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Anyone else getting screwed on car and home insurance?

88,112 Views | 356 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by Diggity
Diggity
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AG
Fire anyone who can't differentiate between sale and sell
TJaggie14
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AG
Man I suppose I feel lucky. Auto went up about $60 for mine & the wife's car. House went up about $300.

Ive got All State & they said something about getting stricter/not writing policies in Harris county. Said the company is trying to lower their risks & several other insurance companies aren't even writing policies for TX.
TXTransplant
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randy828 said:

Wow, I was feeling ticked off until I searched and found this thread. My homeowners insurance is increasing a little over 14% . I am with State Farm and I bundle my two cars with them also. Been with my agent (who is the dad of one of my best friend) for car insurance since I could drive in 1986 and always had either home or renter's insurance with him since about 1996.

Guess after reading this and the response I got from his office, they are in line with what you guys are saying...so I guess I might stay put and take it in the arse again.

FYI -
Quote:

Hope you and family are doing well. I wanted to address our recent rate increases. Inflation and claims have heavily hit the auto and home insurance industry. In the past, a windshield could be replaced for $300. Now with the electronics in windshields, replacement cost is $3200. What use to be a $2500 collision claim is now $7000. To replace a totaled $20,000 vehicle is $29,000. The same increases apply to homes. Also, the reinsurance industry has left Texas and many other states. This has caused all companies to rely on their liquid cash flow to meet required reserves for claims or lose their license to operate. This has caused many small insurance companies to stop writing new business and non-renew a percentage of their book of business just to meet financial requirements to the insurance commission. These companies didn't have the require dollars to pay claims. By June of 2024, I think it will be difficult for a person to get an auto or home policy with proper coverages. The high risk auto companies will only sale minimum liability limits of 30/60/25 which means a major at fault claim could be a financial disaster.
State Farm is financially strong, but steps are being taken to protect our policyholders and ensure them we will be able to meet their insurance needs. We have stop writing business in certain areas of Texas. A domino effect has started as other companies are doing the same.

As you know, It's not just the insurance industry that's being effected by inflation. Unless inflation can be stopped, you will see a continuance of rate increases in the insurance industry, no matter which company is in business.





State Farm brought the hammer down on me this year for auto and homeowners, but like you said, it's not as bad as what others here are posting. I'm up about $800 across all my policies compared to last year. I just raised my son's deductible to $2k to try to mitigate that $200 increase.

While I understand repair costs have gone up, they can take their excuses and shove them in the same place their Super Bowl commercial with Arnold belongs.

The irony is, they are shelling out money for commercials advertising to "potential customers" when they've stopped writing policies in a lot of areas.
SnowboardAg
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Last time State Farm called me, I said I'll let you quote me but if you can't beat my best offer, you pay me $300 for my time. She laughed at me, but I can't stand State Farm (or really most all of them). It's all a scam.
aTm2004
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Jesus. My homeowners went up almost 57%. How in the eff? With Goosehead, but not tied to them. Between insurance and taxes, it won't be long I can't afford to live in my house.

Any suggestions on a reasonable company or agent to today with? I'm in Harris County.
Irish 2.0
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Liere
CDUB98
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I haven't seen our increased rates for this year, but we've been with Amica for a while. At least worth giving them a call.
aTm2004
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I had them quote me last year but couldn't meet or beat the renewal I had with the company Gooshead had me with. I'll give them a call to see what they are able to do.
aTm2004
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I'll reach out to them as well. I haven't gotten an official renewal letter, but know it's getting close and logged into the insurance company's app to see if maybe it was in there, and it was. To top it off, the auto went up $500 with zero claims, and 2 friggin' Hondas, including a minivan. But the homeowners is what is shocking. I'm dead serious that I may not be able to afford to live in this house within the next couple of years between insurance and taxes.
CDUB98
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Quote:

I'm dead serious that I may not be able to afford to live in this house within the next couple of years between insurance and taxes


I feel ya.
Dirtnap ag
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Just had to reshop Car Insurance after facing a 35% increase. Started with Casey at goosehead many years ago but he turned me to another agent Eric Jones who was very responsive and kept me at the same coverage level while only facing a 19% increase. Terrified to see what my increase on home will be later this summer but will definitely contact Eric to see what Goosehead will do.
EricJones75
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It was great working with you. This market is incredibly frustrating and we want to help where we can.

If anyone else is looking for a better option, or peace of mind over their recent increases, feel free to contact me directly at Eric.jones@goosehead.com or 713-324-9059
CDUB98
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Not meaning to step on Eric and Goosehead, but another group I'm in suggested Chubb for people that are a bit higher on the asset scale. I haven't looked into myself as a LOLpoor.
redag06
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A coworker was shopping after his 50% increase to homeowners, and was told there are companies that aren't insuring any roofs older than TEN years.

So much for Houston being affordable.
randy828
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redag06 said:

A coworker was shopping after his 50% increase to homeowners, and was told there are companies that aren't insuring any roofs older than TEN years.

So much for Houston being affordable.
Holy cow! Mine is 26 years old and we go hammered by the hail storm last week. I just submitted my insurance claim. You should have seen our subdivision on Friday morning...I had 4 roofing companies knock on my door by 10am...I put a sign out saying please do not disturb. 3 more walked up to my while I was cleaning debris from my driveway at noon. It was crazy.

ccolley68
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CDUB98 said:

Not meaning to step on Eric and Goosehead, but another group I'm in suggested Chubb for people that are a bit higher on the asset scale. I haven't looked into myself as a LOLpoor.


Chubb is a great insurance company for personal, but if you are the kind that shops your insurance every year to save a buck, it's not going to be your bag. Chubb is typically on the higher end of the price, if not the highest. And they specialize in more high net worth type stuff. But what you get for that high price is impeccable service when you need it. If you are somewhere where hurricanes hit, and you have Chubb, you basically go to the front of the line, and your repairs get done first. It costs you in premiums over the years, but when you need it, they come through. My father in law had Chubb for his house in Rockport and when they last hurricane hit and they had ~$500k in damage, it was fixed and finished before most people had even gotten their places cleaned up. But for coastal property, it was nearly double the premium of the next option. Just food for thought.
Ezra Brooks
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aTm2004 said:

Jesus. My homeowners went up almost 57%. How in the eff? With Goosehead, but not tied to them. Between insurance and taxes, it won't be long I can't afford to live in my house.

Any suggestions on a reasonable company or agent to today with? I'm in Harris County.
You're around the corner from me - my current policy holder is bailing on TX and the best my agent can find is a 25% increase...that includes an increase in my wind/hail from 2% to 5%.
EricJones75
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Chubb is a great company, they are one of our preferred partners that we write at Goosehead as well! Our portfolio consists of over 50 different carriers to assist us in a challenging market. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to be a resource for you! - Eric.jones@goosehead.com
EricJones75
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Hey Ezra, that's definitely a pretty tough spot to be in. Let me know if you have some time to connect today and I'd be happy to give you a second opinion on some options for the upcoming year if you're open to it! - Eric.jones@goosehead.com
71 jock
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Good luck getting Eric or Goosehead to respond to you come renewal time. I would strongly advise anyone to NOT use them. Embarrassingly bad.
TXTransplant
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redag06 said:

A coworker was shopping after his 50% increase to homeowners, and was told there are companies that aren't insuring any roofs older than TEN years.

So much for Houston being affordable.


My BF had this issue on an investment property he bought. He fully intended to have the roof replaced (and did a few weeks after closing). But no one would insure the house for/at closing. One agency told him to pay to replace the roof BEFORE he bought the house, and they would write a policy.

He asked why they couldn't write him a policy contingent on having the roof replaced within a certain period of time after closing and was told they don't do that.

He refused to pay for a new roof on a house he didn't own, yet. I think he did manage to get some company to write a policy that went into effect at purchased but it was a PITA.

htxag09
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What I've never really been able to understand is why so many carriers are no longer writing policies in Houston....(just talking about home insurance at the moment)

Sure, we have potential for hurricanes. But what's the last one that really caused damage in the area? Harvey in 2017? So why are they all leaving now, 7 years later?

Other than that, I feel like we don't really get the type of weather that would frequently cause high insurance payouts. People in Dallas talk about getting new roofs from hail storms every 5 years, etc.
EricJones75
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I'm sorry that your experience with your previous agent did not meet your expectations. I can assure you that is not how I run my business nor a direct reflection of our company. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to be a resource for you.
Aggie71013
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I grew up in Dallas and we never once had a hail claim on our roof. Either we got lucky or you've called our why carriers are leaving and won't insure roofs over 10 years.

It doesn't hail that much there nor massive hail. Pea size hail and the roofers are getting new roofs approved.
71 jock
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EricJones75 said:

I'm sorry that your experience with your previous agent did not meet your expectations. I can assure you that is not how I run my business nor a direct reflection of our company. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to be a resource for you.
YOU WERE THE ONE HANDLING MY RENEWAL! You should probably just sit this one out.
htxag09
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Aggie71013 said:

I grew up in Dallas and we never once had a hail claim on our roof. Either we got lucky or you've called our why carriers are leaving and won't insure roofs over 10 years.

It doesn't hail that much there nor massive hail. Pea size hail and the roofers are getting new roofs approved.
I've never lived in Dallas so no personal experience. But I've gotten into semi-arguments with posters from North Texas for making claims like "if your roof is over 3 years old you aren't trying hard enough" with the exact reasoning of driving all insurance costs up.

Either way, that shouldn't impact them leaving Harris County....
LPHA
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Is Cole still with Goosehead? I'm still waiting on a response from my Jan. 5 email. Which was a follow up to my 12/6 email.
EricJones75
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Do you have a last name? Feel free to email some details at Eric.jones@goosehead.com and I will locate your agent or ensure it gets taken care of for you!
71 jock
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LPHA said:

Is Cole still with Goosehead? I'm still waiting on a response from my Jan. 5 email. Which was a follow up to my 12/6 email.
let me guess- Cole Martin?? Yeah don't expect a response from that guy either. Sensing a theme??
LPHA
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Good guess. Casey was awesome. I almost feel bad that I've recommended Goosehead to so many people based on my experience with him.
aTm2004
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71 jock said:

Good luck getting Eric or Goosehead to respond to you come renewal time. I would strongly advise anyone to NOT use them. Embarrassingly bad.
I'm guessing not responding is their business model. I bought a new car last year and went to get it put on my insurance, but could never get ahold of the agent. I called and left multiple voicemails on top of multiple emails. I went online and saw a place to add the vehicle, so I did and thought I was good. It never got out of pending, so after a couple of weeks, I started calling and emailing again and never gone a single response.

At that point, I had enough and got online to see all of the agents on Goosehead's site that had the same office address as him, and began calling every single one of them. After about a dozen or so, I finally had one that called me back and explained how everything works with them. Though he didn't solve my issue, I had an idea of what steps I needed to take next, so I did. Called their 800 number and waited the 30 or so minutes on hold to get through to an actual person, then explained to her the frustration I was having and the total lack of communication from my agent.

She essentially was the ear for my frustration and then got me all set up for the new car as well as offered to find me another agent. By that time, it was close to renewal, so I told her I'd give someone else a chance, and the new guy is out of Ohio or something and is great. Sent him an email around 6:30 pm one night when I got my renewal, and he called me before 9 am the next day to discuss things. He calls when he says he will and is quick to respond. He really needs to get out of there before the adopts the Goosehead norm of customer service.
htxag09
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I liked Casey and Grace. That said, I'm still transitioning away because their fee to shop around is dumb when nobody else charges it. I still have auto with them and Grace and/or their customer support have always been fine when I needed them. For example, recently moved and no issue having them revise the address on the auto policy with one email.
CDUB98
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This is not a good look.
ccolley68
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htxag09 said:

I liked Casey and Grace. That said, I'm still transitioning away because their fee to shop around is dumb when nobody else charges it. I still have auto with them and Grace and/or their customer support have always been fine when I needed them. For example, recently moved and no issue having them revise the address on the auto policy with one email.


They charge a fee to shop carriers? Wow, that's not gonna help the long term sustainability of their business
aTmLoKi
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AG
Had a similar experience. Casey was good and then went AWOL. I was finally able to get a call back, but it was Chris who said Casey had been moved into a new spot and would be happy to take care of me. I was on the phone with him for 45 minutes shopping rates that were more comparable and then after everything was confirmed and ready to go is when he told me there was a fee for him finding me the new policies. I'm telling everyone to stay away from Goosehead at this point.
 
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