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Insurance suggestions?

(23 posts)
  1. teigyr

    teigyr

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    We're in the process of changing insurance, hopefully. Ours isn't horrible but we have become disenchanted with the agent. The problem is our house has knob & tube wiring and fuses. (I didn't even know what knob & tube wiring was before now.) It will be changed at some point, just not now. Besides the normal cars, we have one that will need collector insurance. I'd like to keep everything within the same insurance group with the exception of the collector car, that would be easy to split off.

    Does anyone have an awesome insurance agent that is good with needs beyond the norm? We found one that's the same as what we pay now (Geico, oddly enough) but I'm trying to find the ideal quote.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  2. Oly

    Oly

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    Try Pemco they were much cheaper than the mass marketed mega firms.

    If you can get your electrical updated, knob and tube with fuses is a fire waiting to happen.

    Posted 2 years ago #
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    Catherine

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    Pemco is fine - we've used them for 21 years, but I'm going to do a shop around in the near future. They do some interesting things, like when they change their programs (think safe driver points), any lingering benefits go to the first person listed on the account, not the one who earned the points (or didn't use them in the first place). Not a huge deal, but irritating. They also had to be pressed to cover replacement with like which we had paid for and wanted, rather than a cash payout that they assumed we wanted but didn't ask for confirmation and they didn't want to give.

    Balcos has been competitive on a number of other projects. It's nice to have an office you can walk into.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  4. teigyr

    teigyr

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    I had an agent try Pemco and they wouldn't do it. Perhaps I'll try them directly though, you never know. Balcos looks interesting, I think I will try them too. Thanks for both ideas!

    Oly, I know. The Geico guy said it was easy to change to circuit breakers but our house is quirky. Some day the wiring has to be redone but because we don't have sheetrock, I think it means walls have to be cut out. Some day I should just get a quote on it to see how many of the cats I have to sell off to be able to afford it.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  5. RichY

    RichY

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    I have been with Balcos from the time they moved to Ballard (they bought out my old agent - who was fantastic). We are in the process of finding a new agent, Balcos is much more interested in selling policies then working with customers. We had a claim (Safeco is really fantastic) we found out that Balcos had added items to our policy that we did not have = Boat coverage on an Umbrella we sold the boat and stopped the ins policy but they neglected to remove the coverage, Safeco adjuster found that error, when we called Balcos about storm damage, they said maybe we should call Safeco direct and they could not even find the phone # for us.

    Safeco has all of our ins coverage and I think they are the best, been with them for about 45 years.

    I am looking at Geo Johnson ( 3 or 4th Generaton agent on 15Th NW) as our new agent

    Posted 2 years ago #
  6. Oly

    Oly

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    I got tired of agents/brokers, just another mouth to feed. I went direct to Pemco. It's been three years and all is good.

    Of course you could start getting quotes on a re-wire, they usually don't charge. Then you have an idea on how many cats need to go.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  7. Quercus

    Quercus

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    If you have attic access and/or crawlspace access, rewiring shouldn't be too destructive. My husband and an electrician friend did our house in the evenings after work - took a couple of weeks/weekends. Knob and tube is quite safe if the insulation on all the wires is in good shape, and you're not overloading it, actually. I think we only had to cut two small holes in our plaster - we did spend a lot of time fiddling and fishing wire through ridiculous places, though. :) An exercise in patience. We love our State Farm agent, and she handled our recent purchase of a new car that's not in anybody's system yet with aplomb. (apparently nobody believed that we were actually buying a 2012 model year car in March of 2011 - darn Italians...)

    Posted 2 years ago #
  8. Mondoman

    Mondoman

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    I've had excellent and friendly service (and good rates) from AMICA; their local office is in Bellevue, so you won't have a Ballard office to visit, but I'm more of a phone/internet guy anyway.

    If you're a AAA member, ask the folks at their local office (down at the south end of 15th next to Staples) for a quote. Last time I was shopping around, about 5 years ago, they had pretty good prices.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  9. SunriseSunset

    SunriseSunset

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    Been with Pemco since 1964 in various cities and when I moved back to my childhood home that was built in 1920, Pemco dropped the homeowner's insurance as they will not cover tube and knob wiring. Since had it all removed and updated but certainly didn't give me any warm and fuzzy feelings about Pemco after that experience.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  10. Alysse

    Alysse

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    We used State Farm when we bought our house, but they stopped with insuring homes I think. Two years later when State Farm came out to take the same pictures of our house again they took when we bought it, they said we had 30 days to install hand rails on our steps in the front (two steps up) and the rear (three steps). We installed the hand rails but changed to Pemco. They asked about the wiring and because we did not know the type, we paid for an electrician to check, but the knob and tube was replaced by "Nomex" so it was OK with Pemco.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  11. teigyr

    teigyr

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    That's not cool that Pemco dropped an existing house. I can see not accepting one when they change their requirements but to drop someone already insured is wrong.

    We have Farmers. My husband has been with this guy for over 20 years. We're low maintenance with no claims or accidents or anything like that. When I called to add the MG, he said liability would be the best. I started checking around and it could easily be covered by collectors insurance. I gathered tons of info, talked to the major insurers of old cars, and called our guy back. He got MAD at me! Then he started lying, just one after another. Every time I countered back with my findings, he would find something else. I only called him to see if we could go through him to use a different type policy. Finally he said going to another insurance for this car would do something to our umbrella policy and it would waive the fact we're covered driving rental cars. It was really strange his whole reaction and he was so wrong on a lot of things because I asked a lot of questions when I talked to the collector insurance people.

    This is how it started. My feeling is if he can't insure the car because normal insurance doesn't work for this car, work with us to find a solution. I think it's to the point that we'll go elsewhere even if the rates are the same.

    Thanks for all the info though. Now I have a few ideas and I know who won't cover the house too.

    Posted 2 years ago #
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    margymoore

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    Have had homeowners and car insurance for over 30 years with Spangler Insurance. Tom Spangler is on 15th on Capitol Hill across from QFC. I think I had one claim in all that time on a faulty dishwasher and never a car accident. Pemco could not beat the price. I pay $365 for car ins every 6 months on a 2006 Toyota and the homeowners is $400 yearly. Good luck. Call Tom @ 329-7447.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  13. Kat

    Kat

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    I have car insurance with Esurance, that being said, were trying to buy a house and went to Balcos for a home owners insurance quote that we could send the title company. They tried to pair our car with our house, but Esurance couldn't be beat. They did however still get us a great quote for our house and told us to up our car insurance so if we got in an accident, the other person couldn't come after our house. I think that was nice they told us that, even though it doesn't benefit them at all. Also, Tracy (our agent) knew who the cheapest quote would be from and told us we should go with them. Didn't try and up sell us on a more expensive quote.

    Quote from my husband "Tracy is crazy for insurance, she takes extreme pride in what she does"

    Posted 2 years ago #
  14. BBO

    BBO

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    Balcos was gobbled up a few months ago by a larger, national company. I have been with them for several years but that will change as my various policies expire. Service has declined and I am not happy with it, at all. My former agent left and I will be following him.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  15. Dog Mum

    Dog Mum

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    Try Cathy Darracott with Allstate, 206-547-9917. She lives here in the hood, her office is on the Wallingford/Fremont line. She does a great job with my insurance. I'd take an agent any day versus an anonymous person over the phone with the 'cheapest price'. I want an agent who feels their job is to educate me rather than just make a sale. Esurance was never going to tell Kat she needed to up her car coverage when she buys a house. That's the kind of help you get from Cathy. In my mind, the more you have to lose, the more you need an agent.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  16. Observant

    Observant

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    Can you take another recommendation?
    John and Jim Mechelsen of Safeco
    425-691-3310
    Been with them for years( 15 +), house and car insurance. They've always worked hard to find us the best rate, are patient and forthright when I've asked questions, and even called "BS" to Safeco's face when Safeco claimed we were late on our payments when we weren't. The issue was quickly resolved thanks to their help in backing me up. Great customer service and fantastic people.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  17. Mondoman

    Mondoman

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    DM makes a great point about knowledgeable agents being able to steer you to the *right* coverage for your particular situation.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  18. rainday

    rainday

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    I had knob & tube when I purchased my 1955 house in 2002. My prior insurer (Safeco) wouldn't insure the house because of that, and Pemco wouldn't either. I think I tried a few others and got the same response. Allstate ended up being the one I went with just because they were the only ones I could find that would insure it.

    Have had one minor claim against homeowners policy and Allstate was fairly easy to work with. Rates have been steadily increasing over the years, but don't think they have been out of line with what I'm hearing other insurers are doing.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  19. gordy

    gordy

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    Stacy Packard at Snapp and Sons. Don't have the phone number handy, but the office is on Queen Anne hill.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  20. teigyr

    teigyr

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    Thank you all, this is awesome. I've checked around on my own enough to know that I think I'll have to use at least two actual carriers. I hadn't thought about going to an agent not just affiliated with one (still thought I could do it all through one) but having someone who can get quotes from several and use the best one is awesome. Also a savvy agent can help us do what we need to do and be our ally. THAT is who we want and there are some great ideas here for me to work with.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  21. cdpenne

    cdpenne

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    FWIW. The problem isn't with knob and tube per se. The problem is with the splicing techniques (or lack there of) people used over the years to tie into it. Not that it matters much, but you can argue the knob and tube issue with most insurance companies.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  22. plasticbags

    plasticbags

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    Pemco wouldn't cover us with knob and tube. I found it obnoxious given that knob and tube would fit in with their NW Profile ad campaign but whatev. FYI, we completely rewired for about $8000 with SME. The house is about 2400 sq ft however the basement was unfinished at the time which made access to the wiring very easy for them. The price included can lights in a couple rooms and an outdoor outlet for Christmas lights also.
    We have Safeco for both right now but it's all about price. Safeco is no better than the next. They dropped my parents after 15 years when 4 hurricanes hit FL in 2004. A lot of the big companies bailed out of FL that year. If we have a big earthquake they won't want to insure our piles of rubble and they'll probably bail out of here too. I wouldn't get emotionally attached to any of them.

    Posted 2 years ago #
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    richard96

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    In my experience it is cheaper getting quotes online. Some of the top insurance companies offer discounts when ordering online, because it is less work for them. But to be safe you could compare rates online, pick the best offer and try a local agency to see if they can match it or do better.

    I recommend this site for online comparing: http://www.quotes-center.com

    Posted 2 years ago #

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