Lemonade Insurance - Homeowners, renters, car, etc

Not a canoe. 

Has anyone used Lemonade Insurance?

Curious as it was shown to me recently but its not available in Florida. The idea of going direct, for home insurance especially, really appeals to me. 

I doubt they will ever be available in south Florida as we are a very difficult market and the options are limited due to hurricanes. 

My home insurance just went up from $3300/year to $4900. As usual I have to call my broker and push her to work her magic and switch. Its a total pita and I still ended up with a $4200 bill. 

Brokers are an extra layer that I do not understand. I have had several and none ever call me to give me any alternatives and I don't fault them as they probably rather my insurance go up so they get a better cut out of it. 

Anyways, love to hear from anyone that's used them. 

I'd never heard of them so went looking. Second or so item in Google search:  Don't believe the hype

They are a property only insurer kind of like GEICO is (mostly) a auto only insurer. Similar business model in that they only sell direct and have no agents. This has plusses and minuses. While I do think exclusive agents are mostly a waste of money for the commissions they collect, an independent agent (broker) that handles several different brands of insurance can offer you a lot more to choose from. The direct companies cut out the middleman in the idea it will lower prices but...are they really any cheaper?

You won't know how good a company is until you have a claim. My other rule is that the more they advertise, the worse their customer service is.

Disclaimer: I've worked in the claims business for over 25 years for several different companies.

Ddavidv and I work for the same company in the same state.  I agree with his thought overall.  I will add that from a management perspective that we are quite aware of lemonade and are watching them with interest.  They are cutting edge, but their claims handling process is almost entirely automated, which is fine for simple claims, but more complex issues and potentially fraudulent issues need actual human judgment and that is exactly what separates the companies you want to work with, from those who you don't.  Some of the biggest names are the worst to deal with. Price is not everything for insurance, you need to find the balance between coverage, price, and claim service. 

In reply to Sonic :

What is their market penetration? Any idea?

I agree with your last sentence, which is also tied to your exposure comfort level. 

My broker is an independent. South Florida is a very different market as we do not have many options, it is quite limited compared to the rest of the country. My belief is that they have zero incentive in switching you to a cheaper service as their remuneration is tied to your premium. Higher premium, higher commission they get. 

Another problem I have is how they value the house. Last year it was valued at $325k, this year the minimum I could get it insured for is $475k. The dwelling replacement cost should not include the land value, its not going anywhere ... unless they insure for sinkholes (not all do). 

I am ready to go direct, and would love to insure it for the balance of my mortgage and thats it. I know its not going to happen but one can wish. 

If it wasnt because i have such a low mortgage rate I would make the problem go away and not insure it. Oh well. 

While discussing insurance..  Our Auto insurance has gotten crazy expensive in the last 3 years.  We've been with AmFam for 12 years, 0 claims on anything, no tickets.  Literally gone up 300%.  Who would you recommend that would be a bit more competitive but not be shady mcterrible if I need to make a claim?

Market penetration is really small so far.  They aren't a problem for us yet, but their way of doing things has our attention.  Our company is moderately conservative, so watching someone else do an experiment is interesting to us.  

I'm not all that familiar with the commission structure for agents, but I think it is more complex than that.  Some companies pay better than others, but most agents just don't want hassle and want companies that are in the right balance of price and service that people don't shop.  

The FL market is rough in many ways. Hurricanes, pill mills, and very plaintiff friendly laws make it a place that most don't like to play.  

We use them but don't have any claims experience yet. Somebody's got to be the guinea pig, and I guess it's us.

If I lived in South Florida:

1) The last insurance criteria I would be concerned about is price. $350  month doesn't sound bad for that location and risk factor.

2) I wouldn't even consider not insuring my house.

But I don't live in FL so I can only assume you know things I don't. 

In reply to nocones :

I've only ever had Geico and Allstate. I've filed claims with both. Both had quick settlements. Both also like to slowly up your rate each renewal, so every 5-10 yrs, get some quotes from a couple places and switch companies. So far I've done Allstate, Geico, Allstate. Both times I switched dropped rates by roughly half. Will probably need to switch again soon.

Duke said:

2) I wouldn't even consider not insuring my house.

This. Homeowners insurance usually covers the structure as well as the contents. I personally know 2 different co-workers that had their houses paid off but not insured and had total loss fires.

nocones said:

While discussing insurance..  Our Auto insurance has gotten crazy expensive in the last 3 years.  We've been with AmFam for 12 years, 0 claims on anything, no tickets.  Literally gone up 300%.  Who would you recommend that would be a bit more competitive but not be shady mcterrible if I need to make a claim?

Sent you a PM