I'm a commercial insurance guy, so don't want to speak out of turn, or offend any other agents, brokers or direct writers. But for carriers that write business directly with their insured's and not thru independant agents who usually represent several potential carriers, USAA has a very good reputation. I'm not military and don't qualify to use them, but if I remember correctly, once you drop coverage with them, you may not be eligible to get back in their program. How many more years do you plan to buy homeowners insurance? You might find the short term gain to be more than offset over the long run, as USAA seems to have more stability in pricing than many other carriers. Again, I can't even use them, but I have clients who really like them.
Due to virtually all property carriers in this region of the country paying more in claims than collected premiums (several times over) for the past 5-7 years, property rates are going up. No escaping that. Yes, your rates are going up, but so are mine and I haven't had a loss. Better to pay more and be insured by a quality company, than jump ship for a one year savings and end up with stripped down coverage or a carrier that only wants to collect your premium but will fight you for every dime come claim time. And trust me, that new carrier will take rate the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year, just like USAA is trying to do.
Can USAA cancel you? I'm not sure since it is only for military or government employees. They can certainly price themselves so you wont renew. And some carriers will only write your homeowners if you also write your auto as well. If you are writing your autos with USAA, and have to find a new homeowners policy, suggest you do whatever you can to remain eligible with USAA. Even if they are not the best deal today, they might be in a couple of years.
Unless you understand the various coverages and endorsements when shopping a new homeowners policy, don't buy on price alone. Many unscrupulous agents and insurance company's sell on price and not value. Certain carriers have a well deserved reputation for trying to avoid paying claims and others are known to not be the cheapest, but come claim time, they do what you expect them to do. And claim time isn't when you want to find out which you are insured with. An independent agent may be more willing to present you a couple of options and explain the differences than a company employeed agent who only really has one option and therefore must convince you it is as good or better than whatever else you are considering.
IMHO.
