out of pocket or escrow home insuance?

[Like2Plan]

Before our mortgage was paid off on our last refi, we elected to not have an escrow account and pay for ins and property taxes on our own. Just as several others have mentioned, I wanted to make sure they were paid on time. It seemed like our mortgage kept getting sold off and the risk of the bills not reaching the appropriate company in time seemed higher than normal.
Plus, it made me more aware of the billing amounts. When we had an escrow account, it seemed like it was always out of whack. Over or under-either way, it is a pain. When the property values were going up so fast, the escrow couldn't keep pace with it and then playing catch up.
Petunia 100, I like the rule CA has about paying interest. That was another pet peeve of mine in VA, no interest is required to be paid.
I get an alert on Quicken when the bills are due. If I don't receive a bill, I follow up on it. I keep money in my own "escrow" account (a savings account) to pay the bills.

[snafu]

Do you get a better insurance rate in Escrow than in bundling your own insurance? Does the mortgage lender get a fee or benefit for this service?

[moneybags]

I pay my own insurance and taxes because I got sick of my mortgage company changing my monthly payment or sending me a large bill for an inadequate escrow balance. I feel I have a better handle on the payments than they did.

[BMEPhDinCO]

We escrow and will continue to do so - it would cost us $230 to remove the escrow and we'd only make around $15 a year in interest...

Apparently, we also got 0.5% off the mortgage rate for escrowing, something I didn't realize at the time.

If I could get a refinance now, I'd probably not escrow, since I trust myself best, but as that's not possible, we'll keep the escrow account.

[disneysteve]

I escrow because it simplifies things. Why give myself another bill to pay when there is no financial benefit to doing so?