Home Insurance Prices

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I think we are paying way too much for insurance but we have been turned down once and kind of gave up looking. We have a 1929 home that is 1600 sq ft, 12.5 acres, one barn, one tobacco barn. The company that turned us down said we needed too much renovation, which amounts to the previous owner put underpinning around the house instead of brick and we could use some paint. We are paying about $800/year I would have to go look to be exact.

I would like to know who you have, (keep in mind we are not running as a business yet) and if you like them! And if you do not mind sharing your prices, that too. Lynn

-- Lynn (johnnypfc@yahoo.com), September 14, 2001

Answers

2000 sq ft home, 4 acres, horses on property, fireplace and wood burning stove, 1 claim from a trampoline injury[we had to get rid of trampoline or would have been canceled] aprox $580.00 a year. We live in Northwester PA. It probably does depend on your location.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), September 14, 2001.

It depends on location, what you have (both construction and posession- wise) and how much coverage you want for it, your credit rating (that's why they want your SSN, so they can run a credit check), how your fire department is (they rate the fire departments--volunteer are not rated as highly in general (don't know why), so your premiums can be higher), even how far you are from a hydrant (or whether they use water trucks). Also as a previous poster mentioned your claims record on everything.

With some companies, you can get a break if you have everything insured with them. Also, sometimes local companies are easier to insure with because they know the area better than the big guys or are a niche area insurer. A friend found out recently that his big national insurance company wouldn't insure some rental property he bought because of 1) their age (which is also a big factor in your case, and 2) they required their own inspection (still with no guarantee that they would insure) paid for by the new owner (very expensive) because there was not one done through escrow--they were owner-financed properties.

My friend knows enough about construction to know that the rentals were sound, and wasn't about to be nitpicked to death over them being "older homes", and also, the age and condition of most of the homes in the area were comparable, so he just insured through the old owner's insurance company. A pain to deal with two insurance companies, but better than no insurance at all.

I think a lot of companies are starting to shy away from older homes these days, unless they have been recently renovated. They don't want to deal with age-related claims. Also, if your house is historic or charming and you want to rebuild it exactly the way it was, it will cost more too.

Business insurance is a whole other ball of wax. Writing the Great American Novel and selling it by mail is different from having customers coming to your door for regular business hours. Some homeowner companies do not want to deal with business liability at all.

Hope this doesn't discourage you! Also, the friend I spoke with above had talked to another big insurance company about consolidating all the properties, and was astonished to hear about policy write-up fees (like $10 per property) just for the privilege of doing business with this company.

Another thing to consider is whether you are comfortable dealing with an agent, or if you prefer to transact business by phone exclusively (except obviously when someone comes out to verify a claim).

People posting prices will not help you much, without also telling the underlying reasons for that price, and how much coverage dollar-wise they have. For privacy reasons, it probably would not be prudent to do so, in any case.

Lastly, one way to cut your premiums on any insurance is to raise your deductible to $500 or $1000.

Good Luck!

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), September 14, 2001.


We have farm insurance that covers the house at replacement cost, all the outbuildings and barns (7 of them), and all the farm equipment up to $50,000 worth, as well as the usual liability, etc.

The carrier is Hastings Mutual out of Michigan, and we pay $1100.00 a year for this coverage. Our deductible is $500.00.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), September 15, 2001.


I have Auto Owners on my business as well as my land and I've found their rates to be very good in the marketplace. The greatest part of the deal in my case has been my agent. I'd absolutely suggest you shop agents and find someone with whom you're comfortable. Even if you save a few bucks with a given company but end up working with an agent with whom you can't work comfortably you'll have paid dearly for those few dollars. Good luck in your search. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), September 16, 2001.

Thanks to all that posted! It sounds like maybe our insurance is not so bad, we are renovating somewhat although my mind is changing slightly on that one which may be another post!

Lynn

-- Lynn (johnnypfc@yahoo.com), September 17, 2001.



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