Check http://insurance.freeadvice.com/reviews/index.htm and see what customers say.

You don't even have to read consumer comments. Just click each name and see the pie chart of satisfaction. For example Allstate, 51% rate it Unsatisfactory. After my experience with Allstate 20 years ago, I am surprised the unsatisfactory isn't higher.

I have been with the same outstanding company -- USAA -- for almost 40 years. Amazing customer service and excellent rates. They have the highest satisfaction rating of any of the major companies listed on the insurance link provided by gammyt, above. I found that web site to be interesting and surprised to see that there were a fair number of negative comments about USAA...except that the other companies seem to have many more. I think the site is informative, but I also think that there may be a disproportionate number of unhappy folks represented: people who are unhappy are more likely to be vocal than the many others who are satisfied. In any case, if you are inclined to consider USAA, there is one hitch: I believe that you can only be a member if you are past or present military, or have a parent or spouse who is.

Interesting site! Thanks gammyt.
None of the big insurers, including those I got quotes from and my current company, come off particularly well here. But you are right, kudzu9, disaffected customers are more likely to seek out such a site. I don't think I will qualify for USAA but I will check it. I have heard good things about that company before.

Raee

Raee-
Good luck. USAA is the best company I have ever dealt with, insurance-wise or otherwise. I've never talked to any of their representatives who wasn't sharp as a tack and customer-oriented. In addition, USAA offers many services besides insurance, like banking, mortgages, and even a free car buying service where they do the haggling for you.

And those companies that contact you to tell you how much you can save if you switch to their car insurance? When I tell them I have USAA coverage, their response is: "Oh, I probably can't beat that."

I don't have any connection with them, other than being a very satisfied customer.

Raee, I have always heard great things about, USAA, but it is a product limited to military people, as Kudzu pointed out. My sister has it for everything & loves it.

I just switched from Amica, which J.D.Power ranked as #1 in customer service, to State Farm, for my homeowner's, last month. Why did I switch? Because Amica kept wanting to raise my rate. I bought my house only 3.5 yrs. ago, & they tried to raise my rate 4 times (due to increases in builder's costs, they said). I'm saving a little money w/ State Farm, and the agent said I was over-insured, that my dwelling coverage was too high, so we lowered it some $30,000, which she said was quite ample. Interesting, huh?

They say that only 15% of homeowner's ever file a HOI claim, so it's hard to know how good any company really is. Customer service varies from office to office too, I think. Good luck with your decision!

I can say that customer service DOES vary depending on your agent. I have a State Farm agent that I didn't trade when I moved 50 miles away, even though there is an office 2 blocks away. He is awesome and I'd hate to lose him (Ken Carver in case anyone in the Durham NC area is needing an excellent agent). I have State Farm for everything except life insurance.

I really like our homeowners but it went up ALOT earlier this year (they upped the house value). There was no way our little 3br 2ba ranch was worth $330,000 in our neck of the woods - up $60k and our insurance went up $400 from last year. It had been steadily going up each year and hadn't noticed but this big jump got me. So I had them come out and re-evaluate. Going by replacement value - it dropped down to $265,000 and insurance went back down. Of course it took them about 4 months to do it. But it was worth it. (We had a water claim so everyone else I was calling to get quotes were really high so I was kinda stuck with ours anyhow).
Now we put in an alarm system and I'm waitiing for the reduction on that. it's been about a month and I haven't heard so I guess another phone call.

That is what has been happening to me--the replacement cost has gone up about $40k in the past 2 years! It is now about the same as the market value of the property.

I checked with Amica since it does have such good reviews, and the replacement cost they quoted was not much less than Nationwide-but the premium was still about $200 less.

The other companies quote a replacement cost at least $18k less, and a few up to almost $40k less. I wonder if those low quoting companies are trustworthy--will they be underinsuring me just to sell a policy with a low premium?

raee-
It's hard to comment since you don't say how much the house is supposedly worth. I live in an area where housing is horribly expensive and variations like that are in the noise level.

You also have to remember that the replacement value of the house can be a lot less than what the total property is appraised for since the land itself is a part of the value, but is unaffected if your house burns down.

Whether the amount of "replacement value" is adequate for the property is also a function of what the policy fine print calls out. Good companies recognize that replacement cost is a number that can vary over time. I review my coverage each year and try to keep my coverage at the amount that is an accurate reflection of replacement value. I have a 100% replacement value policy, and it will pay even more than the named amount if the reconstruction costs more, as long as the house was insured for at least 80% of what the actual replacement costs. Some policies will only cover you for up to the specified amount. It's also good to remember to get an automatic inflation adjusment clause in your policy. It's too easy to set an amount and not change it: 10 years later, when your house burns down, you're underinsured and you've got a huge loss. Yes, it costs a little more each year, but isn't it foolish to try to save a few bucks when you have this huge asset at risk? I'm not a gambler so I'm not willing to give up 10's or 100's of thousands of dollars of coverage in order to save a couple of hundred bucks a year. If you carry homeowner's insurance, my view is it should cover all imaginable perils, and that includes complete loss.

Most policies must insure for the replacement cost. If not in the event of a loss, you will be penalized for being under-insured, so you will get less than the policy limit. It doesn't matter if your loss is partial, you need to insure for the replacement cost of your building. The insurance wants to collect premiums each year for the total value of your property.
Under insuring is a good gamble.