learn me: online insurance brokers

I recently got my renewal for my home owners and car insurance.  While I own more 4 cars, by and large my insurance needs are pretty standard, i own a home that is average value for my neighborhood, built with materials that are commensurate with the value, and containing property inside that is in line with what you would expect (no 4 figure or higher art work, no 5 figure jewelry, etc.)

My insurance quote went up 30% this year alone and when I went online to policy genius i got a quote that was 18% less than I paid last year and nearly 40% less than what my renewal estimate is.  

So my questions are:

1. can somebody tell me if Policy Genius is good, reputable, easy to deal with?

2. if not them, any other recommendations?  

3. every insurance company claims that most will not cover cars in drivers education but most means that some will, does anybody know who those "some" are?

Call a local independent insurance broker. They'll have solutions you've never heard of, and if you have a problem they work for you and not the insurance company. They'll be able to answer questions like your driver's ed one.

Policy Genius might be one of those who has made the jump to online, but I don't know anything about them.

Remember, you're buying a "promise to pay." Cheapest cost seems likely to have difficulty getting full payment if there's a loss. Maybe a tool analogy is helpful? You might not need full pro-level but you probably don't want dollar store tools.

Strongly second Keith's suggestion to talk with a local broker, too.

Keith Tanner said:

Call a local independent insurance broker. They'll have solutions you've never heard of, and if you have a problem they work for you and not the insurance company. They'll be able to answer questions like your driver's ed one.

Policy Genius might be one of those who has made the jump to online, but I don't know anything about them.

i'll check in with a local broker and see what options we have but i also scheduled a call /w policy genius to get some details on the offer that they had.  

All of my business insurance is through a local broker. 

All of my personal insurance is through State Farm. Their multi-policy discount brings their rates inline with most other companies and it's a convenient one-stop shop. 

BoulderG said:

Remember, you're buying a "promise to pay." Cheapest cost seems likely to have difficulty getting full payment if there's a loss. Maybe a tool analogy is helpful? You might not need full pro-level but you probably don't want dollar store tools.

Strongly second Keith's suggestion to talk with a local broker, too.

Is there any way to stack rank providers?  i.e. is there some rating, reviews, etc. for the actual company that the broker is selling? 

AM Best ratings are a good start to show financial health. 

I can recommend an Illinois independent agent if you're interested. 

Keep in mind, if the coverage was the same. The State Insurance Commissioner only dictates the minimums that must be offered. Different companies will have different limits on certain A/B/C coverage, jewelry, computers, work equipment, sewer backup, deductibles, etc. 

mtn said:

I can recommend an Illinois independent agent if you're interested. 

Thanks mtn, I gave Jason a call yesterday and we spoke for a while, swapped SCCA stories.  I sent him all of my information along with the declaration pages from my current provider to show the level of coverage I already have and he is working through everything now.  He did confirm that while the market has gone wildly up in the last 12 months my current provider (who he also sells) has been higher than others with increases.  

I also spoke to policy genius and they are having trouble getting an underwriter to quote my cars because of the p-car (which sounds rediculous but whatever) and also the only home owners policy they found for me is one that has a ridiculously high deductible for wind and hail damage (1.5% of the policy which is basically the cost of a new roof)

as an update to this, mtn helped connect me with a semi-local broker who also happens to be an SCCA member and after spending way to much time sharing fun stories we were able to work through my needs, identify an appropriate solution that provides me with enough insurance and a small annual savings over my current provider (which was a HUGE savings over what I was quoted for this year)

providing nothing goes wrong as we convert the quote to a policy i'll be notifying my current provider that they are fired.