Homeowners insurance

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Having never owned a freestanding SFH how much is Homeowners insurance annually? Looking at estimates online at mortgage calculator and it seems high. But can people just throw out numbers.

[creditcardfree]

Years ago it was less than $500. I think our last homeowner's insurance premium was around $800 through USAA on a $250K home in the midwest. That was with $1000 deductible.

[disneysteve]

Ours was $809 this year. We're in NJ. Our house is worth about 250K.

[bjl584]

Mine is around $550. I live in PA. House value is $215,000.

[Nutria]

$500 for a $150K house in southern LA (not L.A.).

[feh]

I assume this depends largely on the location of the house. You're best bet is to call local insurance agents and get quotes.

Here in the midwest, our $350K house costs about $800/year. I don't remember what the deductible is offhand.

[scfr]

We pay $708 per year.

My advice to you is to get earthquake coverage whether it's a rider or a separate policy.

[MonkeyMama]

I'd say it will vary widely based on where you live. Our home insurance cost the same as condo insurance was in our prior city.

We paid $670 last year (to insure $450k rebuild). You'd probably want a higher deductible, which helps.

[bjl584]

One thing to point out,
My homeowners and my auto policies are bundled together. I receive a discount on both to have both policies with the same insurer. I would get a further discount if I had term life insurance through my insurer. When shopping around, be sure to ask about multi-policy discounts. It can make a significant difference on the price you pay.

[snafu]

Homeowner Insurance premiums vary depending on an incredible number of factors and choices you make. Will you need flood, sewer back up, earthquake protection? Will you chose replacement value? We have a rider for my collection of expensive watches and jewelry. I suggest getting an estimate from the company that holds your auto insurance and an insurance broker than puts your contract out to 'bid.' Ultimately, it all goes out to the giant re-insurers, no matter your specific agent or agency.

The most frustrating part is that if you have the bad luck of a claim, you will be referred to a 'claims agent' whose focus is to pay-out as little as possible. If you're making a change, I hope you'll take a lot of photos of home and stuff in every room. It will be your responsibility to prove what you had, what it was worth/replacement value etc.

If you have a substantial EF, you may be comfortable with a high deductible.

[disneysteve]

My homeowners and my auto policies are bundled together. I receive a discount on both to have both policies with the same insurer.

Ours were both with the same company, until they dropped us as homeowner customers. We had 2 fairly small claims in a 5-year period which is the limit for cancelling your coverage as we learned. Had we known that, we probably wouldn't have filed one of those 2 claims.

That's the wonderful thing about insurance. It's great until you actually have to use it.

[rutgers07]

We're in Vermont and ours is about $830 for a $213k home

[Singuy]

One of the BIGGEST contributing factors when it comes to HM insurance cost is the age of the house. Houses built after 2007, meeting current code standards are way less to insure than a house from 40 years ago.

How much you ask?

My house's insurance is around $1100/year, built in 2007, lakefront..4400 squareft with a value of 700k.

My co-worker's house, built in 1974, 3200 squareft, lakefront, valued at 500k, $3500/year

Then we submitted my coverage to his insurance broker to do a full analysis. Their response was "if your house was also built in 2007, we can reduce the insurance by $1700 off the bat."

[msomnipotent]

My premium was recently lowered to $1,200. State Farm tried to raise it by $400 this year and I complained. They had the house valued wrong and it would have gone down to around $1,000, but I increased liability coverage. I live in a lawsuit happy area, plus we are prone to tornadoes so you never know.

I increased medical payments on both the auto insurance and the home this year. I found out my coverage was only for $1,000, which is worthless. I could just write a check for that amount, and I never saw an inpatient hospital stay for $1,000 or less after a car accident. I raised it to $100,000 per person on the cars and $5,000 on the home. I hardly noticed any raise in premiums. I think I actually came out ahead because I added roadside assistance and car rental $10 a year, then canceled my AAA.

[GoodSteward]

This has me checking with my insurance company for a way to lower my premiums. My replacement value is only around 120k, but I am paying almost 800$ a year and that is cheaper than anybody else lately I have quoted with. I have medical on there, but I am just one step above state minimums on everything else. I also only have a 500$ deductible. I'm one of the few who has kept it and have been grandfathered in. I am considering raising it if the savings is worth it. I guess I'll find out shortly since I emailed them.