Tag Archives: Condo insurance

Choosing an insurance agent: What to expect from a good agent

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I started this blog series about how to choose an agent, telling you about the hype you hear from every agent, usually in a confident, friendly manner: “I have many years experience. I represent a large, old, financially stable company with 24 hour claims service. I’m an independent agent, and I can shop the home & auto insurance market for you (except I don’t tell you I don’t represent some of the biggest & best companies). I put my customers first. Yadda, yadda, yadda.”

There are lots of well-established, financially strong insurance companies. Most companies have 24 hour claims reporting. Almost all of the reasons agents tell you why you should insure with them are not unique, and they are common among all insurance companies. If other companies offer the same benefits, why shouldn’t you choose the company with the lowest price?

Some agents do add value with the service they provide, and this blog post will show you how to recognize this value, and allow you to tell the agents really putting their customers first, from the majority of agents merely claiming to put their customers first. Continue reading →

Choosing an insurance agent: Your agent’s office location

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How important is it for your agent’s office to be close to your home or work? For a lot of people, this is an important factor for choosing an agent. But for most people, choosing an agent based on the agent’s office location can be a mistake. Depending on your needs, the location of your agent’s office may not be important at all. This blog post will tell you when having an agent close to you is important, and when choosing the agent closest to you is a mistake. Continue reading →

Choosing an insurance agent: Referrals

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One thing recommended to insurance shoppers, often by objective sources like your state’s department of insurance informational brochures, is to ask your friends, family, & neighbors for their opinions about insurance companies. In my opinion, personal referrals are not useful in making sure you will get good customer service from your agent or insurance company. This blog post will explain why referrals are not reliable, and where to find more objective measures of customer service, so you can avoid having problems when you most need the help of your agent or company. Continue reading →

Choosing an insurance agent: Check for license & complaints

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Whether you buy your insurance from an agent, or directly from the company, you need to make sure your agent or company is properly licensed in your state to sell the type of insurance you are buying, and see if there has been any complaints or disciplinary actions against your agent or company. Continue reading →

Choosing an insurance agent: How much experience is needed?

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Here is my second tip for choosing an insurance agent, which can save you from making costly mistakes:

Know how much experience is important, & avoid inexperienced agents

Some agents try to convince you to insure with them based on their many years of experience, or the experience of their employees. I know one agent added up the total number of years of experience of their agency employees to conclude their combined experience equals over 100 hundred years! This sounds impressive, but does it really benefit the customer? I don’t think so. Continue reading →

Choosing an insurance agent: Is your agent any good?

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Do you have a good insurance agent? Most people find out the hard way when they have a problem or a claim. This is the first in a series of blog posts giving you tips on how to find an excellent agent and avoid bad ones. The first thing you may think, is you can avoid having to worry about finding a good agent by not having an agent at all, and buying direct from the insurance company. Doesn’t it cost more to have an insurance agent? Isn’t it cheaper to buy direct, anyway? Continue reading →

District of Columbia (DC) Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Top Companies

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Does your Washington DC home-owners insurance company have a large amount of customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your company any good? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post ranks thirteen of the largest DC home insurance companies based on their 2011 JD Power customer satisfaction ratings, and links to a review with each insurance company’s complaint record. Find out the best & worst companies. Continue reading →

Wyoming Auto & Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Major Companies

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Does your insurance company have a lot of complaints? Will you have difficulty placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? How do you know if your company is good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their automobile & property (homeowners, renters, mobile home, rental dwelling, condo, etc.) insurance companies. Here I provide complaint information for insurance companies selling auto & residential property insurance in Wyoming and rank them, from best to worst, based on their 2009, 2010, & 2011 Wyoming complaint record. Continue reading →

Wisconsin Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for the Major Companies

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Does your homeowners, condo, mobile home, or renters insurance company have a lot of complaints? Will you have difficulty placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? How do you know if your company is any good? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. Here I provide complaint information for twenty of the largest (by market share in Wisconsin) insurance companies and rank them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 national home insurance complaints. (Accurate 2011 data not available yet). I also list fifteen insurance companies you may want to avoid, with a higher than average number of home & renters insurance complaints filed against them in Wisconsin. Continue reading →

Wisconsin Auto Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Leading Companies

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Does your automobile insurance company have a lot of complaints? Will you have difficulty placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? How do you know if your company is any good? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. Here I provide complaint information for 20 of the largest (by market share in Wisconsin, based on auto insurance premium) insurance companies and rank them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 national auto insurance complaints. (Accurate 2011 data not available yet). I also list 22 insurance companies you may want to avoid, with a higher than average number of auto insurance complaints filed against them in Wisconsin. Continue reading →

West Virginia Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings For 20 Top Companies

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Does your home insurance company have a large amount of customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? When do you want to find out if your insurance company is any good? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their auto & property (homeowners, renters, condo, mobile home, dwelling) insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the 20 largest insurance companies insuring homes in West Virginia, & ranks them based on their 2010 national complaint ratings (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Know the best and worst companies! Continue reading →

Virginia Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 50 Top Companies

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Does your home insurance company have many customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your property (renters, home, condo, dwelling, or mobile home) insurance company good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the fifty largest insurance companies insuring residential property in Virginia and ranks them from best to worst, based on their 2010 national homeowners insurance complaint records (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Continue reading →

Vermont Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Leading Companies

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Does your property (homeowners/condo/mobile home/renters) insurance company have a huge amount of customer complaints? Will you have any problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your insurance company good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the major insurance companies selling property insurance in Vermont, and ranks them from best to worst, based on their 2011 JD Power homeowners insurance customer satisfaction rating. National homeowners insurance complaint ratings for their subsidiary companies are available by links to insurance company reviews on my website. I also list complaint ratings for several large regional home insurance companies selling property insurance in Vermont, not rated by JD Power. Continue reading →

Utah Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 21 Top Companies

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Does your home insurance company have many complaints? Will you have difficulty placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? How do you know if your home insurance company is good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. Here I provide complaint information for the twenty-one largest (by market share in Utah, based on premium) property (home/renters/condo/mobile home) insurance companies & rank them, from best to worst, based on the average of each company’s Utah homeowners insurance complaint record for the last three years — 2008, 2009, & 2010. Utah complaint data for 2011 is not available yet. Continue reading →

How much is home insurance? Rates increased 19% Nationwide in 2011

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Today’s Insurance Journal has an article about a report from an online home insurance provider, homeinsurance.com, indicating national homeowners insurance premiums went up an average of 19% in 2011. According to the report, the typical premium for a new home insurance policy in December 2011 was $810 nationwide, up from $682 in January 2011. The quarterly RateReport data from homeinsurance.com represents approximately 15,000 policies sold across the United States with various carriers including Travelers, Safeco, Foremost, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford, and ASI/Ark Royal. This blog post will tell you what you can do to reduce your price after a large home insurance rate increase. Continue reading →

Tennessee Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 48 Top Companies

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Does your property (renters, homeowners, condo, mobile home owners) insurance company have many customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Will you find out your property insurance company is good or bad when you need them to help you? Many consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the forty-eight largest Tennessee home insurance companies, and rates & ranks them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 national home-owners insurance complaint record (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Continue reading →

South Dakota Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 30 Top Companies

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Does your property insurance company have many customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Will you discover your home insurance company is good or bad when you need them to help you? Many consumers fail to check the complaint records of their home and auto insurance companies. This blog article gives you complaint information for the thirty biggest South Dakota home insurance companies, covering 90.24% of the 2011 home insurance market in the state, and rates & ranks them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 national homeowners insurance complaint records (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Continue reading →

South Carolina Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 24 Top Companies

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Does your home insurance company have a very large amount of customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your company any good? Will you have a bad experience when you need your home insurance company? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their car and home insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the twenty four largest insurance companies selling property (homeowners, condo, mobile home, renters) insurance in South Carolina, and rates & ranks them based on their 2010 national complaint record (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Know about the best & worst insurance companies in South Carolina! Continue reading →

Rhode Island Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 12 Major Companies

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Does your home insurance company have a large amount of customer complaints? Will you have any problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your home-owners insurance company good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for twelve major insurance companies selling property insurance (mobile home, homeowners, renters, condo, rental dwelling for landlords) in Rhode Island, and ranks them from best to worst, based on their 2011 JD Power homeowners insurance customer satisfaction rating. National home insurance complaint ratings for their subsidiary companies are available by links to insurance company reviews on my website. Continue reading →

Pennsylvania Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 54 Top Companies

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Does your home, condo, renters, or manufactured home insurance company have a huge amount of customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is the company insuring your residence good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the fifty-four largest insurance companies insuring homes in Pennsylvania, and ranks them from best to worst, based on their 2010 national home insurance complaint record (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Continue reading →

Oklahoma Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 21 Major Companies

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Does your homeowners insurance company have a very large amount of customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your home insurance company any good? Will you have a bad experience when you need your insurance company? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their auto & home insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for twenty-one major Oklahoma home insurance companies, including the 10 largest home insurers in Oklahoma, and rates and ranks them based on their 2010 national complaint record (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Be aware of the best & worst insurance companies in Oklahoma. Continue reading →

Ohio Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 27 Major Companies

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Does your home insurance company have a lot of policyholder complaints? Will you have difficulty placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? How do you know if your homeowners insurance company is any good? Will you find out it’s bad when you really need it? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides home insurance complaint information for 27 major insurance companies selling home & renters insurance in Ohio, and ranks them from best to worst, based on their 2009 home & renters insurance complaint record in Ohio (The latest year where state data is available). Continue reading →

North Dakota Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 20 Top Companies

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Does your home insurance company have many customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Will you discover your insurance company is good or bad when you need them to help you? Many consumers fail to check the complaint records of their home and auto insurance companies. This blog article gives you complaint information for the twenty biggest North Dakota home insurance companies, covering 88.8% of the home insurance market in the state, and rates & ranks them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 national homeowners insurance complaint records (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Continue reading →

North Carolina Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 28 Top Companies

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Does your home insurance company have lots of customer complaints? Will you have difficulty placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? How do you know if your company is any good? Will you find out it’s bad when you need it? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides North Carolina home insurance complaint information for 28 of the biggest (by market share in North Carolina, based on each company’s home insurance premium collected in the state) insurance companies and ranks them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 home insurance complaint records (Accurate 2011 data not available yet). I also list 8 more companies with a high number of home insurance complaints in North Carolina. Read these lists & don’t get stuck with poor service when you need it the most! Continue reading →

New Mexico Home Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for 34 Top Companies

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Does your home owners insurance company have many customer complaints? Will you have problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Will you find out your insurance company is good or bad when you need them to help you? Many consumers fail to check the complaint records of their home-owners insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the 34 largest New Mexico home insurance companies, and rates & ranks them, from best to worst, based on their 2010 national home insurance complaint records (Accurate 2011 complaint records are not available yet). Continue reading →