Question for home owners, (Insurance related)

[Felix The Assassin]

Received a cheesy extra coverage advertisement from my mortgage company today. They have joined forces with "ACE USA" to scrape more money from their clientele. The spousal unit thought it read well, and is interested. The ad: Disaster Recovery Plan. For just $14.46 a month they will provide immediate DR if a = c only if x is not a factor, etc...For the duration, it would cost less than 5K for the reaming life of the mortgage, which to me is almost a wise bet...

Our multi insurance carrier is USAA, and I will certainly place a call to them tomorrow when they have humans on the CS line. Yes, they have "bots" on the CS line overnight, however, you can still conduct business, just can't ask questions.

Therefore, I ask you fellow IWer's, do any of you have/use/experienced with a DRP?

If so, please comment.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

I dunno dawg, that's virgin territory for me.

You're doing the right thing. Call and ask some tough questions. The cost is very low for some peace of mind.

Also, do you have a broker, or do you deal with the company itself. I'd go that route before calling the company.

[Felix The Assassin]

Originally Posted by Variol (Farseer) Elmwood I dunno dawg, that's virgin territory for me. You're doing the right thing. Call and ask some tough questions. The cost is very low for some peace of mind. Also, do you have a broker, or do you deal with the company itself. I'd go that route before calling the company.

A broker? They need a salary, that increases overhead, which in turn increases rates, which... No such critters here, we are "direct".

United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a Fortune 500 financial services company. The stated company mission is to offer banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or served, in the United States military. USAA was founded in 1922 by a group of U.S. Army officers to self-insure each other when they were unable to secure auto insurance due to the perception that they were a high-risk group. USAA has since expanded to serve officers, NCOs, enlisted, and their families with property & casualty insurance, banking, life insurance, investment and financial planning products and services. The company was one of the pioneers of direct marketing and most of its business is conducted over the Internet or telephone using employees instead of agents. Until the 1960s the bulk of its business was conducted via mail. In the late 1960s USAA began a transition from mail to phone based sales and service. A toll-free number was launched in 1978, and Internet sales and service was launched in 1999 via USAA.COM.

[Bungleau]

If this is what I think it is, stay far, far away.

"Disaster recovery" sounds a lot like "homeowner's warranty", and the record of the warranty providers is pretty mixed. Check to see how easy it has been for others to submit claims and actually get paid. My recollection has been that it's pretty marginal... they pick who reviews the "problem" and who decides what gets covered, and you have little recourse after their decision is made. And apparently, their decisions rarely cost them a lot of money...

Flip it around the other way... if you put $5k into a CD or money market, how much "DR" would that cover for you?

My gut feel... only deploy if you wish to get $5k lighter.

[Felix The Assassin]

Originally Posted by Bungleau If this is what I think it is, stay far, far away. "Disaster recovery" sounds a lot like "homeowner's warranty", and the record of the warranty providers is pretty mixed. Check to see how easy it has been for others to submit claims and actually get paid. My recollection has been that it's pretty marginal... they pick who reviews the "problem" and who decides what gets covered, and you have little recourse after their decision is made. And apparently, their decisions rarely cost them a lot of money... Flip it around the other way... if you put $5k into a CD or money market, how much "DR" would that cover for you? My gut feel... only deploy if you wish to get $5k lighter.

Tanks.