Sigh, homeowners insurance rates

[Genie+]

Homeowner insurance is pretty low here. It is dwarfed by property tax bill. Our annual on the homeowners cost is same as monthly property tax lol.

 

[FamilyGuy]

One other thing to consider is to increase your deductible. The way insurance companies are willing to drop or increase rates anytime you make a claim, we have determined we would only file a claim for big issues. We raised our deductible to $7,500 and that really made the premium more bearable. This may not work for everyone, but it works for us.

At this point you are self insuring for all but the most catastrophic claims. Even if there is a 10 or 12k loss, I may still not file a claim if my deductible is $7500… and self insuring is a great way to go as long as you can comfortably handle the loss (in the event it occurs).

 

[morgan98]

At this point you are self insuring for all but the most catastrophic claims. Even if there is a 10 or 12k loss, I may still not file a claim if my deductible is $7500… and self insuring is a great way to go as long as you can comfortably handle the loss (in the event it occurs).

This is exactly the case, and that is the way we see it too. We would probably not file a claim for under $15-$20k. Also, interestingly enough, the annual premium did not drop as much as we thought even if we were worth increasing the deductible more. From our research, the $7,500 was more or less of the "sweet spot" in terms of being a premium we were happy with.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Our car insurance rate went up before our home owner's insurance did. Went from $1600 for the year to $2400 and the only claim we had over 6 years was for a $60 rock chip. I immediately started comparing prices and Allstate was able to offer me $1400 for the year with better coverage and they lowered our HOI from $900 per year to $600. I'm curious to see what the prices are for the next year.

 

[barkley]

Our car insurance rate went up before our home owner's insurance did. Went from $1600 for the year to $2400 and the only claim we had over 6 years was for a $60 rock chip. I immediately started comparing prices and Allstate was able to offer me $1400 for the year with better coverage and they lowered our HOI from $900 per year to $600. I'm curious to see what the prices are for the next year.

I was VERY surprised last year when we got rid of our 2006 vehicle and bought a 2024 that our premium decreased (even with higher coverage than the one we dropped).

 

[georgina]

I was VERY surprised last year when we got rid of our 2006 vehicle and bought a 2024 that our premium decreased (even with higher coverage than the one we dropped).

Wow, ours didn't. Just got the auto insurance info today. We bought a new car in Feb, the rate is understandably much higher than the old one, but the rate on the 2.5 year old car also went up 40%. Both of our cars are listed at less than 8500 miles per year.

 

[georgina]

Ours went up because the value of our house, and therefore the cost to rebuild it, went up. The downsides to homes appreciating in value is higher insurance premiums and higher taxes. *sigh*

The replacement value of our townhouse as listed in the policy only increased 2%, I guess they are saying the building costs are 40% higher? Plus it has a ridiculously high number for personal property and lists a value for 'other structures', which we don't have. I am definitely planning to talk to my agent and get some outside quotes.

 

[peder]

I had a shock this year for our homeowners insurance. Our rate went down significantly, I live in So Fla and rates have been through the roof after all the storms in Fla the last few years. My 2024 renewal was around $9000 and this year same exact policy with the same company was $3600. I actually dreaded opening the renewal when it came in the mail so I let it sit on the counter a few days. I about fell over when I opened it and saw how much it went down. I paid that bill so fast in case it was an error . I told my agent that and she said it made her laugh but it wasn’t an error they repriced our area. I paid that rate in 2020. I’m using the extra savings towards a Disney cruise.

Rates in Nebraska have been crazy also. A few big hail storms and tornadoes with a small population base along with rising prices and it's just so much money on insurance. Even with what feels like an impossibly high deductible, too.

I genuinely don't understand how average households can afford homeowners insurance in this state right now.

 

[barkley]

Wow, ours didn't. Just got the auto insurance info today. We bought a new car in Feb, the rate is understandably much higher than the old one, but the rate on the 2.5 year old car also went up 40%. Both of our cars are listed at less than 8500 miles per year.

I don't understand it. I just got the renewal today and it's gone DOWN even more (about 5%). the only thing I could find out when I did a Google search on the subject is that some older vehicles cost much more to repair AND some newer have much better safety features which present a lower risk factor.

The replacement value of our townhouse as listed in the policy only increased 2%, I guess they are saying the building costs are 40% higher? Plus it has a ridiculously high number for personal property and lists a value for 'other structures', which we don't have. I am definitely planning to talk to my agent and get some outside quotes.

def. check on the 'other structures'-we have it but that's b/c we have a couple of small sheds. we got our renewal today and they upped our replacement and personal property by 10%, our 'extended replacement costs' by a good deal more (which given the way prices have surged on building materials over the past handful of years I appreciate). I imagine one of the things that plays into the increase in personal property coverage is b/c it would be what pays for appliances and anything not permanently affixed to the home (as was explained to me when I asked about it at one point) so when I start adding up the appliances, the water filtration/softner, the generator...it ADDS up. the largest increase in coverage though-the amount they cover for temporary housing. I feel VERY fortunate to pay a small fraction of what others on this thread have quoted for their homeowners so the 20% increase for this renewal is not much at all.

 

[georgina]

Apparently the other structures and personal property amounts are just something they include, based on the replacement value of the house. Dumb. I did increase the deductible to reduce the rate considerably.

So we have Erie insurance, which has something on the auto policy called rate lock, which prevents it from going up for 3 years. Except, because we bought a new car this year, they rerated the entire policy for both cars, resulting in a huge jump for the older car. Supposedly the rate will stay the same for the next 3 years barring any claims.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

Insurance companies trying to adjust for the rising cost of everything over the last few years is like trying to turn the Titanic around. It's not something that happens as quickly as they'd like. The companies have to submit the rate requests to the states, it gets reviewed, sent back etc. So sometimes it can take 1.5-2 years before they get approval for the increase. This is one of the reasons many are seeing jumps over the last year. It is most likely a response from the pricing from the last several years.

You should expect the coverage amount of your home to increase each year as well. Not just the rate but the cost to cover it if it were to be a total loss. This does not always correlate with the market value of your home. The resale value includes the land value (insurance does not pay for dirt) and lots of time amenities of where you live.

Most times bundling will give you the best rate. There are times where it doesn't.

Most policies, other structures and personal property is a % of your dwelling coverage. Talk with your agent. It's possible to lower them. There will be a minimum amount they will have to cover but it might help some if you think you have more coverage than needed in those areas.

If you can stomach a high deductible, that too can help.

 

[barkley]

Insurance companies trying to adjust for the rising cost of everything over the last few years is like trying to turn the Titanic around. It's not something that happens as quickly as they'd like. The companies have to submit the rate requests to the states, it gets reviewed, sent back etc. So sometimes it can take 1.5-2 years before they get approval for the increase. This is one of the reasons many are seeing jumps over the last year. It is most likely a response from the pricing from the last several years.

You should expect the coverage amount of your home to increase each year as well. Not just the rate but the cost to cover it if it were to be a total loss. This does not always correlate with the market value of your home. The resale value includes the land value (insurance does not pay for dirt) and lots of time amenities of where you live.

Most times bundling will give you the best rate. There are times where it doesn't.

Most policies, other structures and personal property is a % of your dwelling coverage. Talk with your agent. It's possible to lower them. There will be a minimum amount they will have to cover but it might help some if you think you have more coverage than needed in those areas.

If you can stomach a high deductible, that too can help.

all excellent points. I will add-if you can handle paying your premium on a YEARLY vs. monthly basis (in most cases done via your mortgage payment) you can get a nice discount as well. when we had a mortgage we were able to get the lender to agree to this with the cooperation of the insurance company-they verified we were prepared/money in hand to pay for an entire year's premium so the lender discontinued paying monthly and verified with the insurance company yearly that we were paid in full for each subsequent year.