Homeowners Insurance

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AgronAlum

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2014
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We're putting up a new house in the DM area and I'm looking for recommendations for homeowners insurance, both company and agent. I met with State Farm and they were really high on the replacement cost (15k over purchase price) and had a huge incentive built in for having an auto but I don't have one personally insured. I am meeting with Am Fam in Ankeny this afternoon but would like other suggestions.
 

CYdTracked

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2006
16,949
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Grimes, IA
Take a look into IMT & Wadena Insurance. I switched to them when I got married as that is who my wife had for insurance at the time so we opened up our insurance coverage to get some new quotes and they easily beat out what I was paying at the time for homeowner and car insurance. You'll usually save money on both policies if you use the same company for home and auto (not sure what you currently are doing.)

We've had to deal with them on 3 different claims over the years. My wife's apartment burned down when we were dating and they were great during that. I slid my car into a utility pole one winter trying to avoid an accident that was at the bottom of a hill and got into an accident myself by doing so as I broke the front axle on my car as well as damaged the utility pole and they didn't haggle around with where I could get my car fixed. And just a few years ago our house got hit by lightning and fried a bunch of electronics and damaged a wall - another smooth claim process again with them and I feel we're still competitively priced with our policies even after having to file some claims over the years.
 

coolerifyoudid

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2013
16,119
23,828
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KC
If you have any military ties, USAA is fantastic to deal with. I've had two recent claims (one auto and one house) and they have been really helpful and easy to work with. Nearly every contractor I've encountered has said they are their favorite company to deal with as well.
 

clones11

Active Member
Apr 2, 2006
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Marion
State Farm has been #1 in home owners insurance since 1964 for good reason. Might not always be the least expensive but will take care of you when you need it.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: cyclonestans

wxman1

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SuperFanatic T2
Jul 2, 2008
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Cedar Rapids
We have Progressive but thankfully have never had to use the homeowners insurance. I also suggest checking out Zander Insurance.
 

Farnsworth

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
16,926
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Des Moines, IA
We have Progressive but thankfully have never had to use the homeowners insurance. I also suggest checking out Zander Insurance.

Did you shop around? I'm curious because when we had Progressive for auto and purchased our house, I looked into bundling with them and their home owners prices and policies in the DSM area were god awful.

Just wondering if this has changed.
 

wxman1

Well-Known Member
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Jul 2, 2008
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Cedar Rapids
Did you shop around? I'm curious because when we had Progressive for auto and purchased our house, I looked into bundling with them and their home owners prices and policies in the DSM area were god awful.

Just wondering if this has changed.

Honestly not as much as I should have but a little and everything was in the same ball park.
 

cyhawkdmb

Well-Known Member
Jul 13, 2010
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CB
State Farm has been #1 in home owners insurance since 1964 for good reason. Might not always be the least expensive but will take care of you when you need it.

I have had a lot of customers that come to me because of claims issues with State Farm. Like a fire in a apartment and they are weighing condiments to pay out on the claim. Getting dropped after 1 claim and being with them 20 years ect.

What are you basing them "being #1" off of?
 

CTTB78

Well-Known Member
Apr 7, 2006
9,540
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State Farm has been #1 in home owners insurance since 1964 for good reason. Might not always be the least expensive but will take care of you when you need it.

Maybe. But not real loyal.

I had SF insurance for over 30 years on houses, cars, and boats. Had two claims for hail in that time which they handled well. Three years ago I asked them adjust the house after a moderate hailstorm which they denied claim. I was OK with that but very surprised to see a drop coverage letter arrive in the mail three weks later.
Now, after I dropped them on the cars and boats, they're trying to get the business back.
Only problem is, with no loyalty factor, they are too expensive compared to what I replaced them with.
 

Buster28

Well-Known Member
Dec 3, 2011
4,520
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Ames
We have USAA and they were fantastic to work with when we had a sump pump failure about eight years ago. If you have the miltary background (you, spouse, or parents), check them out. Many companies can't even hope to compete with their rates. Zero chance that we would ever switch to another insurer.
 

Chitowncy

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
Jan 14, 2009
2,091
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Ames
I don't live in DSM, so can't give any recommendations (I could if you wanted Ames), but I think the real question you should investigate is how does the insurance company respond to a claim? Do they pay out claims in full and promptly? Those seem like valuable statistics to me, if you can find them.
 

Gorm

With any luck we will be there by Tuesday.
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Jul 6, 2010
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Cedar Rapids, IA
I have Allied. Been through three claims due to weather and they were quick, kind, and very process oriented on all three. That and my premium never went up due to those three claims.

Also have them for Auto, so I'm probably getting a good package discount. Not sure anymore, this was back in 2008 when I set it up. Very happy with them!
 

cyclonestans

Active Member
Dec 20, 2013
395
326
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Iowa
You will hear good/bad stories about every company. As somebody in that business I would just suggest you make sure you know what is being covered and how they will handle claims. I can almost guarantee you the best price you find will not be of the best value to you. As for the 15k more on replacing the structure, that is because more than likely if you have a total loss it will cost more than what your loan is worth to totally rebuild.
 

kingcy

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Sep 16, 2006
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Menlo, Iowa
We just changed from State Farm to an independent agent, selling insurance from good smaller companies. Never had any issues with State Farm and our agent took good care of us. The problem was their rates were getting high and they always seemed to find ways to sneak in increases. I also didn't like the fact they billed monthly and didn't give discounts for paying 6 months or a year at a time.
 

AgronAlum

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2014
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Thanks for all the suggestions and the couple people that have PM'd me. I don't have any military ties that would make me eligible for USAA. It looks like I should check out a couple independent agents along with the bigger names. I will gladly pay a little more for an easy claim process and knowing that I won't be denied right off the bat if I do make a claim.

I was hoping to find someone that didn't have the huge incentive to transfer autos and just rolled with a lower premium to begin with since my vehicle is insured through my employer. State farm was something like $608 a year premium discount for a multi-line policy.
 

AgronAlum

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2014
5,392
7,028
113
You will hear good/bad stories about every company. As somebody in that business I would just suggest you make sure you know what is being covered and how they will handle claims. I can almost guarantee you the best price you find will not be of the best value to you. As for the 15k more on replacing the structure, that is because more than likely if you have a total loss it will cost more than what your loan is worth to totally rebuild.

So, let me preface by saying I have no idea how this works. Say you have a 50k land value and 150k worth of improvements on a lot, should the quoted replacement cost really exceed the total assessed value (~200k) by 10+ percent? It doesn't make any sense to me.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: RedBlooded

cyclonestans

Active Member
Dec 20, 2013
395
326
43
Iowa
So, let me preface by saying I have no idea how this works. Say you have a 50k land value and 150k worth of improvements on a lot, should the quoted replacement cost really exceed the total assessed value (~200k) by 10+ percent? It doesn't make any sense to me.

Land value is not covered under insurance policies that I know of. A total loss does not make the lot/land any less valuable than it was before the loss. What I meant was you can buy a house for 150k (loan amount) but to rebuild that exact same house with new material will more times than not cost more than the 150k.