Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insurance

Need insurance for my future pregnant self

grablife365 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:37:58 -0800

I need help finding insurance for now and for my future pregnant self. Possible issue I'm told: I'm in Texas. I want to change insurance carriers. I have an individual PPO at the moment. It does not cover IVF or maternity and the child unless something goes wrong. I would like to have insurance that does cover these areas. I am not pregnant but I do have a possible pre-existing condition (not yet confirmed for sure) which would make it harder to switch. I'm told being in Texas makes this even harder for me.

Where can I go that does not cost more than a few hundred a month and has all of the above?

Thanks.

Where can I get tested for ADD?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:20:53 -0800

[Chicago Filter] Where can I find a place that tests for adult ADHD/ADD, and accepts insurance up front? Most places I've tried want me to pay up front and then send the bill to my insurance company, which would be fine except the price ranges from $600-$2000. I don't have much time to save up the money because it's urgent (poor performance in college, not really looked into earlier because of at-home issues, in case anyone is wondering.)

I can pay up front/bill the insurance later if the price is ~$300, so if you know any places like that that would be great also. Thanks in advance!

Humana Medicare Supplemental Insurance--is it any good?

I'm Brian and so's my wife! — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:07:34 -0800

Has anyone here had any experiences with Humana's Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance for seniors? My mother-in-law currently is paying $400 a month for her supplemental insurance with another insurance company. She recently called Humana and got a quote of $98 a month. Sounds a little too good to be true. Any folks out there have the supplemental health insurance with Humana? Have your experiences been good or bad?

She resides in Tennessee and is in her 80s.

Car rental insurance: vital or scam?

cgs — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:50:14 -0800

Car rental insurance: what should I get? - I don't have any primary auto insurance (don't own a car).
- This is just in the states (NY, NJ, PA)
- I am renting via my credit card which has Master Rental Insurance (http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/en.htm). They said on the phone that they become the primary insurer since I don't have auto insurance, that it is the same category (damage/loss... mentioned in that document as well).

Does this mean I just need to worry about hitting someone else?

I don't understand the various insurance labels and want to be as well informed as possible when I get to the counter. I hate feeling pressured or like they are taking advantage of me.

Thanks for your help-
cgs

Please assure me about insurance

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:10:02 -0800

I live in an apartment building, and my neighbors recently caused some pretty significant damage to my unit (the details are irrelevant.) Anyway, I'm going to have to vacate while repairs are done. My insurer will pay for my stay in a hotel, and my landlord has offered to re-imburse my rent for whatever time I'm not occupying the apartment. Is this ok? I know: YANML. I am a little bit worried that I might have some legal responsibility to disclose the money my landlord is providing me with to my insurer. Am I just being neurotic? I've never dealt with insurance companies before, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't know how long I'll need to stay in a hotel - probably somewhere between 3 and 8 weeks - but the hotel stay will certainly be significantly more expensive than whatever rent I get back. (To give you an idea, I pay about $1100/mo rent, and I'm looking to stay at a reasonable mid-range chain hotel that charges about $110/night.) I am covered for re-location expenses that are about 10-15x more than whatever I'll get back from my landlord. Nonetheless, I'm a bit worried that if my insurer knew, they would want to deduct that amount from whatever they reimburse me for, since I could use the money my landlord is giving me toward housing. Does my insurer care?

I live in Ontario, Canada, and my insurer is Intact.

Help a Canadian travel with peace of mind!

exquisite_deluxe — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:29:19 -0800

I'm a Canadian abroad with expired health insurance. What options do I have for a new policy? I need private health insurance for a 6 week trip to India, departing from New Zealand. I've been out of Quebec, Canada since October 2008, and I'm returning in December 2009. My private health insurance (bought through Travel Cuts) has expired, and they will not sell me a new plan without being in Canada.

I was then going to book through World Nomads, which does allow policy purchases after leaving Canada. However, they require Canadians to confirm that they are still covered under provincial health insurance. Since I have been out of Quebec for more than 183 days this year, and did not obtain a letter of extension before departure from Canada, apparantly I am no longer covered. So I can't get the World Nomads insurance.

All the policies I have looked at require booking before the trip, or being out of Canada for less than six months. I have seen this question asking about good travel insurance in Quebec, but it doesn't seem to address what to do without having a valid extension from Quebec health.

Help!! Do I have any options?? My main concern is having coverage for major medical emergencies.

Thanks in advance!

Cheap public liability insurance for my web (yes, web) business

tomargue — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:48:36 -0800

I'm after really cheap public liability insurance for my new business. I need public liability purely for bureaucratic reasons, so I'm after the cheapest, nastiest policy I can find. Can anyone recommend a company? I'm setting up a web application and was recently successful in obtaining funding for next year as part of the Australian Government's NEIS program. As part of the NEIS program requirements, I must, unfortunately, have public liability insurance before I commence the program, despite public liability insurance being redundant for my purposes.

I called up a few insurance agencies and the cheapest I could find was $480 per year through RACV (insured for $5 million). $480 per year seems pretty excessive, since I'm going to be working from home and never actually going to see any of my customers!

Does anyone know if it's possible to get real cheap public liability insurance (I live in Melbourne)? I don't care if it's dodgy...no customer is actually going to come up to my apartment in person! I just need something cheap and nasty. So long as I have a policy number and proof of payment, NEIS are happy with that.

Theft, damage and loss home and contents insurance

simplesharps — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:55:18 -0800

What Australian home and contents insurers should I look into? First time I've thought about insurance for other than auto. I've accumulated a few expensive electronics that I'd be lost without - computers, iphone etc - and I'd like to know what companies you'd recommend that I should research further.

Specifically I was after iPhone insurance, but whirlpool recommended I look into home and contents as an alternative to product specific insurance.

Any general insurance tips would also be appreciated, I'm new to it all :)

What are my rights with my insurance company?

btkuhn — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:02:45 -0800

What are my rights with my insurance company? You are not my lawyer, but...

I am not looking for a legal opinion, but I'd like to find out what my rights are in a situation, and I don't know how. I have insurance coverage through my job with a major national insurer. I had to go for a long-term residential stay in the hospital to take care of some health problems. I knew that it was going to be expensive before going in, so I contacted my insurance company to make sure that the treatment was covered and at what rate it was covered. I was told that yes, the treatment was covered, and it was covered at 70% until my out-of-pocket max of $3000/year was reached.

So, after going through the treatment and getting my bill, I saw that it was covered as it should have been, except that when my out-of-pocket max was reached nothing different happened - I wasn't cut off at $3000 responsibility. I contacted my insurance co and was told that I must have been told the wrong thing before going in, and the type of treatment I underwent had no out of pocket max restrictions - ie I was responsible for 30% of the total cost, which works out to be about 35%.

I've had problems with insurance companies in the past, so I made sure to get written confirmation of my responsibility before going in for treatment. I have two email from customer service saying that my liability was capped at $3000, for the specific treatment I went for. I went through the appeals process with my insurance company and showed them these emails, and my appeals were denied, with no explanation except "sorry, you were told the wrong thing". I am currently appealing through my state insurance commission but I've heard things move very, very slowly.

My question is, what are my rights in this situation, legally? It seems pretty straightforward - the insurance company told me a treatment was covered, and then after I had it done they changed their tune and won't cover it. So they should be forced to pay for what they said they would. But I don't know how the law really works - perhaps insurance companies are allowed to lie to you (maybe customer service communications aren't legally binding), all that matters is the text of the policy itself? It turns out that the policy itself does not have a out of pocket max for this kind of treatment - this is written in the fine print of the 100+ page policy book, which I didn't have at the time of my treatment. All I had access to was a condensed policy booklet that did not mention this exclusion.

Can anyone comment on what my actual rights are in this situation, if any?

Is there any way to estimate what a car & car insurance would cost me if I moved to San Francisco?

scazza — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:16:16 -0800

What are ways to estimate what a car and car insurance would cost me if I moved to San Francisco? I'm looking for what it would cost to have a reasonable, eco-friendly (not necessarily a hybrid, probably not a hybrid) car for 2 people in San Francisco. Something like a hatchback that's 1-2 years old. I live in NYC now so I have no idea how to go about estimating insurance and car loan payments. Resources? Thanks!

(There is a question about this from 2005, but I think things may have changed by now.)

Liability for fire in the kitchen

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:18:09 -0800

Less than a year ago, my SO left a pan on the stove and the rental house burned. Now, the owner's insurance company wants her to pay. The renter's insurance (same company as owner's insurance company) lapsed less than a week before the fire through a mix-up/misunderstanding. I'm thinking that isn't a significant point since that policy only have covered SO's personal contents, right?

Insurance company has made two offers ($10,000 at first; now $5,000) for SO to pay them part of the money paid to the owner. If SO does not accept within 30 days, the subrogation unit will refer it to the legal department to recover the full amount ($68,000).

I know you are not SO's lawyer, but what is a reasonable expectation for the end result? Does SO's carelessness necessarily mean negligence? Only a court can determine that?

SO does not have the money to hire a lawyer, but has a consultation appointment this week. What suggestions do you have? How should SO proceed?

This is definitely not the first time this has happened, hive mind, but it is SO's first (and hopefully last) time and SO is shocked and scared.

No soup for you!

FunkyHelix — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:48:19 -0800

I have a question about childrens' flu vaccines and insurance. I have two kids, one I gave birth to and one I have shared custody with his mother. My birth son is under my husband's insurance. My other one is under the NJ Family Care provided for kids without medical insurance (my husband's insurance refuses to cover him because it's shared custody and his mother has no insurance herself.)

This weekend my husband took the boys to the pediatrician for required school vaccines, one of which was the standard flu vaccine. My birth son's appointment was first and my husband was told there was no available flu vaccines. He said okay and went to reschedule the older one's appointment since he needed that too.

But the doctor said no that there was a flu vaccine for him because he was NJ Family Care. That she wasn't giving the vaccine to kids with insurance, just the ones on state insurance.

Can she do that? Is it legal to do that?

Will Kaiser health insurance pay for a knee brace? Subsidize it?

jstef — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:25:13 -0800

Will Kaiser health insurance pay for a knee brace? Subsidize it? I had an ACL operation two years ago (two replacements, actually) while insured by Aetna. My doctor told me the insurance would help pay for a functional brace, but that I should wait a few months to let my muscles grow again.

Two years later, I have insurance with Kaiser, and I am only now returning to full activity. Do you think there's any chance they'll help subsidize the cost of a CTi brace or equivalent? Will this prior condition not be covered? Anyone have experience in this department?

Thanks!

I need insurance!

shrimpsmalls — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:29:33 -0800

Cobra running out next month. Can you recommend a basic, inexpensive private insurance plan? I am a 25 year old female in Chicago, relatively healthy with no major health conditions. I was laid off last year and my cobra is out as of December, so I need to find a replacement plan ASAP since I am however prone to minor accidents/ illnesses and a bike commuter. Basically, no insurance is not an option. Can you recommend any plans that cover the basics and would prevent me from going totally bankrupt in the case of a medical emergency? Ideally, I would like to keep my payment between $100-130 a month.

Other relevant info: I am also working part time and going to grad school full time, so joining an employer group plan is not going to happen any time soon. (also, the university does not have any student options - i already asked.)

Help! My new car was rear-ended...

ComeUndone — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:38:22 -0800

My 2-month-old car was rear-ended on Friday night, what should I do now? I was at a stop-light on Friday night, and a car rear-ended me going 40 MPH. Thank goodness nobody was hurt, in fact, there weren't any bruises or soreness at all. The rear-end of my car from the bumper to the back seat is pretty much demolished.
The next morning, I turned the claim into my car insurance company, and the other driver's company (Geico) called me to get my account of the accident. I told them what happened, and they admitted full responsibility and said they'd pay for everything.
I asked for a rental, since my car is not driveable. They said that an adjuster would inspect the car on Monday.
My question is..am I missing anything? Is there anything I should be doing? The car is a 2010 Ford Fusion I bought new around 2 months ago. Has anyone had this happen to them so close to buying a new car? I'm worried they're going to total the car instead of repairing it, and I'm not sure where that would leave me, because I haven't been able to find any sort of consistent estimate on the value of my car since it's technically "used".
Any advice or tips from people who've had this happen to them would be greatly appreciated.

Advice before I fly the coop for a year?

adamk — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:02:37 -0800

I (26/male) am leaving Los Angeles in January for at least one year of backpacking solo around Australia, NZ, SE Asia, and possibly some other places! Other than enjoying my remaining time before I leave (going to favorite restaurants, hanging with friends, etc.), what pre-trip activities should I be thinking about, and what preparations should I be making (especially while I have good insurance)? What do you wish someone had told you before you left for a trip of this length and scope? This is me! I have a few months left before I take off and start my working holiday visa in Australia. Obviously I'm heading to a first-world country to begin, and should be able to buy plenty of things that I may want while I'm over there.

I did my research and bought a great backpack, and plan on packing lighter than I ever have before. I've been trading in some of my must-have things (camera, laptop, etc.) for smaller and lighter versions. I'm planning on keeping my website updated with my past/future/current whereabouts, and posting blog entries, pics and video as the opportunity presents itself. I'm considering printing up some Moo MiniCards to pass out to people I meet, to make it easier for them to track me down. And I may get one of those recently announced Amazon Kindles with international downloads, instead of my usual approach of lugging around a small library.

In addition, I have about 10 more weeks of good medical/dental insurance from my current job, which I'll be leaving just before Christmas. I'm planning on getting a physical, and asking about immunizations for some of the less developed countries I may end up visiting. Beyond that, I'm not sure if there's anything I should be taking advantage of while I have the chance. Once my coverage runs out I'll have travel insurance with emergency health coverage, but nothing as nice or comprehensive as I have now.

For the past two months I've been aiming to get rid of 3-5 pieces of personal property each week, either by selling, giving or throwing things away. I'll be selling my car before I leave, and anything remaining will go into a small storage unit. Then I'll be living out of my backpack. Crazy.

I'll probably do occasional freelance programming work (old clients and new) to keep some money rolling in while I'm away, so I'm looking into gadgets/software that'd make my computing life easier... I've seen some external USB WiFi antennas that have received excellent reviews.

Any advice relevant to my specific situation would be appreciated, or any tips that are applicable in general. Thanks so much!

San Francisco insurance confusion

eschatfische — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:16:30 -0800

What's the deal with the Brown and Toland vs. Hill Physicians division in San Francisco medical care? Why must San Franciscans with HMOs be referred to specialists who not only accept your insurance plan, but are also part of the same medical group as the referring doctor? I've always found the demarcation of Brown and Toland vs. Hill Physicians doctors in San Francisco to be strange. Having to go to specialists who not only accept your insurance but who are also part of a specific medical group is certainly inconvenient and problematic for patients, and it doesn't seem to be so great for the doctors, either.

Is there a reason San Francisco medical care is divided into these sub-groups? Does this actually benefit anyone to add an additional layer of middlemen? Is it like this elsewhere? I can't recall experiencing this anywhere else, and Googling doesn't seem to help explain the origins of these groups.

Thanks!

Should I care that my UCSF doctor is joining Hill Physicans?

otherwordlyglow — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:09:34 -0800

All of UC-San Francisco's physicians will shortly end their affiliation with Brown & Toland and become members of Hill Physicians Group. What will this mean for patients? I have been bombarded with news that my primary care doctor, along with all of UCSF's doctors, will, as of 1/1/10, be switching affiliations to become a member of the Hill Physicians Group. Apart from having to switch my health insurance from Healthnet/B&T to Healthnet/HPG during Open Enrollment if I want to continue to see UCSF doctors is there some reason I should care? I guess Hill is part of the Catholic Healthcare West network. Is that significant? Does this switch have any benefits to the consumer or is it just some procedural paperwork that should be somewhat transparent from a user standpoint?

Relocating to the US, health insurance advice needed!

hibbersk — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:12:36 -0800

I'm relocating to the US (from the UK) in a couple of weeks and having concerns about health insurance. My husband's employer covers health insurance for him, but to cover me as well we must take out the 'family policy' for $500 per month (if we had 4 kids this would be a great deal, but apparently it's the same price for the whole 'family' even if that's just me. This seems crazy to me, not sure if it is normal!). Is my alternative plan crazy? Health insurance companies confuse and scare me! To simplify things, assume that I'll be there for a year, and I will not have a job that includes insurance. I'm on the H4 (nonimmigrant) visa. However the year will be split into chunks where I'll be back in the UK - for example a month from mid-Dec to mid-Jan, a couple of weeks in April, and a few weeks in June/July. So the chunks of time when I'll be in the US will be 2-3 months each.

My idea is to get premier single trip travel insurance through my regular provider STA Travel, for £134 (2 months) to £172 (3 months). The coverage is outlined on the link above and is all quite standard as far as travel insurance goes. The policy is single entry, so I'd buy a policy with each return flight to be covered for all the time I am in the US. This is clearly much better value than the $500/month policy offered through husband's employer. I assume the travel insurance wouldn't cover routine checkups etc and I'm ok with that; I can get those done when I'm back in the UK every few months courtesy of our wonderful NHS. Worst case scenario, the savings we'd make from not going with the $500/month policy would easily cover a flight home for a non-emergency, non-covered but necessary medical consultation. The travel insurance has other benefits too, such as emergency dental treatment (dental isn't covered at all in the employer's policy), legal costs, theft, etc. But I'm also totally paranoid about the US healthcare system, and don't want to be caught out or bend the rules to such an extent that the travel insurance policy wouldn't pay up in an emergency because I'm classed as being a US resident or something, because if insurance companies can find a way not to pay out, they usually do in my experience! So mefites, is this a sensible plan of action or am I missing something?

Insert worried question about U.S. health insurance here.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:54:34 -0800

Best U.S. insurance company for a pre-existing condition (depression) - advice please! Yet another question about U.S. health insurance. I'd like to have some basic health insurance that's not tied to an employer - I'm unemployed and don't know when I'll find work. The catch is that I have a pre-existing condition (well, two - chronic unipolar depression, and ADHD, both of which I've had since my teens). It means for me (at least) that I go through periods of unemployment, including right now. My coverage (under my ex-husband's plan) is about to end, and I'm panicking. AskMe has been invaluable about the topic, but I'd love some actual 'I have x company, and they're good/bad/good enough' testimonials. I've seen Tonik mentioned a few times on here and will be looking into them, although they don't cover mental health.

I'm primarily looking for basic physical health coverage (i.e. catastrophic, so that if I get hit by a truck I have *some* kind of coverage). While I'd love to have a plan to include mental health, I know that's going to be hard to find. I'm worried about even finding any basic physical coverage considering the pre-existing condition thing. I'm on medication (Zoloft and Adderall - prescribed through a psychiatrist covered by ex-husband's coverage) and am otherwise healthy (a few minor surgeries as a kid) in my mid-30's. The past year has been hell (for a number of reasons - let's start with divorce, death of a parent and losing my job), but hopefully qualifying for insurance won't be...impossible (she says, crossing her fingers hopefully).

I'm in California, a permanent resident (if it helps) and am willing to look around for community therapists etc. and already go to the local NAMI affilated support group, do the 'exercise, eat right' etc. etc. thing and have a therapist I'm willing to pay out of pocket for - and maybe get the meds via Walmart etc., if I have to. What I want is the basic coverage, since waiting for the folks in Washington to decide on health insurance is NOT an option. Basically, is there a way to have the physical insurance and mental health insurance be separate? When do I have to tell them about my mental health history?

Has anyone had any experience trying to get group insurance via things like the Freelancer's Union or AIGA? I'm a designer, and I'm open to suggestions. What about going through an individual insurance broker - any good experiences? Any advice is appreciated. I'm going through all the info I can find (on AskMe and elsewhere) and really appreciate any help, as my head is spinning and I'm worried to death.

Am I being gullible for considering cat insurance?

Tarumba — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:25:06 -0800

Am I being gullible for considering cat insurance? My cat-girl is about to be 6 months old. We pretty much found her on the streets when a baby. She had a funky eye, flatworms, a crazy flea infestation and was insanely underfed. we took care of her and now we want to take her to the vet so she gets spayed. They will spay her as long as she has all her vaccines and other thingies in order (she has none of these), and at the local pet supermarket they advised me to get her cat insurance. The prices are as follows:

First payment: 69.99
monthly payment: 21.00

This insurance covers vaccines, spaying and other basics for no extra cost, plus free vet visits with/without calling in advance, and a 10% discount on anything else.

I thought it was a good deal, but then, how big is the probability that my cat will need to go to the vet in at least 7 years?

Prices without insurance: The spaying alone is about 400.00 dollars, and the vaccines are about 50.00.

How to keep health insurnace for a struggling college student

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:55:47 -0800

We struggling to keep our over-18 child covered under our health insurance. She has a four year history of mental health struggles. She has been able to more or less stay in school as a full-time student but we aren't sure she can keep it up. The two strategies seemed to be to get the school to give her full-time status with a partial load due to disability or to convince the insurance company that she is not capable of "self-sustaining employment" Anyone have any experience with either route? Four years ago, our child got hit with major depression. There were two hospitalizations, intensive counseling and medication. Things are better than they were and she choose to go off to college with a sheaf of prescriptions, a new therapist lined up and an IEP to help reduce stress and accomodate ups and downs.

She struggled through fall semester with the minimum full-time load at a four year college. With several incompletes, she finally ended up with a D average. At the recommendation of the school she took off spring semester but took a full-time load in the summer. She did better (a C average). She has also had non-stop physical complaints (some physical, some psychosomatic). She decided to return home and go to community college. Three months of FT school in the summer plus four months in the fall should maintain her status as a FT student for the year. (per my reading of IRS regulations). However, school started on Monday and she is falling apart. At this point, I don't think she can handle a full-time load - I'm hoping for half-time.

So our insurance covers children after 18 if they are either full-time students or if the company determines that they are disabled based on (a) are a dependent for federal taxes purposes and (b)"incapable of self-sustaining employment" (This child's last job was as a summer camp CIT before her problems began.)

I've heard some people work with the school so that the IEP includes a condition that a lighter load counts as "full time" and that the insurance companies will accept that. Does it work? I'm afraid to ask anything to insurance company for fear they will cut her off.

With my older child, the insurance company just asked if she was a student but never required verification. However, since this child has huge medical bills, I don't want to take any chances.

How likely is an insurance company to accept her as transitioning from full-time student to disabled when the disability began four years ago? Since this is based on a mental illness and she has been sort of holding it together, has anyone had experience with this scenario?

By the way, our insurance is a fairly good plan administered by United Healthcare. The local school does not offer any student health insurance and given her claim history (doctor visits almost every week or more, not counting psych care), no company would write her an individual policy unless they had to do so.

You can contact me directly at need_advice1@yahoo.com

Public Liability Insurance

ninazer0 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:46:57 -0800

I need public liability insurance for a 1 day stall at a country church fete. Is there any Australian insurer who does this? The shortest term I can find is 3 months at $110 via AAMI. I have been given the run around all day and I'm at the end of my tether. All that I seem to have done today is write complaint letters about being given wrong info.

Any suggestions? $110 to run a jam stall at a tiny Church Fete seems utterly ridiculous. What are they going to do? Put an eye out with an exceptionally sharp marmalade?

Any suggestions? Because at this rate I'm ready to throw in the towel.

How can I insure my laptop and camera in a student house?

lukeo05 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:33:17 -0800

What is the best plan for insuring my laptop and camera in my private rented accomadation with 2 other students in Nottingham, UK? The general move seems to be just use Endsleigh Student Contents Insurance. The problem with this is that it has a minimum of £2000 of possesions insurance which doesn't include my camera and laptop, so I have to add them afterwards when really that is all I want insured.

I have looked at non student contents insurance, but they seem to only allow it if you or your family live in the building. I have looked at insuring my laptop and camera individually, not contents insurance, but the problem with this is that walk in thefts are not covered like with the Endsleigh cover, and though I know I will always lock the door, I can't say the same about my housemates, and Nottingham is very big for oppurtunistic thefts with open windows/doors.

Any other ideas about specific insurers who I can get a decent policy which will cover accidental damage, theft, loss and all that, both at home and out and about for my macbook (£900) and D60 plus lenses (18 - 55, 55 - 200, 50; which equals about £650).

Allstate or Liberty Mutual to insure my 4 policies?

mdn31 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:15:31 -0800

Allstate or Liberty Mutual to insure my 4 policies? I tend to be loyal to companies whenever possible so making a change can be hard for me. I was with Amica insurance for about 5 years before changing to Farmers after buying another investment property and getting priced out. I have been with Farmers now for 3 years. My agent is the sister of a business associate, and I took her on my associates word, but, she has been very inattentive and unhelpful. I have not had claims, so I don't know that side of it, but, my rates have gone up exponentially every year for no reason. Also, because I have the investment property, I have begged for her to find a policy for my rental (it is so hard to insure rentals) so I would not have to keep paying 2 companies (no benefit to have a separate policy in terms of discounts). At any rate, I renew next month and I have been seriously shopping. It is very frustrating tho because there are few insurance companies out there where anyone is saying GOOD things...it is all complaints. Also, all rates have been very high, especially for the rental. Most wont even do those policies. So, the quotes from State Farm, Amica, AAA, and another smaller company were too high.

Interestingly, the company that holds my rental is offering me a great deal to bring the other policies over...however, the company is Allstate, and I have heard nothing but bad about them. I have my rental with them, but they were one of the few companies that would insure it as a stand-alone, so I did not have a choice, and again, there have been no claims so all is ok. Yet, to put all 4 of my policies under them is going to be a little more risky.

Their quote would save me about 700 per year cumulatively over Farmers and all would be under one company. I also got a good quote from Liberty Mutual, who offers discounts to ppl in my Alumni Association...and it would be the same savings as the Allstate policies and the policies have the exact coverage.

That brings me to the dilemma...Allstate or Liberty Mutual??? Anyone have experiences or advice? Or, perhaps another one to try?