I switched to Allstate briefly about 10 years ago. Within a month, I got a cancellation notice with no real explanation. So, naturally I called to find out what the heck was going on. They told me that because I had made an inquiry about storm damage in the past, they would not be able to insure me. First of all, I had never contacted my previous insurer about ANYTHING - they had me confused with my father (same first names, different middle names), who had called to inquire about replacement of a section of his fence where a tree fell across it during a storm. Secondly, to receive a cancellation notice after the fact based on a potential years-old inquiry was absolutely unacceptable to me. The guy that helped me on the phone when I called couldn't have been nicer and didn't try to sway me when I told him I was not interested in having my coverage reinstated once the error was apparent. He actually said, "I don't blame you." But no way will I ever consider being their customer again.

Since then, I've been paranoid about making any inquiries about potential homeowner claims. We lost a gigantic pine tree during a derecho in 2016, and one of the limbs punched a hole through our roof and family room ceiling on its way down. I probably should have filed a claim, but we needed a new roof anyway, and I am a construction superintendent and can do drywall repair, so I decided to just get the roof replaced on my dime and repaired the ceiling myself.