Gyroscopic Investing

I've had my insurance with USAA for many years.  From what I understand, it's supposed to be a high-quality insurance provider.  I'm currently paying about $2,100 per year for home/auto.  I got a quote through my employer's discount insurance coverage for $1,400 for the same coverage through MetLife.  Best I can tell, MetLife is considered not as good quality as USAA.  I've never had a claim on my home/auto insurance, which means that maybe I'm due, but I can't help feeling that I'm spending extra money on something I never use.  I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off taking the $700 per year and investing it.  Does anyone have any advice on this?

MetLife was affiliated with my father's employer so my parents and I used them by default for a while. Both our households had such terrible experiences that we switched. I moved and told them to update my address something like 10 times but they never got it right, which caused me to miss time-critical correspondence. Also I got a check from them as part of a settlement from being prosecuted and found guilty of overcharging customers like me. Thanks. My brother suffered a hit and run but despite photographic evidence they denied the claim and accused him of fraud and threatened criminal charges. AVOID.

I've been a member of USAA for 25 years and would simply advise that you not discount the extremely high level of service they provide.  But at the same time a 50% premium does seem pretty high.  Maybe it would be worth calling USAA to see if they can either do something about the rate or help you understand the differences.

Does anyone have any other insurance companies to recommend to me that offer good value in terms of price and service?  Thanks.

I have no idea of relative price to other companies, but I've used GEICO for decades and they have good service and have always been fair to deal with.

After MetLife I did some research into well-regarded companies and settled on Amica. Farmers had good ratings too.

stuper1 wrote: Does anyone have any other insurance companies to recommend to me that offer good value in terms of price and service?  Thanks.

http://lowermybills.com/
http://www.netquote.com/
http://www.insurance.com/
http://www.consumersearch.com/auto-insurance
http://www.consumersearch.com/homeowners-insurance

http://static2.consumerreportscdn.org/c ... atings.jpg

From October 2010 Consumer Reports article.

http://static2.consumerreportscdn.org/c ... e-rate.jpg

From September 2009 Consumer Reports article.

Appears that USAA is a very desirable company to do business with.

I also have USAA and have been very pleased with their service. 

Several years ago a drunk driver hit our car parked in front of our house (luckily we weren't in it) and totaled it.  One call to USAA, and we had a rental car that afternoon.  A appraiser checked out the damage within a day or two, proclaimed it a loss, and wrote us a check for a few thousand over KBB value.  They were very professional and prompt, and paid out more than I expected. 

I've also had a few other experiences (minor fender bender, storm damage to a fence), and they were always a pleasure to work with.  No fuss, no jacking up rates, and very helpful every step of the process.

It's worth calling them to see if they can reduce the rates based on a competitive quote, but even if they're a little more, I'd still stick with them.  Insurance is basically just a promise, and is thus worthless if you don't trust the guys making it.