I got my home owners insurance bill

[Grumps21]

Outside of burning down, I don’t see how I would ever use my standard homeowners policy. After the deductible and future premium hikes (because now I have a clam in the past 5 years) is factored in, it’s better to just pay out of pocket in many cases. I had a roof put on last year. One of the roofers that came out was kind of sketchy and said he could get it covered on a hail claim. I turned it down but I would have only saved a few grand after the deductible by filing on insurance but then I’d have higher premiums, so it would be break even at best.

 

[OutlawStar]

Outside of burning down, I don’t see how I would ever use my standard homeowners policy. After the deductible and future premium hikes (because now I have a clam in the past 5 years) is factored in, it’s better to just pay out of pocket in many cases. I had a roof put on last year. One of the roofers that came out was kind of sketchy and said he could get it covered on a hail claim. I turned it down but I would have only saved a few grand after the deductible by filing on insurance but then I’d have higher premiums, so it would be break even at best.

Generally speaking; a weather, catastrophe, or "this affected entire zip codes" types of claims may lose your claim-free discount, but wouldn't necessarily raise your rates specifically because of that claim. For weather related claims thats usually judged by county or zipcode or region sorta thing. Just because you didn't put in a claim for the last 5 years doesn't mean most of your neighbors didn't and in the spirit of sharing the load, you get increased premiums because your neighbors all put in claims.

 

[TxPython357]

I have never been a fan of the insurance companies and consider them a necessary evil at best. At worst?

 

[oldag]

Watching the commercials, I figure if I switch insurance companies three times all the savings will have them paying me to take their insurance.

 

[Fishkiller]

Generally speaking; a weather, catastrophe, or "this affected entire zip codes" types of claims may lose your claim-free discount, but wouldn't necessarily raise your rates specifically because of that claim. For weather related claims thats usually judged by county or zipcode or region sorta thing. Just because you didn't put in a claim for the last 5 years doesn't mean most of your neighbors didn't and in the spirit of sharing the load, you get increased premiums because your neighbors all put in claims.

And that is what is wrong with most insurance company business models. The good risks must help pay for the bad. If ever a homeowners insurance company played it correctly the guy with no claims would pay les than the guy with multiple. But then the government gets involved and screws up the whole thing.

 

[OutlawStar]

And that is what is wrong with most insurance company business models. The good risks must help pay for the bad. If ever a homeowners insurance company played it correctly the guy with no claims would pay les than the guy with multiple. But then the government gets involved and screws up the whole thing.

I can't really argue with you as I'm a homeowner that gets extorted for insurance too but for the life of me I can't really think of a better way of doing insurance. Some of you are old enough to remember from when before health and homeowners insurance skyrocketed because contractors, hospitals, repair shops, dentists, and everyone else being paid by insurance companies realized they can charge nearly whatever they want because insurance has billions finding it cheaper to pay 5% more each year than to pay someone to battle over that 5% increases.

In a vacuum, if you're a good homeowner and just never file a claim for 20 years, how much money could you have possibly stocked away? $40,000-60,000? Statistically you're not likely to file a claim eating all that money, but 1 roof claim and you've easily made a withdraw of $25,000, plus the expenses involved with training and having that high level of customer service ready to help you should you need it. Say the worst happens and you have a major fire, tornado, car through your living room, or whatever. That same $40-60k is far less than the $100,000-500,000k I haver personally written checks for. Even to the indignant "I pay a lot of money in premiums, I just want some of it back!" crowd when you look at their total time with the carrier only to find out they've held a policy for less than 5 years paying in less than $10,000 for their house but still upset they're only getting a $350,000 payout.

At my last company in the final months when I knew I was leaving I did get into snarky exchanges pointing out if they'd be happen getting a 100% refund of their $8,700 of total premiums paid and if that would make their claim satisfactory. The answer was always no. I've also had those snarky exchanges (again, I was leaving the company/state so I didn't care if the customer got upset) explaining they as a homeowner without a mortgage weren't obligated to deal with the headache of insurance companies or claims and just had to run the risk of losing everything should their house burn down. They always grumble and admit they'd never do that because of the overall exposure.

Dont' get me wrong; I'm not defending the exorbitant costs of insurance, I think its also a racket as evidenced by the tallest and biggest buildings in any downtown being a bank and insurance company. Thats because of the amount of people they have to employ and the overall dollars involved. But at the same time, until theres a better model for protecting you and your stuff, we're forced into this beast that was created over the decades from now on.

 

[oldag]

I can't really argue with you as I'm a homeowner that gets extorted for insurance too but for the life of me I can't really think of a better way of doing insurance. Some of you are old enough to remember from when before health and homeowners insurance skyrocketed because contractors, hospitals, repair shops, dentists, and everyone else being paid by insurance companies realized they can charge nearly whatever they want because insurance has billions finding it cheaper to pay 5% more each year than to pay someone to battle over that 5% increases.

In a vacuum, if you're a good homeowner and just never file a claim for 20 years, how much money could you have possibly stocked away? $40,000-60,000? Statistically you're not likely to file a claim eating all that money, but 1 roof claim and you've easily made a withdraw of $25,000, plus the expenses involved with training and having that high level of customer service ready to help you should you need it. Say the worst happens and you have a major fire, tornado, car through your living room, or whatever. That same $40-60k is far less than the $100,000-500,000k I haver personally written checks for. Even to the indignant "I pay a lot of money in premiums, I just want some of it back!" crowd when you look at their total time with the carrier only to find out they've held a policy for less than 5 years paying in less than $10,000 for their house but still upset they're only getting a $350,000 payout.

At my last company in the final months when I knew I was leaving I did get into snarky exchanges pointing out if they'd be happen getting a 100% refund of their $8,700 of total premiums paid and if that would make their claim satisfactory. The answer was always no. I've also had those snarky exchanges (again, I was leaving the company/state so I didn't care if the customer got upset) explaining they as a homeowner without a mortgage weren't obligated to deal with the headache of insurance companies or claims and just had to run the risk of losing everything should their house burn down. They always grumble and admit they'd never do that because of the overall exposure.

Dont' get me wrong; I'm not defending the exorbitant costs of insurance, I think its also a racket as evidenced by the tallest and biggest buildings in any downtown being a bank and insurance company. Thats because of the amount of people they have to employ and the overall dollars involved. But at the same time, until theres a better model for protecting you and your stuff, we're forced into this beast that was created over the decades from now on.

I don't buy homeowner's insurance for the small stuff. I buy insurance for the catastrophe.

 

[Tnhawk]

I don't buy homeowner's insurance for the small stuff. I buy insurance for the catastrophe.

The main reason I had for homeowners insurance is until the home is paid off, the lender requires it.

 

[Grumps21]

Another angle to the racket is that the land is tied to the home value. The market value of my house + the lot it sits on is “x”. Why do I need have insurance for the full amount of “x” if the land cannot burn down or get hail or wind damage? I owe very little on the house and I tried to get the coverage reduced to less than the market value, but still about 4x what we owe on the house. Nope. Can’t do that. Insurance company has a min $ that they can insure against. I mean, as long as the bank is covered for what I owe, what difference does it make?

 

[Fishkiller]

I just switched auto policy and saved almost $800 per year vs. Allstate. It is thru Costco of all things and written by American Family. We shall see what happens at renewal.

 

[oldag]

Another angle to the racket is that the land is tied to the home value. The market value of my house + the lot it sits on is “x”. Why do I need have insurance for the full amount of “x” if the land cannot burn down or get hail or wind damage? I owe very little on the house and I tried to get the coverage reduced to less than the market value, but still about 4x what we owe on the house. Nope. Can’t do that. Insurance company has a min $ that they can insure against. I mean, as long as the bank is covered for what I owe, what difference does it make?

Unless something has changed, you do not have to if you do not have a mortgage.

 

[Fishkiller]

Another angle to the racket is that the land is tied to the home value. The market value of my house + the lot it sits on is “x”. Why do I need have insurance for the full amount of “x” if the land cannot burn down or get hail or wind damage? I owe very little on the house and I tried to get the coverage reduced to less than the market value, but still about 4x what we owe on the house. Nope. Can’t do that. Insurance company has a min $ that they can insure against. I mean, as long as the bank is covered for what I owe, what difference does it make?

Usually the insurance compny uses a $/sq.ft. Formula. My house is 1665 sq ft and rebuild cost is estimated at $200/sq ft so I inure house for 333,000 and bank is happy. But the catch is I cannot get guaranteed rebuild unless I insure it for 10% more. There is not land involved it is the cost of reconstruction plus demolition. Buried in the policy are the numbers that bear this out

 

[OutlawStar]

Usually the insurance compny uses a $/sq.ft. Formula. My house is 1665 sq ft and rebuild cost is estimated at $200/sq ft so I inure house for 333,000 and bank is happy. But the catch is I cannot get guaranteed rebuild unless I insure it for 10% more. There is not land involved it is the cost of reconstruction plus demolition. Buried in the policy are the numbers that bear this out

Nailed it. The land has nothing to do with how much your homeowners policy is valued for. It is often quite close to how much you paid for the house on the bank documents, but since they don't insure the land your acreage has nothing to do with insurance. In places like CA (and other oddities) some people were buying 2500sqft houses for example getting a policy for $400,000 to rebuild the house should the worst happen, then complain they're underinsured because they just got a mortgage for $750,000. That difference of $350,000 is because the house is within walking distance to the ocean (locationx3). They're often so close because the house itself is cheaper to rebuild that what you're paying for the mortgage, but also includes other stuff outlined below.

Each carrier has their own tool they use to roughly guess what it would take to rebuild your house generally from the slab up because even a major house fire wouldn't need much if any slab repair. However just to demolish a house it may cost $20-40k just to bulldoze it and toss it all in a dumpster. Then you've got asbestos checking. Code upgrades. Architect fees. Permits. Supply shortages, minor changes, labor shortage, labor prices increasing, you name it. 10% over what it would actually cost is sometimes still not enough to rebuild your house. Anyone thats built a custom house after finding their dream 20 acres in rural nowhere knows if you budget $500,000 to build the house, it inevitably will end up costing at least $600,000 to finish the house. Even the bank knows this. Hell, anyone thats done a major remodel in a kitchen or bathroom or just flooring knows whatever you're quoted, set aside another 20% for some other baloney that will drive the price up.

I see my premiums were higher than normal too, but one piece of wisdom I always tell people: you would much rather be over insured and pay a little more in premiums than be under-insured coming out of pocket tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars because you simply didn't know. I've written checks for 95% of total policy limits for major house fires. I've also written checks for 120% of policy limits because thats the maximum I could write in the policy and you can see the homeowner about to break down knowing they're now homeless without enough money to rebuild the house.

 

[mroper]

I am going through the Same as others. I did a lot of shopping. My homeowners went up around 40%. I ended up with AAA for my home and auto. If you have AAA you should check them out. My home owners Policy was through Sagesure. I had to drop USAA after about 26 years the car insurance was just too high. I will try them again after a year or two when at least one of the Kids get their own Policy.

 

[oldag]

Read that car insurance is going up a lot again this year. Insurers paid out more than they took in in 2022.

 

[OutlawStar]

I should probably point out those of you "shopping around" that not all insurance carriers and policies are the same. Some have vastly better customer service and better at paying your claim probably more than they should. Some will fight you over the cost of a box of nails. Thats not to mention some will always lean in your favor to find coverage for a claim versus sending denials or disagreeing with overall damages or the cause of loss. If you know any contractors that regularly handle insurance claims, ask them which ones they have to fight with versus the ones they have to battle on.

Lots of people never use their insurance, but when they do the difference of "well that was easy to get everything covered" and "I had to hire an attorney that almost went to lawsuit and the attorney took 15% of the settlement and it was 2 years after the loss" is often worth slightly higher premiums. I'd say never trust JD powers or other customer service survey results. Those are usually paid-for numbers that mean nothing. The easiest and most relatable is shopping for car insurance, do you get the cut rate very cheapest insurance possible, or do you go with a company that will likely treat you well?

And don't ask your broker or agent if something will be covered, I can't tell you how many times I've talked with homeowners that say "my agent said this is something that should be covered when I bought the policy 4 years ago!". Guess what, your agent is a salesman and not an adjuster. He doesn't make coverage decisions nor has he ever done training or asked you enough questions. They have a general idea of coverage based on prior claims, but each claim is slightly different and nothing is guaranteed outside of the policy language which most people cannot read anyway.

 

[striker55]

When we got a renewal bill for car insurance it went up quite a bit. Called the office and they did a new estimate like a new customer. It was acceptable, old policy cancelled and new policy issued.

 

[toddnjoyce]

Read that car insurance is going up a lot again this year. Insurers paid out more than they took in in 2022.

Yep. As an industry, a 15% increase in premiums is required for the carriers to operate at a 4% profit in 2023. And that 4% profit won’t cover losses from 2022.

Some carriers are warning state insurance boards that premium increases of up to 40% in some markets will be necessary to meet state pooling requirements. Some states have signaled that’s a nom-starter resulting in some carriers indicating this will be their last year in those markets.

If you live in California, it’s continuing to be unaffordable for insurers to provide the state mandated coverages; I think there’s now only six underwriters that will cover auto and property across the state and maybe as few as 2 that will cover high value property.

 

[dsgrey]

Read that car insurance is going up a lot again this year. Insurers paid out more than they took in in 2022.

Yes! Daughters went up a lot and she called the carrier to find another underwriting company with more decent rates. I'll probably see the same when my renewal comes out in a month.

 

[69ChevelleLSX]

3 daily cars at geico last year went to 2200 every 6 months. Called progressive with more coverage went to $800 every 6
House last week doubled At geico broker called around and got it within $100 of last year.
Classic car insurance has been $3** a few years
Business insurance went up a few percent at State Farm. Nothing major.

Health insurance is over $2000 per month
No claims on any of it. Damn crooks if you ask me.