Help! Looking for Insurance! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Mrs.Morris · 07-21-2006, 11:14 PM

good day guys!

I’m new here, i don't know which category i'm going to post. i'm shopping around for insurance and hoping I can get opinions from everybody here about which ones to avoid and which ones you have had a good experience with. somehow i was able to check http://www.insurancepaylite.com they have a couple of insurance company and I was quoted for some price. your suggestions will help me more to have an idea and choice to compare with...
thank you so much...

cookmo · 07-21-2006, 11:23 PM

By using the search fuction I pulled up this thread that may help you.

Help: Learning about Insurance ... and you'd rather be in the The Erogenous Zone http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ight=Insurance

The_Jazz · 07-22-2006, 04:34 AM

Well, first it would be helpful to know what kind of insurance you're looking for. Auto? Home? Health? Business? I looked at the site you linked to and noticed that it's basically a lead generator for personal lines agents. That said, if you do get hooked up with someone from one of these services (and there are several), you want to do your homework on them. Make sure that they have a good reputation and that they actually know what they're talking about. For instance, if you're only making $30,000 a year and someone tries to sell you a $5M Umbrella policy, they're more interested in their pockets than yours. Personal lines is usually a way to get to the bigger ticket items like investments and annuities, so just be aware of that. Almost all insurance agents are upstanding, highly moral people, but there are a few that are scam artists, just like in any industry (RIP, Mr. Lay).

Let me know what you're trying to do, and I'd be happy to give you any advice that I can. There is much more to insurance than the insurancepaylite site, and its exclusive use could end up costing you more or giving you coverage you don't really need.

CaliLivChick · 07-22-2006, 05:26 AM

I've had State Farm for auto since I was 16, and with my apartment for renter's insurance for 1 1/2 years. Actually, I take that back, I had to switch to Progressive for auto when I moved to Florida, because the rates if I had done a straight transfer would have been about $400 a month (wasn't the best driver when I was younger). So I did that for six months, and when I came back to State Farm, the rates were about what I was paying before.

State Farm has always been fabulous to me. Whenever I've had a claim, no matter which end I was on, they are always doing everything they can to help me out. I'm being sued right now for an accident, and they're taking care of everything for that too, including attorney's fees and whatever settlement payout is (up to my liability limit, of course). They make everything so easy for me, I recommend them to anyone and everyone. My parents have had State Farm for home and auto forever, and they get the same sort of treatment. Wonderful company. =)

thingstodo · 07-22-2006, 03:29 PM

If it's car it really depends on the state. For example, I had great rates with GEICO in FL but they sucked in MI. Progressive has been good to me with a clean record.

raeanna74 · 07-22-2006, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thingstodo

If it's car it really depends on the state. For example, I had great rates with GEICO in FL but they sucked in MI. Progressive has been good to me with a clean record.

Progressive isn't so nice if you start making mistakes.

We've been on the other end of an accident with a driver who had State Farm. They dealt with us very quickly and nicely. Very good to us.

We've been with American Family since we bought our house. We just recently got onto the preferred rates because hubby's been a good boy and tickets dropped off his license this year. Our rates just dropped by about $60/mo because two tickets went off. For 100,000 home, full coverage on one vehicle, and two other vehicles on liability - we're paying only $114/mo. That's also including insurance on our home policy to cover the childcare that I have in my home.

Now if you're going for Life Insurance. That's a whole other ball game. And for health insurance - We've been investigating that lately because our insurance may need to change in the near future. So far Thrivent Financial, and Blue Cross Blue Shield are about equivalant in coverage and cost. I do not know yet how they are on service.

Mrs.Morris · 07-23-2006, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Jazz

Well, first it would be helpful to know what kind of insurance you're looking for. Auto? Home? Health? Business? I looked at the site you linked to and noticed that it's basically a lead generator for personal lines agents. That said, if you do get hooked up with someone from one of these services (and there are several), you want to do your homework on them. Make sure that they have a good reputation and that they actually know what they're talking about. For instance, if you're only making $30,000 a year and someone tries to sell you a $5M Umbrella policy, they're more interested in their pockets than yours. Personal lines is usually a way to get to the bigger ticket items like investments and annuities, so just be aware of that. Almost all insurance agents are upstanding, highly moral people, but there are a few that are scam artists, just like in any industry (RIP, Mr. Lay).

good day,

I'm Linda Morris my family is moving in Calfornia very soon, we are looking for home insurance and my husband got his new ride so car insurance as well... it is my pleasure then to help me or any suggestions you made.. again, thank you

The_Jazz · 07-24-2006, 06:02 AM

Well, I've got good news and bad news for you, Linda. The good news is that there are a huge number of independent agents in California. The bad news is that homeowners and personal auto insurance have higher rates in some parts of CA than virtually anywhere else in the US. That means that you are almost certainly going to be paying more than you are now unless you're moving from an urban area into a rural area (i.e. going from NYC to a ranger station in Death Valley). If you're going into one of the fault zones, be prepared for a shock since the rates for any sort of earthquake insurance are tied directly into hurricane insurance in Florida and the Gulf - and you should know how bad that was last year. There were also some major changes in other aspects of the industry that raised rates even more, so get ready.

I did some more research on the website that you linked in your initial post, and there's a lot of negative feedback on some of the agents that it referred over. That doesn't necessarily mean that the website is bad, just that the service of the agents who sign up for it isn't up to par. A friend of mine has a client who gets leads from this site and then passes them off to all the rookies in his office to work off of with some very mixed results. The agent is apparently very frustrated with the whole system.

As far as your move goes, let your current agent know what's going on. First, he can probably arrange for a temporary policy for your new CA home, and it's possible that he may be able to write a permanent policy for you, although there are a bunch of reasons that he might not be able to (the most important of which is that he may not be licensed to do so). However, there are ways to transfer your current homeowners coverage to the new home without having to rewrite it until it expires naturally. Almost all policies have this sort of provision built in.

The second most important reason to tell your agent that you're moving is that he may know another agent in the area. If he works for a captive carrier (State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, etc.) where he can only work with his employing carrier, he'll have a ready network of referrals for you and there should be little or no disruption. If he's an independent agent, then he'll still probably know some folks from the various conventions that those guys go to.

As far as your husbands car goes, you don't need to worry about it until the current coverage expires. They'll probably attach a rider showing the new location where it's garaged, and they might charge you extra to make up the difference in the rates between whereever you are in CA and whereever you are now, but there's no real reason to cancel the coverage unless your current carrier can't write in California for some reason. Even in that scenario, there are still stopgap measures that they should offer up to make sure that you don't have to arrange for an immediate replacement.

Let me know if you need anything else or if there's anything else I can do to help!

07-21-2006, 11:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mrs.Morris Upright	Help! Looking for Insurance! good day guys! I’m new here, i don't know which category i'm going to post. i'm shopping around for insurance and hoping I can get opinions from everybody here about which ones to avoid and which ones you have had a good experience with. somehow i was able to check http://www.insurancepaylite.com they have a couple of insurance company and I was quoted for some price. your suggestions will help me more to have an idea and choice to compare with... thank you so much...

07-22-2006, 04:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	Well, first it would be helpful to know what kind of insurance you're looking for. Auto? Home? Health? Business? I looked at the site you linked to and noticed that it's basically a lead generator for personal lines agents. That said, if you do get hooked up with someone from one of these services (and there are several), you want to do your homework on them. Make sure that they have a good reputation and that they actually know what they're talking about. For instance, if you're only making $30,000 a year and someone tries to sell you a $5M Umbrella policy, they're more interested in their pockets than yours. Personal lines is usually a way to get to the bigger ticket items like investments and annuities, so just be aware of that. Almost all insurance agents are upstanding, highly moral people, but there are a few that are scam artists, just like in any industry (RIP, Mr. Lay). Let me know what you're trying to do, and I'd be happy to give you any advice that I can. There is much more to insurance than the insurancepaylite site, and its exclusive use could end up costing you more or giving you coverage you don't really need. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

07-22-2006, 05:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
CaliLivChick In Transition Location: Sanford, FL (between Daytona and Orlando)	I've had State Farm for auto since I was 16, and with my apartment for renter's insurance for 1 1/2 years. Actually, I take that back, I had to switch to Progressive for auto when I moved to Florida, because the rates if I had done a straight transfer would have been about $400 a month (wasn't the best driver when I was younger). So I did that for six months, and when I came back to State Farm, the rates were about what I was paying before. State Farm has always been fabulous to me. Whenever I've had a claim, no matter which end I was on, they are always doing everything they can to help me out. I'm being sued right now for an accident, and they're taking care of everything for that too, including attorney's fees and whatever settlement payout is (up to my liability limit, of course). They make everything so easy for me, I recommend them to anyone and everyone. My parents have had State Farm for home and auto forever, and they get the same sort of treatment. Wonderful company. =) __________________ Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me. Last edited by CaliLivChick; 07-23-2006 at 06:36 AM..

07-22-2006, 03:29 PM	#5 (permalink)
thingstodo A Storm Is Coming Location: The Great White North	If it's car it really depends on the state. For example, I had great rates with GEICO in FL but they sucked in MI. Progressive has been good to me with a clean record. __________________ If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves. Stangers have the best candy.

07-24-2006, 06:02 AM	#8 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	Well, I've got good news and bad news for you, Linda. The good news is that there are a huge number of independent agents in California. The bad news is that homeowners and personal auto insurance have higher rates in some parts of CA than virtually anywhere else in the US. That means that you are almost certainly going to be paying more than you are now unless you're moving from an urban area into a rural area (i.e. going from NYC to a ranger station in Death Valley). If you're going into one of the fault zones, be prepared for a shock since the rates for any sort of earthquake insurance are tied directly into hurricane insurance in Florida and the Gulf - and you should know how bad that was last year. There were also some major changes in other aspects of the industry that raised rates even more, so get ready. I did some more research on the website that you linked in your initial post, and there's a lot of negative feedback on some of the agents that it referred over. That doesn't necessarily mean that the website is bad, just that the service of the agents who sign up for it isn't up to par. A friend of mine has a client who gets leads from this site and then passes them off to all the rookies in his office to work off of with some very mixed results. The agent is apparently very frustrated with the whole system. As far as your move goes, let your current agent know what's going on. First, he can probably arrange for a temporary policy for your new CA home, and it's possible that he may be able to write a permanent policy for you, although there are a bunch of reasons that he might not be able to (the most important of which is that he may not be licensed to do so). However, there are ways to transfer your current homeowners coverage to the new home without having to rewrite it until it expires naturally. Almost all policies have this sort of provision built in. The second most important reason to tell your agent that you're moving is that he may know another agent in the area. If he works for a captive carrier (State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, etc.) where he can only work with his employing carrier, he'll have a ready network of referrals for you and there should be little or no disruption. If he's an independent agent, then he'll still probably know some folks from the various conventions that those guys go to. As far as your husbands car goes, you don't need to worry about it until the current coverage expires. They'll probably attach a rider showing the new location where it's garaged, and they might charge you extra to make up the difference in the rates between whereever you are in CA and whereever you are now, but there's no real reason to cancel the coverage unless your current carrier can't write in California for some reason. Even in that scenario, there are still stopgap measures that they should offer up to make sure that you don't have to arrange for an immediate replacement. Let me know if you need anything else or if there's anything else I can do to help! __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

07-21-2006, 11:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
cookmo Insane Location: Ohio	By using the search fuction I pulled up this thread that may help you. Help: Learning about Insurance ... and you'd rather be in the The Erogenous Zone http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ight=Insurance