Insurance Brokers
Berkeley Parents Network >
Reviews >
Insurance >
Insurance Brokers
March 2012
Our current insurance broker is slow to return calls (takes
several days), and he isn't particularly thorough in finding
out what sorts of coverage we really need. We've discovered,
the expensive way, that we're sometimes carrying too much of
one type or too little of another. We'd appreciate
recommendations of thoughtful, thorough, honest insurance
brokers or agents, especially as we now need to add our
18-year-old son to our car insurance. eastbay parent
I have been with John DeLeuze a State Farm agent in
Lafayette for over 30 years and he is awesome! He has gone
to bat for us many times, always returns calls promptly, has
his home and cell number on his card, and is extremely
knowledgeable. If he thinks you would be better served
elsewhere he will tell you that. He insisted our 16 y/o come
in to his office for a driving pep talk and driving
knowledge test before adding them to the policy. I asked why
and he said he had been to too many funerals of young people
and never wanted to go again so he devised the extra
program. He also advised how to set up the minor on our
lowest cost vehicle to get a reasonable premium which saved
a lot of money. State farm isn't the cheapest but having an
agent like John is worth the extra. Over the years he has
saved us a lot of money and we have the backing of a company
with large reserves if needed.
925-284-9580 happy policyholder
I've had Farmers for quite a while and am very happy with
them. Mike Reidenbach is an insurance specialist with
Farmers and he's a great listener, thoughtful and
considerate regarding your needs, makes excellent
recommendations and is very reliable. His cell is 415 509
2494 and office is 510 849 4909. jmreidenbach@comcast.net
Sydney
I've been using Scott Halbrook from Farmers for several years for both home
and business. Either he or his assistant return calls within the same day.
I frequently need insurance certificates for my clients, and he gets them
faxed right away. He knows the business well and his rates are competitive.
Here is his info http://www.farmersagent.com/rhalbrook
stu
Mike Clausen returns phone calls, will help you clean up
your current policies and won't over-sell you. Really.
510 839-3276
http://www.farmersagent.com/mclauson
signed, Happy and Impressed!
June 2009
I have searched the archives but haven't found any updated
information on insurance brokers. We are looking to put our
life, auto and home insurance into one policy. We currently
have state farm, esurance and my husband's life insurance from
work. State Farm and Esurance have unusually high rates in
certain areas. If anyone has a company or an insurance broker
they would highly recommend, please let me know. Thanks for your
time.
Trying to save some $$
Greg Guardiano at D|A Financial Group in Lafayette brokers a lot of
different insurance companies so he can probably find you the best
deals for life insurance.
His number is 925-254-7100.
Adam
I am thrilled about our new relationship with Tom Madden at Farmer's
Insurance. The first time we had him review our policy, he told us to
stay where we were. A year later, we tried again and he gave us
better coverage for less money. Plus, he's the best agent I've ever
run into. Very easy to deal with and really knows his stuff. He can
be reached at (925) 284-7105.
Julie
June 2006
I want to consolidate my real estate insurance policies under one
roof, or at least one agent. Home in Trestle Glen, a two unit
(duplex and house) rental property in Rockridge and a fourplex in
Oakland. I would want umbrella possibilities. I tend to prefer
small but enterprising agents.
T
i would recommend Denise Lombard dtlombard[at]sbcglobal.net
She really knows insurance and can explain everything clearly
stu s
May 2004
I'm looking for recommendations on buying term life insurance: specific
companies, policies, where to buy (I prefer somebody I can see face to
face). The most recent recommendations on the website are from 2002.
Also need recommendations for buying a health insurance policy for a
single adult: best companies, prices, broker suggestions?
Grace
If you need health insurance, Denise Lombard is the woman who
can set you up! She helps all types find health insurance
solutions -- people between jobs, people currently on COBRA,
self-employed people, and small business owners. Her services
are free; she is paid by the insurance company. She works to
understand how people use health insurance and then she
searches all available plans for the best fit at the best
price. She also has Medicare Supplement plans for adults over
the age of 65 and long-term care insurance plans which cover
the cost of living in a nursing home.
Denise Lombard Insurance Services
4100 Redwood Road, # 250
Oakland, CA 94619
dtlombard@sbcglobal.net
Phone: (510) 530 - 8086
Fax: (510) 531 - 1269
Christine C
June 2003
Insurance Broker: Now that Amica is no longer paying the annual
dividends we are looking for a good insurance broker to help us
bid out our entire insurance package. Can anyone recommend a
name and advice on using an insurance broker? Thanks.
alison
For health, dental, vision, continuing care and life related
insurance try either Myers Stevens at 415-543-4040 or Bob Luna
at 707-745-1961.
For Property and Cauaslty insurance try Gene Mello at 510-790-
1118
Juliette
My sister is my insurance broker and of course I'm biased and
think she's great, but she's been in the business since she was
fifteen (she's now in her forties -- it was my dad's before she
inherited it) and she knows pretty much everything there is to
know about insurance. She handles personal as well as commercial
accounts, and can set up health insurance as well. Her name is
Andrea Christensen, her company is called Allstar West and her
number is (415) 883-5100 ext. 207. She's located in Novato, but
these days a broker's location doesn't really matter, since we
can do everything via computer.
As far as working with a broker -- each one has agreements with
different companies, and companies set perameters about which
brokers they will work with based on the size of the broker's
''book of business''. Unfortunately, a lot
of companies don't want to do business with anyone in California
anymore -- too many risks -- but there are still good companies
out there.
A good broker is one who takes the time to explain to you what
he/she is doing, recommends the type/amount of coverage you
should have, returns your calls in a timely manner, and does her
best to place your insurance with the best company for your
needs, rather than the one that pays her the best commission.
Just like a stock broker, real estate broker, etc.
I think Andrea would be happy to have a conversation with you
just to answer your questions, even if you weren't sure you were
going to use her as your broker.
Janet
Hi,
Our family insurance guy is Henry Lutzky, at (510)652-5200. We
were able to get really affordable health coverage and a great
life insurance package from him, and he's super reliable and very
easy to talk to. Good luck!
Nora
I would like to recommend our new insurance broker, Kai
Langenberg. He is a Berkeley resident (he lives in our
neighborhood, actually!), has a small child, and he and wife
Xotchil recently started their insurance broker business. Their
company is tri-lingual: German, English and Spanish.
I have known Kai and Xotchil for about 5 years. When I learned
that they had become insurance brokers, I was overjoyed! Kai and
Xotchil are very honest, very responsible, and have great
business sense. I knew that I could trust them not to try to
sell me insurance that I wouldn't need. My husband and I were not
happy with our current insurance company and were looking forward
to a change. As it turned out, we get a great deal for home and
car insurance so he advised us not to change. However, he was
able to secure pretty good rates for life insurance. We will soon
be looking to him for financial advice (IRA's, 401 (k), etc.) and
hopefully next year we can switch over to Farmer's for our home
and car.
I had worked with another person from a different insurance
company and that individual returned my calls a week late, did
not spend enough time explaining insurance policies to me, and
was pretty unprofessional (he ended up losing my policy somewhere
and advised me to check with credit report agencies to make sure
no one was using my SS number!). Needless to say, I was very
happy to work with Kai, who was very prompt and professional, and
friendly! Please give him a call:
Kai Langenberg, M.B.A.
Insurance & Financial Services Specialist
FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP
Langenberg Insurance & Financial Services
1401 Derby Street
Berkeley CA 94702
Bus: (510) 649-1322
Fax: (510) 217-6640
kai at langenberginsurance.com
License # 0D96872
Laurel
Jan 2003
We need a bunch of insurance. Our building is insured for
hazards, but we need homeowner's insurance for the contents.
(We've recently inherited a bunch of stuff worth insuring.)
Since we just had a child, we need two term life insurance
policies (we're healthy and in our mid-30's, is it better to get
10 year policies and renew them? or a 20 or 30 year policy?).
And since I'm now working freelance, I need some disability
insurance.
I've heard that if you group your policies through a carrier,
the rates can be lower, so I'd like to do that as much as
possible (as well as for administrative ease). I have car
insurance, but would be willing to move the policy if the
pricing worked out.
Sadly, we don't qualify for USAA. Should I try Reliaquote or
Selectquote? They don't seem to handle all of our needs, would
it be worth it to do each policy separately through them? No one
seems to offer disability...?
I've checked the website, but didn't see anything about grouping
policies and how to arrange it all through one place. Any advice
and/or recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks!!
Jenna
I don't know anything about insurance, but a former graduate
student of mine, who is an excellent problem solver, and whose
integrity I have no doubts about, recently went into insurance
brokering. I'm sure she'd be happy to advise you. Her name is
Paria Mahani, and you can reach her by e-mailing
pmahaniATmillsDOTedu.
My husband and I bought term life insurance through Select Quote
Insurance Services. They only use A++ (superior) to A
(excellent) rated companies (you can do your own homework after
they come back with a quote). We worked with Brian Van Valin
out of the San Francisco office at 1-800-436-7000,
www.selectquote.com
Select Quote came back with a list of 3-4 term life insurance
quotes that were significantly lower than what we were quoted
from our insurance agent at State Farm (we were trying to keep
things simple too). They say to take out enough term insurance
to take care of your debt at the time of your death, unless you
want to leave extra to your family. (So if your house will be
paid off in 15 years, do you really need a policy past 15 years?)
Rates are supposedly the lowest they have been in years, so take
advantage of this if you think that you will continue to need
life insurance in 20-30 years.
Self-employed people can apply for and purchase elective
coverage disability insurance through the state of CA and the
EED. For more info see, http://www.edd.ca.gov/difaq9.htm
Kathleen
I don't know the answers to your specific questions, but can
highly recommend an agent who would be happy to answer your
questions. His name is Harpreet ''Harry'' Chadha and he's a rep
for New York Life. What I especially like about Harry is that
he listens to your desires and makes recommendations based on
what you want, not what will get him a higher commission. His
phone number is 510-624-4140.
R. Low
My wife brought this post to my attention. I don't want this to
sound self-serving, but I may be able to at least act as a
sounding board for what you are looking for, specifically for
Life and Disability insurance. I work with Northwestern Mutual in
SF and live in Oakland. It really is hard to say what kind or how
much life insurance you would need without knowing more about
your situation. Northwestern also offers comprehensive disability
insurance. Lastly, it very important to check the credit ratings
of the insurance company that you finally select to make sure
they are sound financially.
Hope this helps. My name is Tom Foley and I can be reached at
(415)733-6730 or (510)652-1506.
Tom Foley
It is not possible to bundle all types of insurance. Usually
you get the best break for bundling home and auto and an
umbrella policy. Life is usually separate.
We have used RWM (Bob Moody) for life and liked him quite a
bit. That said, our friends have had a rether negative
experience with him, so it is hard to know what to say about
that. He's in Orinda. I found him over the web.
We like Christ, Elliott, and Machette for property insurance.
Bill Linville is our agent. He's great. Good luck to you!
Elisabeth
1999
I can recommend Patricia Tscharner of Armstrong and Armstrong. A&A is
a small, independent agency, and they were able to find us good auto
rates. Located in Albany, their phone is 525-3902. Since Pat's a
friend of mine, feel free to mention my name.
Eric
this page was last updated: Oct 31, 2012
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network