Watch this video before you buy an insurance policy.
Recovery is much quicker if you’re not dealing with an insurance company.
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In October of 2012, Hurricane Sandy did this weird thing that caused extensive flooding on all of the houses on the sound side of the outer banks, away from the ocean. Although our living spaces were on stilts, our bottom levels had a room with washers, dryers, carts, bicycles, etc., that were damaged, flooded, filled to the brim with mud, sand, debris, etc. People who thought they were fully insured with all of the recommended insurance policies got the classic insurance run around.
The wind insurance reps said that this was clearly a flood event since water did the damage. The flood insurance companies said it was clearly a wind event since this flood was cause by a wind driven inversion of some sort. And FEMA put people through months and months of infuriatingly slow paperwork while mold, mildew and mess added to the damage.
I borrowed an old pickup truck and spent a couple of hard days carrying appliances and furniture and bikes and stuff to the dump, followed by shoveling mud out with a coal shovel, and replacing the appliances myself. Oh yeah. And washing with gallons of Clorox before I replaced anything.
I was lucky. I knew that insurance companies nowadays maximize their profits by not paying their claims whenever they can profitably get away with it.
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State Farm and Allstate are (by reviews I have read and people I have talked to) the best at taking your premiums and the worst at paying back when it’s time.
This is an unsolicited plug for Amica, which we have had for more than 20 years, and for which every claim has been greeted with “What can we do to help?”
Our claims have ranged from total destruction of cars (plural) in a hailstorm and house roof (same hailstorm), broken water line in the basement (sent investigator who determined the hot water heater was at fault, forgave the deductible and sued GE), RV wreck from going un a bridge which was mislabeled as to height (only 2”, but there goes the luggage rack), water intrusion in newly added house addition, and others.
Coming up to, $20k, $14k, $6k, $6k, $17k, and a couple of others I’ve likely forgotten. When the hail storm came through, for instance, they set up a remote claims location in a mall shopping lot, we had our checks before the neighbors even got a visit from their estimator. Likewise we had a roof inspection within a week, neighbors didn’t have a check for months.
Honestly, I don’t price check against low ballers, I’d rather have an insurance company that pays out when there’s a (legit) claim, that’s gold to me.
Oh, and it’s a mutual company, so depending on how much they take in nationwide, if there’s anything left over we get a check back from them each year. Sometimes it’s $50, sometimes $200. It depends on what they’ve paid out; I expect this year it will be less, given exposure in California and North Carolina (although I really don’t know if they even serve those areas, but I won’t be surprised to find that they do.)
[I have not been compensated in any way for this endorsement, as if I needed to tell you that.]
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If you’ve been investing in the S&P 500 for the past 30 years, those kinds of sums are lost in the round-off and you can pay them out of petty cash.
I only insure for liability coverage ($5 MM limit). I can afford to replace my home and automobile if it burns, is lost, stolen, or damaged, so there’s no reason to add the expense and hassle of an insurance company.
By the way, I get a letter about once every 3 months from Amica asking to quote my business. A couple of times I let them quote my coverage, and they were more than double what I’m paying State Farm. You put that delta in an S&P 500 index fund for 30 years and an extra person could retire on it.
Minimize the “Skim”.
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That’s true, but they’re only examples. I am more concerned about my [entire] house and not having to go through the wringer with a cheapo company like State Farm or Allstate (as I did when I was younger and trying to pinch every penny because I had to).
Maybe they just don’t like you. Or maybe you will learn, and I hope not, that buying insurance from State Farm is penny wise and pound foolish.
I’m well aware of State Farm’s history. That’s why I only trust them for liability coverage, and I get to choose my own lawyer.
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I went through 5 or 6 pages of information … and in the end they said they can’t quote homeowners here. Meanwhile, my zip code was literally the first thing they asked for!
Meaning: They want you to move! LOL. And I ain’t kidding because this is algorithmic rather than human.
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With State Farm’s reputation, how can you “trust them” with your liability coverage. Sure, you can have your own lawyer. Lawyers are expensive though.
Your liability insurance covers “defense costs”, too (i.e., State Farm is paying the lawyer I chose to defend the lawsuit).
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