Bend Over, Grab Your Ankles For The Guide One Ho

[Watchman]

I need advice please. I have a Guide One HO and my wife has her auto with them. My auto is with Mercury. I have a 1976 built ranch home. Market value has tanked and my home value might be $125k on a beautiful day in May. My mortgage is about $62k with Chase. There is a recent sale in my neighborhood for $100k for a similar home. These are decent homes in the Tulsa Oklahoma area in a "generally improving" sub-division with pride of ownership...not a red line area.

The agent has it insured for $160k. The annual premium which includes the 10% discount for the auto is $1,701.
My credit score is not good and I understand that contributes to a higher premium.
I have a $500 deductable for "section one" perils and $1,500 for wind/hail.

I have had some minor hail and wind damage over the years. Guide One has sent an adjustor out at my request to look and has always advised me that there was no damage. There was "no damage" even after the neighbors tree fell over and landed on my garage. I cut it up and trew it over the fence myself.

This same neighbor has another sick tree that is leaning my way and will come crashing down if (when) the correct amount of wind or ice persuades it to do so. I am sure that Guide One will tell me at that time that there is no damage. As a side note, my neighbor is an irresponsible ***.

Can anyone advise me on how to lower my premium expense? Please comment one your opinion of Guide One. Also, what do you do about irresponsible neighbors and their nasty trees?

Please advise.

 

[Guest]

Oh good Lord, where do we start?
WHy are your cars with different carriers?

just make your deduct $1000 across the board?

The value of your house has ZERO to do with value, loan amount, area sales amount, etc. It is the cost to rebuild the structure if it was to burn to the ground, PERIOD.

I dont know about your area, but most of my companies where I am at, require at least $125 per square foot for replacement cost.

If the house is in your name, have the agent requote it in your wifes name or vice versa.

Dont file small claims, for example, in my area, on a house claim, most companies surcharge you 20% the first year, 15% the second and 10% the third, so is it really worth it to file the claim, not to mention, you can usually only have 2 house claims within a 3 year period or that carrier will cancel you and you have to go the the excess market and pay 3 times as much.

last thought, call an independant agent who has multiple companies and get some quotes from other companies.

ANd for the neighbors tree, his insurance most likely would have to pay for that removal and any damage to your property.

 

[Watchman]

Oh good Lord, where do we start?
WHy are your cars with different carriers?
Bad family dynamics is the nicest way I can say it.

just make your deduct $1000 across the board?
It was $1000 at my request. It was changed by Guide One

The value of your house has ZERO to do with value, loan amount, area sales amount, etc. It is the cost to rebuild the structure if it was to burn to the ground, PERIOD.

I dont know about your area, but most of my companies where I am at, require at least $125 per square foot for replacement cost.
So I have little or no control over this.

If the house is in your name, have the agent requote it in your wifes name or vice versa.
Won't help.

Dont file small claims, for example, in my area, on a house claim, most companies surcharge you 20% the first year, 15% the second and 10% the third, so is it really worth it to file the claim, not to mention, you can usually only have 2 house claims within a 3 year period or that carrier will cancel you and you have to go the the excess market and pay 3 times as much.

Was it a "claim" when all they did is look at my roof and say there was no damage?

last thought, call an independant agent who has multiple companies and get some quotes from other companies.

ANd for the neighbors tree, his insurance most likely would have to pay for that removal and any damage to your property.

His agent told my wife that it was our responsibility to inform the neighbor that his tree was an inpending peril.

 

[Guest]

Bad Family Dynamics huh? Well, are you aware if you drive your wifes car and you crash they can deny coverage because you live in the household and arent listed as a driver?

You have control over the amount of the insuramce, to a point, but your agent appears to be good and is covering the house correctly, some smuck asshole down the street might do what you want and make it lower, but in maybe only saving $100 or 2 a year, is it worth it if something happens?

How do you know quoting in your wifes name wont help? If your state checks credit on insurance, it can help,

Yes, I have seen companies charge for a claim even thou they didnt pay out anything, crap companies usually, bgut it does happen.

Then work with your neighbor to get the tree taken care of....

notice you ignored my comment about getting quotes thru other agents. I kid you not, I see quotes in my area ranging from $500 to $2400 a year for the exact same coverage, companies are different. I have never even heard of your company, so I wont comment on them, but all I can say is you never know, It is not uncommon to save someone hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year on insurance.

Ask your friends and family members who they use for insurance and call them.

 

[Indiana_Adam]

From what I have been told and read, if your neighbor's tree falls on your property, it will be a claim on your HO. Now, if you're a certified arborist or have some other expertise in trees, then by all means, send your neighbor a letter, certified mail, that his tree is a peril to your property. That way you have proof he did indeed receive notice of the hazard. Otherwise, have an arborist come out and take a look, though it is going to cost you money.

I'm guessing the friendly option of splitting the cost to remove the tree is out of the option...that would be the neighborly thing to do.

Red already pointed out the other ways to reduce premium. Multi-line discounts, shop around, raise your deductible, don't make small claims, and buy a smaller house in a preferred public protection class. I've run into lots of folks that buy a big house, due to a depressed market, and then freak out when they see proper amount of coverage. Like Red said, the insurance company is concerned with replacement cost, not market value. The homeowner wants as low of premium as possible, until claim time, then he wants the largest amount of coverage possible.

 

[Watchman]

Bad Family Dynamics huh? Well, are you aware if you drive your wifes car and you crash they can deny coverage because you live in the household and arent listed as a driver? That would be why I am listed as a driver on her policy.

You have control over the amount of the insuramce, to a point, but your agent appears to be good and is covering the house correctly, some smuck asshole down the street might do what you want and make it lower, but in maybe only saving $100 or 2 a year, is it worth it if something happens?

How do you know quoting in your wifes name wont help? If your state checks credit on insurance, it can help, Ok..good advice, but if both scores are in the dirt then... It's great, ah...You got behind in your bills so we are going to help by raising your premium.

Yes, I have seen companies charge for a claim even thou they didnt pay out anything, crap companies usually, bgut it does happen. This would have been 4-5 years ago. They sent an inspector/adjustor out both times, looked at the roof and said "no damage". Have a nice day. Would I seriously be paying a higher premium for that?

Then work with your neighbor to get the tree taken care of....He is a dick head mofeker that takes care of nothing. He will buy a brand new $500 Honda lawn mower and leave it sit out in the rain. When it quits, he buys a new one and does the same. We had an ice storm 3 years ago. Tree branches fell on his roof. Punched a hole all the way through. He told me the insurance company gave him $4000 for damage (probably exagerated). Next thing he does is climb up on the roof with a piece of white sheet metal and some roof goop and plugged that there hole redneck style.It looks great...a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. I could go on and on. He is not going to do the right thing even if I paid 90%

notice you ignored my comment about getting quotes thru other agents. I kid you not, I see quotes in my area ranging from $500 to $2400 a year for the exact same coverage, companies are different. I have never even heard of your company, so I wont comment on them, but all I can say is you never know, It is not uncommon to save someone hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year on insurance.

Ask your friends and family members who they use for insurance and call them.

I did not ignore your comment. I have requested a couple of quotes and will request as many as I need to in order to find out if I can save some money. However, your dialog confuses me. In your second paragraph above, you state that my agent appears to be doing good and that some schmuck down the street might do what I want and make it lower, but maybe only a hundred or 2 a yr. Then in your last paragraph you go off on a verbal diatribe about how I could save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
I may live in Oklahoma but those statements certainly have conflicting premises. Please explain.

 

[Guest]

As for the credit comment, you would be amazed at how many times the husbands credit sucks and the wifes is fairly decent, because "most" families put things in the husbands name and not always the wifes, so her credit doesnt get dinged like the hubbys. I.E. say your late on your cell phone bill and it gets closed by the company, that would be on your credit not hers. A car gets repo'ed but the loan is only in your name not hers. I'm just saying, dont discount this try,

as for your last comment, it all comes to to what insurance companies that agent has. Captive agent only has 1 company, some independant agents have 3, 4 ,5 or 30 or 40 companies to chose from, so sometimes there is a limit of what an agent can do.

On the house policy, The dwelling amount is the most important figure on a policy, this is why I say it sounds like your current agent did a good job by giving you what you need, after explaining above how that figure works, the smuck down the street could insure you for the 60K you mentioned, but if the house burned, you would be screwed, Also, a few of my companies have 5 different homeowners policies, to be flat honest, say the first 3 policies SUCK ASS and I refuse to sell them, That is where I say it might save $100 a year, it isnt worth it,
As for your neighbor and the tree, I dont know what to tell you except, I would have some friends over and have a bonfire......

I have no clue what rates are in OK, so I cant say wether what your paying is high or low. In AZ, that is outrageous! But OK has more storms/tornados than we have here.

When you call for quotes, ask the agent ho wmany companies they offer, that should help you.

 

[Watchman]

As for the credit comment, you would be amazed at how many times the husbands credit sucks and the wifes is fairly decent, because "most" families put things in the husbands name and not always the wifes, so her credit doesnt get dinged like the hubbys. I.E. say your late on your cell phone bill and it gets closed by the company, that would be on your credit not hers. A car gets repo'ed but the loan is only in your name not hers. I'm just saying, dont discount this try,

as for your last comment, it all comes to to what insurance companies that agent has. Captive agent only has 1 company, some independant agents have 3, 4 ,5 or 30 or 40 companies to chose from, so sometimes there is a limit of what an agent can do.

On the house policy, The dwelling amount is the most important figure on a policy, this is why I say it sounds like your current agent did a good job by giving you what you need, after explaining above how that figure works, the smuck down the street could insure you for the 60K you mentioned, but if the house burned, you would be screwed, Also, a few of my companies have 5 different homeowners policies, to be flat honest, say the first 3 policies SUCK ASS and I refuse to sell them, That is where I say it might save $100 a year, it isnt worth it,
As for your neighbor and the tree, I dont know what to tell you except, I would have some friends over and have a bonfire......

I have no clue what rates are in OK, so I cant say wether what your paying is high or low. In AZ, that is outrageous! But OK has more storms/tornados than we have here.

When you call for quotes, ask the agent ho wmany companies they offer, that should help you.

Thank Red Blooded American. I expect some calls back tomorrow and hopefully some good quotes. I appreciate all the advice.

 

[Guest]

Thank Red Blooded American. I expect some calls back tomorrow and hopefully some good quotes. I appreciate all the advice.

No problem man, just trying to help

 

[NCAgent]

Also, a few of my companies have 5 different homeowners policies, to be flat honest, say the first 3 policies SUCK ASS and I refuse to sell them, That is where I say it might save $100 a year, it isnt worth it.

This isn't meant to sound rude but I'm curious. If the first 3 policies suck ass then why are you with the company? Just for other products that they offer? Also, what makes a policy "suck ass?" The exclusions for what is covered? The reputation for (not)paying out claims/putting claims on your record? Other things I might not be thinking about? Customer service shouldn't be a big issue since you are the main source of customer service.

Thanks for clarifying RBA!