fairly, Amica isn't unreasonable)
- Allstate was ranked one of the lowest in customer satisfaction according to the
consumer reports
- Safeco is easily the cheapest, and as such has it's cornucopia of negative reviews
(though still ranking higher than Allstate and Travelers)
- Liberty mutual has a fair amount of positive views, compared to the lowest three.
In short: A) All companies I researched quoted between about 600-1100 a year (Safeco on one end, Amica on the other) B) The order (from what I could tell) of Consumer Satisfaction from high to low is: Amica, Famers, Liberty mutaul, Safeco, Travelers, and then Allstate C) all companies claim to insure against fire, explosion (not act of war kind), lightening, natural disaster (not including earthquake or flood) and vandalism in their dwelling coverage D)All offer at least 300,000 liability for not much extra.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/september-2009/home-garden/homeowners-insurance/overview/homeowners-insurance-ov.htm
http://www.viewpoints.com/Farmers-Insurance-reviews (this one I used for all, I just happened to end on Famers. Simply type in the other names if you want to take a look)
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With all this information I wouldn't be surprised if I've confused you as much as all this research has confused me!
Ah well, we'll figure it out somehow.
However,
Pondering all the confusion these different insurance companies and their reviewers have thrown at me, I realized that it related a lot to the grander scheme of things. How often do individuals go out looking for the answers to their problems, for the assurance that what their doing is right or socially acceptable, or for the best deal life can offer?
So often are people tossed and hurricaned around when searching for the answers to these important questions, only to end up thoroughly confused and stumbling through what was supposed to be an easy and fruitful quest!
That's one reason why the home is so important! Through a solid family life with an anchored core, whether it be in God, Love, Unity, or whatever is important to your family, the members of your family will know their purpose in life and know a place - one singular, reliable, and loving place - they can seek answers to the other questions in life.
Even better, the answers they receive in a well-grounded home will be all the assurance they need to recover from emotional losses, tough days, physical trials, and any other bumps along the road of life. What better home insurance is there?
My home was founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ and I therefore know my divine purpose and am so grateful for my parents who answered all my questions (silly or not)with love and helped steer me towards the right (even when I didn't want it!)!
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