Homeowners' Insurance .... everywhere.

[KFC911]

Just on the local news .... like everywhere, it has spiked here in recent years (Piedmont region of NC) though eastern NC and the $$$$ coastal development losses have been huge (now add in the mtns). I have had houses that I did not ensure (except for liability protection) at times before... and I might seriously considering this on my primary residence.... or might at some point.

Is this another cold-weather-stoopid question thread?

Probably

What say ye....

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by KC911

Just on the local news .... like everywhere, it has spiked here in recent years (Piedmont region of NC) though eastern NC and the $$$$ coastal development losses have been huge (now add in the mtns). I have had houses that I did not ensure (except for liability protection) at times before... and I might seriously considering this on my primary residence.... or might at some point.

Is this another cold-weather-stoopid question thread?

Probably

What say ye....

There's a lot of news around insurance prices and companies exiting certain markets. I look at the cost to insure and then the cost to replace and think, I can insure for many years before the premiums would come close to replacement value.

[KFC911]

What if you can absorb the loss and just walk away? I have other options... worse case scenario...

No worse than a stock market crash or Enron

[Crowbob]

Every kind of insurance there is is gambling. Never bet against the house, which is not us. Way I figure is there’s always a chance, however slight, that the insurance companies will come through and uphold their end of the wager so I stay in the game.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

There's a lot of news around insurance prices and companies exiting certain markets. I look at the cost to insure and then the cost to replace and think, I can insure for many years before the premiums would come close to replacement value.

I dropped ins. on three properties (I no longer own) several years ago when the underwriters refused to cover (I was using Amica).

My buddy had three covered by USAA (one in VA, two in FL) ... they told him to pick one (his words) ... and so he did.

None of these properties are high $$$ houses btw .... not compared to the ones lost on the coastline ...

Now it's gonna explode ... again

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by KC911

What if you can absorb the loss and just walk away? I have other options... worse case scenario...

No worse than a stock market crash or Enron

I'm not sure I'd want to absorb a 400K loss even if I could. A market crash is only paper loss unless I cash out. The loss of a home is very real in an immediate sense. But! On top of the loss, I have to replace the home and then run the risk of loss again. I favor paying the insurance and minimizing risk of loss.

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

There's a lot of news around insurance prices and companies exiting certain markets. I look at the cost to insure and then the cost to replace and think, I can insure for many years before the premiums would come close to replacement value.

I feel the same. I complain about my premiums (about $10,000/yr), but the truth is it'd take over 20 years for my premiums to exceed the replacement value of my dwelling.

A lot of my neighbors claimed they were self insured. After the back-to-back-to-back hurricanes last summer they discovered they were simply uninsured. You're only self insured if you have funds to rebuild. Most ended up selling their damaged homes for pennies on the dollar.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

I'm not sure I'd want to absorb a 400K loss even if I could. A market crash is only paper loss unless I cash out. The loss of a home is very real in an immediate sense. But! On top of the loss, I have to replace the home and then run the risk of loss again. I favor paying the insurance and minimizing risk of loss.

This cold weather makes me $mrat .... think I'll go outside in shorts now

[onewhippedpuppy]

Our homeowners insurance went up 50%, our auto insurance doubled. We are discussing a dramatically increased deductible for homeowners, basically a catastrophic loss type plan. Zero claims on either, it’s all because of losses in other parts of the country. Or at least that’s the excuse.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Dixie

I feel the same. I complain about my premiums (about $10,000/yr), but the truth is it'd take over 20 years for my premiums to exceed the replacement value of my dwelling.

A lot of my neighbors claimed they were self insured. After the back-to-back-to-back hurricanes last summer they discovered they were simply uninsured. You're only self insured if you have funds to rebuild. Most ended up selling their damaged homes for pennies on the dollar.

No .... folks I know "self insure" if they can simply write off their loss because they have other options.

They will sell for pennies... some.

I would have bulldozed mine

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Our homeowners insurance went up 50%, our auto insurance doubled. We are discussing a dramatically increased deductible for homeowners, basically a catastrophic loss type plan. Zero claims on either, it’s all because of losses in other parts of the country. Or at least that’s the excuse.

Everyone is at a different phase in life.... If I can "walk away... and don't look back" ....

I might...

[Tobra]

I know a guy who cancelled his insurance and burned down his paid off house so his future ex-wife would not get half of it

[ryans65]

I'll preface this with saying I'm not smart or financially sound-

What happens when banks are loaning money on properties that the buyers cannot afford to insure? Is there a point where banks will be able to subsidize the cost of insuring the houses they've lended money on? I keep joking we'll be in FL until I can no longer afford insurance but then again where exactly will it be "affordable"?

[GH85Carrera]

I have been using ANAPAC (American National) for 15 years or so. They have been great. I recently received a letter that soon they are going to stop insuring homes at all, and cars soon after. They claim they are going into commercial insurance only.

Then means I "get" to shop for insurance. Every company will be shopped. My agent that had a contract with ANAPAC to represent just them was released from his contract. He can pick any underwriter. One of my business partner's best friends is a State Farm agent. I will get his estimate as well.

One fly in the ointment is ANAPCA has a "Chrome" policy for agreed value insurance for my 85 911 and 86 El Camino. Neither one is an average used car from the mid 80s. I may be forced to one of the specialty companies for agreed value insurance like Hagerty. My wife's Macan will remain on the policy as a regular car.

I am not looking forward to it.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by ryans65

I'll preface this with saying I'm not smart or financially sound-

What happens when banks are loaning money on properties that the buyers cannot afford to insure? Is there a point where banks will be able to subsidize the cost of insuring the houses they've lended money on? I keep joking we'll be in FL until I can no longer afford insurance but then again where exactly will it be "affordable"?

Aren’t most homeowners insurance policies amortized into the mortgage payment?

[p911dad]

We carry high deductibles on our real property and vehicles and always have. We figure we can "self-insure" for a bit of the overall values just to keep the premiums out of the stratosphere. We got caught out once on a roof damage repair from a falling tree limb but it wasn't too bad vs the long term savings.

[ryans65]

From when the policy is written yes-

The last house I bought, the one Im currently in, the policy was written at $1700/ year. After a month of being in the house the insurance company underwriters came back with "repairs" that needed to be made, all of which were bogus but they would not budge. They promptly dropped me so after shopping around I landed on a company that said the house was fine after a virtual inspection but the policy was $3200/ year. I expect it to double again this coming year. Nothing keeps them from hammering you for more money, your mortgage company simply asks for the updated policy and increases your payment for additionally escrow accordingly.

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Aren’t most homeowners insurance policies amortized into the mortgage payment?

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Aren’t most homeowners insurance policies amortized into the mortgage payment?

Our house is paid for. My insurance policy is paid by bank transfer from my checking account. In the last 20 years, I have spent 100K on insurance for the house, cars and a umbrella policy as well.

[Baz]

Mine is a single story concrete block house built in 1962. It sits atop a dune ridge. The 2 car garage is the only thing at street level and the entire lot sits way above sea level.

In all the years I was forced to have homeowner's insurance, not once did I have a claim because through the years it never sustained any damage, despite numerous storms over the years that ripped through the area.

I made a business decision when my mortgage was paid off 10 years ago to go the self-insured route. In the past 10 years I've saved enough $ to pay for a new roof 3 years ago plus a ton of $ left over for future structural maintenance & improvements, as I wish to make.

The straw that broke the back for me was when the insurance company said I had to replace my roof because it reached a certain age. Even though my roof still had several years left in it - THEY wanted a new one - at my expense. I said no way and exercised my options.

Lastly.....worse case scenario....in my case, the property is worth WAY more than the structure on it due to it's proximity on the barrier island to the ocean and ICW, so I could always sell my lot if push came to shove and make a boat load of money to go live somewhere else.

So the decision will be different for everyone. As it was for me.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Aren’t most homeowners insurance policies amortized into the mortgage payment?

Not necessarily. Back when I had a mortgage I bought and paid for my own insurance, but had to prove to the bank that I had insurance periodically, and as I recall the bank required that my contract with the insurance company had a clause that they would contact the bank immediately if I was delinquent on the premium payment.
I don't know why I went this route, when you can just have the bank pay the insurance premium directly.

I am in a situation where we have way too much house for the two of us. We're living in 6000 square feet when we could happily live in 2000. We're paying replacement value on a house that we will never replace.
I've considered not insuring it for full value, but if it should get blown away in a tornado (more likely than a fire around here) I'd only get part of its value back. I don't know if the loss is worth the risk.