Home owners insurance

[ides]

We put in an offer on a house. Our first house purchase attempt . Anyhow I'm starting to research home owners insurance. The only insurance I've ever had has been car and we've used Geico, which has worked well for us. Dh also has disability and we are working on life but that is it. Can anyone recommend any companies they like or those to avoid? I'm planning on getting at least three quotes, maybe more. Should I just go for home owners or should I try to bundle in car? Do I need umbrella coverage too?

[SuzySunshine]

We had American Family in MN and when we had to make a claim due to a burst pipe they were FABULOUS! We have ACE now but haven't needed them.

And yes, EVERY physician should have an umbrella policy.

[GrayMatterWife]

We use AMICA for home/auto/umbrella and have been very happy.

And be sure to get umbrella.

[MrsK]

We had State Farm in SoFla and they were fantastic when Hurricane Andrew destroyed our home. But that was 20yrs ago and they haven't issued hurricane coverage since.

Definitely a BIG YES on the umbrella policy.

[diggitydot]

Definitely try to bundle your policies. You'll get the biggest price breaks that way.

We've had the best luck with local insurers. The agents have had offices in our towns/cities and were VERY responsive.

Definitely know your current coverage and give them all the info to minimize the back and forth and so you get an accurate quote.

[v-girl]

We have Travelers. Never had to use it (thankfully).

[SoonerTexan]

Liberty Mutual was almost half of the "big names" and I've dealt with them for auto claims and been happy.

[Deebs]

We have Liberty Mutual for everything. We had a difficult (we thought) claim when movers stole our coats, watches, etc and wouldn't admit to it, and LM covered the claim very easily. We haven't had another major claim (fortunately), but my parents had a pipe burst while they were away for two weeks, and the covered repairs to the entire house fairly painlessly, as much as insurance can be.

[Thirteen]

We have AAA: very good customer service and policy options/pricing.
We bundled our cars with the house as well.


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[ladymoreta]

We got our homeowners insurance through Geico. It was Travelers, but it gave us a multiple policy discount. We only used them once to replace our roof, and they were great.

[ides]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! That helps narrow down the list for me.

[niener]

Chiming in a bit late but our homeowner's is through Allstate and the one experience I've had with them was atrocious. I had to file a claim with them last year when our hot water heater cracked and it was quite possibly the worse customer service experience I've ever had. I don't plan on renewing with them this year, even though we get a good bundled rate with our car insurance too.

[HouseofWool]

Just to add, if you can get a home owners warranty, do it. I got the best one available for $500 and there is a good chance that I might get a new furnace out of it. Best 500 bucks I will have ever spent.

[ladymoreta]

My PSA about home warranties: If you can get the seller to buy it, great! But keep an emergency fund, because there are often hidden exclusions on the really expensive stuff. Our HVAC exclusion was at the end of a totally unrelated paragraph. I read that book several times before calling the company to tell me where it was listed.

[SoonerTexan]

I called the home warranty company for a claim once. That was enough.