Ralph,
At the time I was looking last year, Hartford and Safeco had much better rates than CSAA as well as having better complaint stats. I went with Hartford, but I notice that an update to the stats has them slipping significantly, below CSAA, with Safeco still near the top. So I might switch to Safeco for next year (my insurance renews every May). I might also drop the earthquake coverage - which I got since the total for regular home insurance plus very basic earthquake coverage from Hartford was less than what CSAA wanted for regular home insurance only (with a higher deductible as well!).
I figure that at some point CSAA started adding the square feet of my workshop and garages to the total for the home... which isn't really appropriate. I have a mind someday maybe to turn the workshop into a small house (it's 1,000 square feet and has a really nice garden setting) but until then I want it insured for what it is on the permit... a "storage shed", lol. I figure I could live in the "shed" and rent out the house in front for extra income in my retirement. Permits might be a hassle but maybe by that time the city will have woken up to the reality that it's better to let people bring in more tenants in existing homes. And of course the workshop would need a lot of work to make it fit for human habitation... but I think the building is basically sound and I could do a lot of the work myself.
