[Puddin' Man]

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[dpb]

Puddin' Man wrote:
I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.
....

I suspect if you look into it you'll find they received a general
approval from you State regulators of the class, not just you.

You don't _have_ to take the additional coverage if you don't want to,
you obviously have to pay premiums at the going rate (w/ whatever
discounts you can qualify for, of course)...

As for who else, no suggestions; we've been Farm Bureau for 70 years
combined and no intent/need to consider otherwise.

--

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'


Everything is going up, if you don't like their pricing check with a few
other companies.

[[email protected]]

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:35:26 -0500, Puddin' Man
wrote:


I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Someone has to pay Florida and Louisiana insurance costs..
--
Mr.E

[Vic Dura]

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:35:26 -0500, Puddin' Man
wrote Re State Farm HO Ins. in midwest US:

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

Profit is the rationale.


I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Yes, this is true IMO.


Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

No.
--
To email me directly, remove CLUTTER.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I'd gladly swap your increase for mine. We got hit with 20%. Those
hurricanes hit all of us a bit.

Ever notice the buildings that banks and insurance companies own? We have
to pay for that too.

[Puddin' Man]

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:05:19 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I'd gladly swap your increase for mine.

No doubt.

We got hit with 20%.

Perhaps you've got a lovely, lively ocean view. Enjoy ...

Those hurricanes hit all of us a bit.

IIRC, we are landlocked for a 700+ mile radius. Hurricanes are
slightly more rare than gold falling from the sky, here.

Ever notice the buildings that banks and insurance companies own? We have
to pay for that too.

Not sure what you mean. The ins. co. facilities cost has always been
part of premium pricing. Commercial ins. premium pricing is supposed to be
separate from residential premium pricing.

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[Dottie]

On Aug 15, 3:58 pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:05:19 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I'd gladly swap your increase for mine.

No doubt.

We got hit with 20%.

Perhaps you've got a lovely, lively ocean view. Enjoy ...

Those hurricanes hit all of us a bit.

IIRC, we are landlocked for a 700+ mile radius. Hurricanes are
slightly more rare than gold falling from the sky, here.

Ever notice the buildings that banks and insurance companies own? We have
to pay for that too.

Not sure what you mean. The ins. co. facilities cost has always been
part of premium pricing. Commercial ins. premium pricing is supposed to be
separate from residential premium pricing.

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller



I am in FL and we pay our own way. My insurance went from $450 in
1992 (pre-Andrew) to $2500 current year. Next year I will almost
certainly be dropped and go into the state insurance pool. I have
been with the same company for over 40 years and never made a claim.

[Tom G]

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I would assume that the 3% increase represents the annual inflation increase
in the cost to rebuild your home and of course, at least part of the 10%
premium increase is to cover that cost. As someone mentioned, you can elect
not to accept the 3% coverage increase but there will be a point at which,
if you have a claim (probably total loss only) that they will not pay out
because you didn't maintain the 80% (I think) coverage limit on your
property. You have to have enough coverage to cover the rebuilding of your
home if it burns down to the ground, you can't just cover yourself for 40%
and self insure for the balance, I don't believe. Of course, you don't have
to insure the ground it sits on unless your in a flood zone, maybe.

Tom G.

[Walter R.]

In this here USofA, the price of everything, absolutely everything, goes up
by 5 - 7% every single year. Therefore, all prices, including your
insurance, have to go up at the same rate. It's called inflation and guess
what creates inflation: Our government. Has nothing whatsoever to do with
profits.

How much did the value of your little bungalow increase in the last 10
years? It doubled. With inflation at 7% per year, the price of everything in
this country doubles every ten years. Your income should have doubled, too.
If it did not, you are falling behind.
--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-
"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[newman]

OUCH!!!
"Dottie" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Aug 15, 3:58 pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:05:19 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I'd gladly swap your increase for mine.

No doubt.

We got hit with 20%.

Perhaps you've got a lovely, lively ocean view. Enjoy ...

Those hurricanes hit all of us a bit.

IIRC, we are landlocked for a 700+ mile radius. Hurricanes are
slightly more rare than gold falling from the sky, here.

Ever notice the buildings that banks and insurance companies own? We
have
to pay for that too.

Not sure what you mean. The ins. co. facilities cost has always been
part of premium pricing. Commercial ins. premium pricing is supposed to be
separate from residential premium pricing.

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller



I am in FL and we pay our own way. My insurance went from $450 in
1992 (pre-Andrew) to $2500 current year. Next year I will almost
certainly be dropped and go into the state insurance pool. I have
been with the same company for over 40 years and never made a claim.

[charlie]

"Walter R." wrote in message
...
In this here USofA, the price of everything, absolutely everything, goes
up by 5 - 7% every single year. Therefore, all prices, including your
insurance, have to go up at the same rate. It's called inflation and guess
what creates inflation: Our government. Has nothing whatsoever to do with
profits.

please explain how the government causes inflation.

How much did the value of your little bungalow increase in the last 10
years? It doubled. With inflation at 7% per year, the price of everything
in this country doubles every ten years. Your income should have doubled,
too. If it did not, you are falling behind.

[Kurt Ullman]

In article mCJwi.4150$%55.681@trnddc04,
"newman" wrote:


I am in FL and we pay our own way. My insurance went from $450 in
1992 (pre-Andrew) to $2500 current year. Next year I will almost
certainly be dropped and go into the state insurance pool. I have
been with the same company for over 40 years and never made a claim.

FL requires most insurance companies doing business in Fl to be
domiciled in the state. In most cases, this is through a subsidiary
set-up for that reason.
Also FL has all sorts of hoops the FL company has to go through
to remove profits from the state. The good news is that is probably
about the only reason some insurance companies are keeping ANY presence
in FL. The bad news is that they are also loathe to bring money INTO FL
to even out losses like they can in some states.

[sym]

On Aug 15, 12:35 pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

well it is the hurricane season

[RickH]

On Aug 15, 11:35 am, Puddin' Man wrote:
I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

For 8 years Nationwide kept raising my coverage and premiums, partly
my fault because the payment is automaticly drawn from escrow and I'm
too lazy to check it. Well it finally got to around $2500 when I
noticed it. Turns out I was way overinsured because apparently I
signed an "automatic adjuster" of some kind in 1998. Have another
company re-analyze your coverage to make sure it is "right sized", I
was paying for more coverage than they would have ever paid out anyway
based on market/replacement value caps. I re-signed with Farmers and
have all the same coverage and riders without being over-covered above
what the cap clauses would pay anyway, at probably half the price. I
also added my cars to Farmers and got a substantial discount for
insuring both with same company.

[TH]

Credit rating also affects the rate that you pay. The only rational that I
can see for it is that people with poor credit attract natural disasters.

"RickH" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 15, 11:35 am, Puddin' Man wrote:
I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

For 8 years Nationwide kept raising my coverage and premiums, partly
my fault because the payment is automaticly drawn from escrow and I'm
too lazy to check it. Well it finally got to around $2500 when I
noticed it. Turns out I was way overinsured because apparently I
signed an "automatic adjuster" of some kind in 1998. Have another
company re-analyze your coverage to make sure it is "right sized", I
was paying for more coverage than they would have ever paid out anyway
based on market/replacement value caps. I re-signed with Farmers and
have all the same coverage and riders without being over-covered above
what the cap clauses would pay anyway, at probably half the price. I
also added my cars to Farmers and got a substantial discount for
insuring both with same company.

[Richard J Kinch]

Puddin' Man writes:

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

The rationale is simple. As civilization and the economy advances, not
everything stays the same proportionate price. Some things get
proportionately more expensive and some cheaper. Intangibles and services
become more expensive, while hard goods get cheaper. Cheap
insurance/banking/lawyers/doctors are a sign of a bad economy.

[Puddin' Man]

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:03:19 -0400, "TH" wrote:

Credit rating also affects the rate that you pay. The only rational that I
can see for it is that people with poor credit attract natural disasters.

How 'bout "Situations, conditions etc prone to natural disasters attract
folks with poor credit." A horse/carriage, chicken/egg type of thing? :-)

My FICO is in the upper 5-10% of national scores.

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[Dottie]

On Aug 15, 7:18 pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:03:19 -0400, "TH" wrote:
Credit rating also affects the rate that you pay. The only rational that I
can see for it is that people with poor credit attract natural disasters.

How 'bout "Situations, conditions etc prone to natural disasters attract
folks with poor credit." A horse/carriage, chicken/egg type of thing? :-)

My FICO is in the upper 5-10% of national scores.

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller



The price of replacing houses has increased a lot since my home was
built. Two years ago I checked with some local builders to find out
what it would cost to replace my home if it had to be rebuilt....we
have a stricter building code in FL now . I increased my insurance
accordingly but I also elected to pay a larger deductible. Helped a
little ... not much.

[Kurt Ullman]

In article ,
Richard J Kinch wrote:

Puddin' Man writes:

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

The rationale is simple. As civilization and the economy advances, not
everything stays the same proportionate price. Some things get
proportionately more expensive and some cheaper. Intangibles and services
become more expensive, while hard goods get cheaper. Cheap
insurance/banking/lawyers/doctors are a sign of a bad economy.

I would argue the opposite for insurance companies. When the economy
is really good, rate tend to go down to get more money because they can
make more off of investments then underwriting. The economy goes South
the rates go u.

[Kate]

We have Allstate, same sort of situation as you.
No claims, no damage, no problems, and our swent up too.

I personally think they are making up fr Katrina.

--
Kate
______
/l ,[____],
l-L -OlllllllO-
()_)-()_)--)_)

The shortest distance between two points,
can be a lot more fun in a Jeep!

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

I think they wanna be like health ins., have a "License To Kill"
re premium increases.

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?

Thx,
Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[Puddin' Man]

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:09:51 -0500, Richard J Kinch wrote:

Puddin' Man writes:

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

The rationale is simple. As civilization and the economy advances, not
everything stays the same proportionate price. Some things get
proportionately more expensive and some cheaper. Intangibles and services
become more expensive, while hard goods get cheaper. Cheap
insurance/banking/lawyers/doctors are a sign of a bad economy.

Award #1:
For the most grossly simplistic economic notions I have encountered
in many a moon.

Award #2:
You are "Their Man". If the economy is full of such folks, they
can financially gut-and-filet us with impunity.

It'll never cease to amaze me the extent to which many folks will
swallow abuse after they've been conditioned to have crazy stuff
crammed down their throats. Not that it doesn't happen to me as
well, but at least I'll never fail to feel insulted, abused, etc.
Maybe even *try* to find an alternative.

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[Puddin' Man]

Only to note that, for the latter endeavor, one need not be a fascist
politico. It should come naturally to "Most Everyone". :-)

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:02:09 -0700, RickH wrote:

...

For 8 years Nationwide kept raising my coverage and premiums, partly
my fault because the payment is automaticly drawn from escrow and I'm
too lazy to check it.

"They will sneak in behind you, while you're not looking ..."

Well it finally got to around $2500 when I
noticed it. Turns out I was way overinsured because apparently I
signed an "automatic adjuster" of some kind in 1998. Have another
company re-analyze your coverage to make sure it is "right sized", I
was paying for more coverage than they would have ever paid out anyway
based on market/replacement value caps.

If I hadda nickel for every home that is over-insured, I could
maybe afford a nice, little summer home, maybe the entire state
of Rhode Island or somesuch.

I re-signed with Farmers and
have all the same coverage and riders without being over-covered above
what the cap clauses would pay anyway, at probably half the price. I
also added my cars to Farmers and got a substantial discount for
insuring both with same company.

Thanks for mentioning Farmers. I'd forgotten about them. Worth
a try.

Collected 3 Farmers #'s from the yellow pages. 2 had been disconnected.
I rang the 3rd 3 times at 2 hour intervals: got only a garbage
recording each time. So much for Farmers in this area.

If you've got a good agent, cherish him/her. Most of these folks
are in the business to collect payments and refuse service (in 1
way or another).

Cheers,
P


"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!"
-Friedrich Schiller

[JimmyDahGeek@DON'T_SPAM_ME_gmail.com]

Anybody know of HO ins. companies that are -not- commiting
unnatural acts with premium increases?


We had 5 homes & 3 cars insured with State Farm. They did the same
thing to us. When It came renewal time for each policy we started
shopping around and found we could get the exact same coverage for 25%
to 50% less through another company. Apparently State Farm to trying
to recoup it's losses from Katrina. We have moved all of our policies
from State Farm.. Just last week we received mail from our Sate Farm
agent saying they have lowered their rates and they would like us to
contact them for a quote... FAT CHANCE. I'll NEVER use State Farm
again. Shop around and ask friends and neighbors who they use. I'm
sure you can get the exact same coverage from another company for a
lot less.


Good Luck,

In article ,
says...

I have a tiny brick bungalow in a very quiet neighborhood in a
large midwest city.

Crime is down. Weather damage is minimal. There's really nothing
goin' on here.

Haven't had a claim on my homeowners policy in 10+ years.

State Farm automagically jacks my HO coverage up 3%, and the
premium 10%. I can find no rationale for such increase.

The coverage increase seems a bit low -- assuming you have replacement
cost coverage on your home, has the cost of construction really gone up
that much slower than inflation in your area?

As for the premium increase, that could be any number of factors.

The investment environment is one -- Insurance companies often take in
slightly less in premium than it actually costs them to adjust and pay
claims. They make it up with the return on the money between when you
pay the premium and when they pay out for a claim. But when their
investment returns go down, they need to get more of their costs from
their customers.

Changing legal environment is another, e.g. when the black mold hysteria
broke out several years back, insurance companies were suddenly paying
out claims that they had never expected when setting rates.

Still, there's nothing that says every insurance company is experiencing
the same investment results or the same claims environment, so it's
quite possible you could get the same coverage for less with another
company.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Updated Infrared Photography Gallery:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/photo/ir.html

[Vic Dura]

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:02:56 -0700, "charlie"
wrote Re State Farm HO Ins.
in midwest US:

"Walter R." wrote in message
.. .
In this here USofA, the price of everything, absolutely everything, goes
up by 5 - 7% every single year. Therefore, all prices, including your
insurance, have to go up at the same rate. It's called inflation and guess
what creates inflation: Our government. Has nothing whatsoever to do with
profits.

please explain how the government causes inflation.

By lowering the "Discout Rate" and the over-night "Federal Funds
Rate".
--
To email me directly, remove CLUTTER.

[dpb]

Vic Dura wrote:
On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:02:56 -0700, "charlie"
wrote Re State Farm HO Ins.
in midwest US:

"Walter R." wrote in message
...
In this here USofA, the price of everything, absolutely everything, goes
up by 5 - 7% every single year. Therefore, all prices, including your
insurance, have to go up at the same rate. It's called inflation and guess
what creates inflation: Our government. Has nothing whatsoever to do with
profits.
please explain how the government causes inflation.

By lowering the "Discout Rate" and the over-night "Federal Funds
Rate".

Far more to it than that alone although excessively easy credit can be a
contributing factor...

More significant factors are not at all necessarily government-induced
as the earlier poster posits, either. It's all entertwined and to
attribute any complex system behavior to a single cause even as diffuse
as "government" is simply too simplistic a view to be anything other
than a joke. Probably the most difficult upward pressure on prices at
the present time is energy demand owing to burgeoning growth in
developing economies...

--

[Douglas Johnson[_2_]]

"charlie" wrote:

please explain how the government causes inflation.

Milton Freedman won the Nobel prize for showing that inflation is caused by too
much money chasing too few goods and services. The government through the
Federal Reserve controls the money supply. If the Fed expands it too fast, we
get inflation. Too slowly, recession and/or deflation. Freshman economics.

-- Doug