We have a little 1800 sq ft house in a nice neighborhood in the north end of Gulf Shores Alabama. 160K of insurance for June 2007 thru 2008 was $822. For 2008 thru 2009 its $1666 for 167K. Called the friendly folks at AllState. The insurance comission granted a 98% increase in rates. I'm POed. I got on the internet and inquired on 7 sites for quotes and got ZERO response. We have never had a claim.

Any suggestions? Moving is not an option.

That is outrageous. We pay $520. a year for about the same coverage on a 3000 s.f. house. (in central IL) No hurricanes--only the occasional tornado or light earthquake.

Unfortunately, those who don't make claims pay for those who do. When there are a lot of claims, the insurance company's costs go up and they pass those on to everyone else. 98% increase is terrible, but that's how the game is played. If they took it out of their profits, people wouldn't invest with them and they'd go out of business. When I make investments, I go to whoever will get me the best return on my money. If I had an investment with an insurance company and they told me that profits were way down, I'd probably pull my money out and put it elsewhere.

You might try an independent agent, they can usually comb the market for better rates and coverages. You might be able to find a mutual company (ie policyholder owned) but there aren't many left...most went public 3-4 years ago.

Went on the internet and came up with zip. Nobody will touch us. State Farm is much more.