Homeowner's insurance

B

brandons87

250+ Posts
I'm buying a 138k house. Building costs in my area are estimated $80/square foot.

I dont know the answer to these questions. Is the home inspector supposed to tell me this? How do I find this info out to get a quote?

1) Amount of dwelling coverage requested. Should I list the price of the house or what?

2) How much of your home's circuit is on circuit breakers? I dont know how to answer this question. Can I just look in the circuit box or is it more complicated than that?

3) Amount of personal liability? I'm obviously setting this to zero if I can
 
All your thread are belong to us

Note: All insurance companies publish their rates with the respective states where they do business & you can find them online with the state where you're located.

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I'm in the market right now shopping for a new insurance provider for our home. And personal liability is not too important to me either. Don't agree with paying extra for something I'll probably never ever have to use. I do not have a dog, no one will fall at my house and sue me (no one comes over except fam), and my neighbors kids don't come in my yard.
 
You guys really need to understand the full scope of protection offered by your liability coverage. If the three particular situations I illustrated do not apply to you, I can guarantee there are others that will.
Now, why does half a million in coverage cost about $5 per month? Because it is relatively rare to have a claim. At $5 per month, the insurance company is profiting, no doubt about it. But if it ever happens to you and you don't have the liability in place, you are so royally ****** it isn't even funny. Spend the money and get yourself covered.
 
Point being for me is that I want Personal Injury coverage to be on the lower end of the scale. I'm not saying I want zero, but something near the minimum.
 
midtown,
You're right, many people will never need a $1MM policy, but if you start accumulating a bunch of stuff as you get older, you will.

What's protected? I know homestead, certain retirement accounts, and I believe college funds in the 529(?) plans. Anything else?
 
Well **** I just got a quote from Geico and its almost $100 per month! Thats the same as my property tax!

WTF I had no idea homeowners was this expensive. The house is 1800 square feet, built 1986, new roof, no safety problems, 3 blocks from a fire dept, 2 houses down from a fire hydrant. Its got smoke detectors, dead bolt locks, ADT security system. I tried to find the cheapest policy available by putting zero coverage for liability and I didnt put anything down for personal valuables inside the house and its still $100 a month? **** that.

What are you guys paying for homeowner's?
 
I just recently started a policy with Nationwide for my new house, $75/month. But I also have my auto with them, so I got a bit of a discount.
 
I pay about $700 a year for 180K on the house, contents, and liability. But rates vary widely depending on your zip code.

Call around, you can probably beat Geico pretty easily.
 
dwelling coverage - your lender or lenders will require enough coverage to match your loan amount(s) at minimum. you would likely want to secure the replacement cost clause, so that you get the home replaced in the event of a total loss no questions asked. unless you are willing to risk a total loss where the insurance can pay your note but not build you a new home similar to your current one.
 
I would stay away from Geico, they are just brokers for other companies. If your a new homeowner get with an agent that spends time with you and explains coverages.
 
$601 a year thru USAA. $300K. $4K deductibles.

Brother: $800 year. $500K $1% deductibles. Don't know who with.
 
Call Geico and ask them who underwrites the policies they quote. It isnt Geico.

Through Insurance Counselors Inc., the GEICO Property Agency, we can help you secure homeowner's insurance through a variety of established service-oriented companies in all states except Louisiana and Michigan.

Above is from there website.
 
Wow -- a few people on these threads remind me of all those fools you see on TV after something crazy happens to their house.

"wow..we're a whole block away from that lake. No reason to have insurance. Now everything is gone."

Eh -- pay for the freaking insurance. Seriously...5-10 bucks a month? Are you kidding me? That's absolutely nothing.
 
Get a quote from Travelers, we have them for homeowners and auto., so we get a discount. Homeowners, 1% deductible, HOA enhanced coverage, coverage for 180k rebuild cost, seven year old home brick/veneer combo. annual premium. ..... $730.

We have had the homeowners since we moved in, July 04, it will probably keep going up as the home gets older. That's the other thing, every year as rebuild costs go up and your home ages, the insurance goes up. Be prepared.
 
"dwelling coverage - your lender or lenders will require enough coverage to match your loan amount(s) at minimum"

Not if that amount includes the value of the land. That's against the law.

§ 549.0551. REQUIRING CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF COVERAGE.
(a) A lender may not require as a condition of financing a
residential mortgage or providing other financing arrangements for
residential property, including a mobile or manufactured home, that
a borrower purchase homeowners insurance coverage, mobile or
manufactured home insurance coverage, or other residential
property insurance coverage in an amount that exceeds the
replacement value of the dwelling and its contents, regardless of
the amount of the mortgage or other financing arrangement entered into by the borrower.
(b) For purposes of this section, a lender may not include
the fair market value of the land on which a dwelling is located in
the replacement value of the dwelling and its contents.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 69, § 1(a), eff. May 17, 2005;
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 728, § 11.017(a), eff. September 1,
2005.The Link
 
Here is what we pay from USAA:
Dwelling $245,400
Personal Property $184,050
Loss of Use $49,080
Personal Liability - Each Occurrence $100,000
Total: $500 a year.

If the insurance costs too much, I'm sure you could subsidize the premium with a negative amortization ARM.
 
"the lender required guaranteed replacement cost coverage to ensure enough coverage"

That's interesting because until fairly recently guaranteed replacement cost coverage wasn't even available in Texas.
 
doggystyle,

Curious what your deductible is. I have USAA here in Dallas and my premium is about 3 times what yours is for:

Dwelling $275,800 (House built in 1993)
Personal Property $206,850
Loss of use $55,160
Personal liability $300,000
Toal premium: $1658.92 !!! And that's with a 2% deductible!

I also have my automobile and life insurance through them!
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Our deductible is 1%, house built in 2003. The new home discount is <$150, and we also carry auto and life policies with USAA. Did you shop around for your insurance? Does not sound like you are getting the best deal. I don't have as much personal liability insurance, but then again, I don't have a couple mil in the bank. Maybe next year.
 
I'm not military, so I cant get USAA. I didnt realize we had so many military people on this board. Literally 80% of the respondents have USAA?
 
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