Find Top Local Homeowners Insurance Agencies in Your Area

In general, a good home insurance company will bind coverage based on the information contained in the original application. They typically inspect homes after coverage has been issued. While this practice would appear to be a ‘cart before the horse’ approach, insurance carriers realize that homeowners usually need coverage immediately upon approval of the application. At a later date, a representative will come to your house to verify the information you provided on the original application.

Insurance companies also inspect homes after claims are submitted to verify that the claim is a covered hazard, and to determine the value of the claim.

Before an insurance carrier issues property insurance coverage, they must perform a risk assessment of your property. The application for coverage that you complete becomes the legal document on which they primarily base their risk assessment. The insurance company wants to know the size of the structure, the date of construction, and the materials used in construction. They also want to know about any special hazards, such as a swimming pool, a fireplace, or a large dog.

The insurance company will pull your credit report as an automatic response to a request for coverage. Your credit report reveals the most significant risk hazard the insurance company has to take into consideration—you! If your credit report indicates financial irresponsibility on your part, they may decline to offer coverage. While such a practice may seem unrelated to household insurance, statistics show that people with poor credit expose insurance carriers to higher risk.

Insurance carriers don’t share information about claims directly. As an example, when applying for coverage, ABC Insurance Company doesn’t contact your former carrier for a list of claims. But specialty consumer reporting companies do collect and store homeowners’ and renters’ insurance claims. By accessing this database, insurance companies can indirectly share your claims history.

Home insurance companies can and do check previous claims. As an example, after replacing your roof during the policy year, ABC Insurance Company increases your renewal premium by 25%. To avoid the price hike, you apply for coverage with DEF Insurance Company—assuming they won’t know about the claim. But when you receive the final quote, you find out that they have also rated up your premium because of the claim.

The best way to compare home insurance companies is to seek the advice of one or more of the top local home insurance agencies included in our online directory. Insurance brokers have first-hand knowledge of how carriers pay claims. No online reviews can provide you with as accurate information about carriers, as can the agencies who work with them.

Reputable insurance brokers, such as the agencies in our directory, will typically shop around for better rates or better coverage at your renewal. But you can also change carriers in the middle of a policy year, if necessary. You don’t have to have an emergency situation to switch companies.
If you want to switch companies –but are unsure about the process—contact one of our local homeowners insurance agents. They will find other options and help you make the switch—anytime during the policy year.

Independent home insurance agents represent more than one insurance company. By representing multiple companies, they become less of an advocate for one company and more of a personal advisor working entirely on your behalf. Because they offer many choices in homeowners insurance, you don’t have to spend time going from one place to the next in your search for insurance.