After our former provider raised our rate by nearly $700, I started looking for a new insurance. When I found Branch Insurance, their rate for the upcoming year was somewhat over $1400. Our current provider, a well-known national carrier, was supposed to cost close to $2400.
Well, a little Google revealed that they are a new business that just moved into my state, but that was about all the information I could find out. Their BBB entry has nothing unfavourable to say.
For those who are still with me, let me ask you two questions: first, is it really a terrible idea to work with a new insurance company? Second, I’d like to hear from anyone who has used Branch; please share your experience.
I have no personal experience with them, but a lot of regulation is in place before a new insurance business can operate in the state. To determine how resilient they are, you should be able to check their AM Best or Demotech financial grade. They most likely wish to get some market share because they are now underpriced. That might work out well for you; just be sure to compare like with like and use the same quotation marks and endorsements whenever possible. Additionally, I would anticipate a slow increase in their prices, but you are free to shop there in the future.
I think Branch Insurance is cool. They’re made up of people who used to work for big companies like Allstate and Esurance. They’re bringing back the old way insurance used to be, where it was more about helping the community. We might switch to them when our current insurance runs out in a couple of months.
Branch is set up as a reciprocal exchange, which means the members actually own the company. It’s pretty neat to see this model, which originally started with local farmers, being used on a national scale.
Avoid them at all costs. They’ve more than doubled my car insurance policy. In the first year, they lure you in with better rates, but then suddenly, my 6-month policy skyrocketed from $890 to $2058! I was shocked.
We had both home insurance and auto insurance with Branch. When we made our first claim for damage to the roof of our shed, they said we only had auto insurance. However, they still deducted $3500 from us—$755 in January and $2743 in July. We’re both in our late sixties, have no tickets or accidents, and drive less than 100 miles a month. So, we decided to cancel our policies with them. After we canceled, we received a letter saying our claim was legitimate, but because we canceled, they’re no longer responsible. Avoid Branch at all costs.
AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS. All policies have increased by over 100% , and they claim that it is due to inflation . My six-month car insurance policy skyrocketed from $890 to $2058! You can’t make this stuff up…LOL
