What all should I consider when changing my auto and home insurance company?

With 15 years experience as an insurance broker, I dont' think you're missing anything. Insurance prices have gone wild these past few years, and their rating criteria have become more convoluted than ever. The company with the best price for you doesn't have the best price for everybody, and the company with the best price 5 years ago might be the most expensive today. It happens.

There are four major factors when moving to a new insurance provider, and those are premiums (price), coverage, customer service and claims service. You've covered the first two nicely.

Customer service is a tricky one. Anyone can have an A+ or 5-star rating with those rating agencies, and it doesn't mean squat to you and I. Those ratings are based on profitability and financial stability and all sorts of Wall Street jibba-jabba (to quote Mr. T), and very light on customer satisfaction. But you can do something to get an idea.

Before you sign up with any of these providers, ask an "oh by the way" question or two and gauge their response. Something like if you were driving in another state and had an accident, would your policy respond as if the accident happened at home or in the other jurisdiction. Or maybe you can think of something that would apply specifically to you. The question doesn't have to be all that difficult, it just has to test their ability to answer properly. And if they don't know and have to look up the answer and get back to you, that's just as proper as having the answer right away. But if they give you some wishy-washy line of crap, you'll know who you're dealing with.

I learned that method years ago. When the major banks all opened cheap-cheap insurance companies (I'm in Canada), many of my clients left me for them because I couldn't compete with those prices. A year later, 80% of them wanted to come back even though I was more expensive. That's because their prices were cheap, but the rule of you get what you pay for is also a factor.

Asking questions will help you figure that out in advance. But you also have a backup plan. If you sign up with Shifting Sands Mutual Insurance and find out they suck, you can always go back to Allstate. They won't mind taking you back.

I finally figured out . The only way to lower your premium is to change in ins companies.

So i am not surprised by what you found out.

I have a perfect driving record with no claims for 30 years and full coverage and the insurance companies keep raising the rates . They just figure you stay with them and most people do. So they keep creeping up the rate.

I have gone from allstate to progessive and now have gieco .

If all values are about the same, You are probably "missing" nothing. I recently received my homeowners renewal bill from a top rated company for $564 (up from $339.) and found another top rated company (Erie) who gave me the same coverage for $225.

Allstate was the second highest quote that I received for both homeowners and (2) autos. Their homeowners quote was especially high (it was astronomical).

Capitalism (competition) works !