[bale002]

I'm going to try this again (flubbed my wording last time).

In Florida, it is possible for home owners who do not carry mortgages ("outright" owners) to opt not to carry wind insurance as part of their home owners insurance policies.

For those of you home owners with no mortgage, how do you view the risk of not carrying wind insurance?

I would like to hear from both "outright" owners who do carry it and those who choose not to.

Thanks.

[faithfulFrank]

A friend of mine here in Florida opted to just have liability insurance. He has a double-wide. He views it as not needing it for the following reasons;

1) He felt that the yearly cost was excessive for the value of the insured.
2) He can afford to lose everything and easily replace it without making a dent in his savings.

I'm not promoting this...just sharing his viewpoint. He has a no mortgage million dollar house up north that he does insure.

Frank D.

[Lilybeans]

Insurance or lack of it is risk taking and how much risk you are willing to endure. If you are worried enough about wind damage, then you'll get the insurance. Most people will never claim under it, but I've seen enough roofs ripped off in hurricanes that would make it useful if needed. If you can afford to replace and repair on your own, then wind damage might not be for you.

[doggiebus]

A friend of my parents, owns his home outright (after moving here from Cali) and choose to forgo insurance. Mainly because he figures you pay and pay, and usually never see that money back, and if you do see some of it back, today it will not be enough money from the insurance companies to cover everything anyways. I think he also has plenty of money still in the bank from the sale of his Cali home and other investments, that if something should happen, he could afford to rebuild out of his pocket.

[cats_pawn]

If you don't have a mortgage, you aren't required to buy wind insurance.
If you are smart, and escrow what you would normally spend a year on insurance (something that garners some interest) then when you get hit hard by the next hurricane, you might be OK. BUT, most people don't have the discipline to put that money away.
It also depends on your home. Is it a very old house? How did it fair during hurricane Andrew or Wilma? is it in good repair? If the house isn't well maintained, like your fence is weak,
poor or weak exterior walls , or wooden homes that have rotting wood, or very old siding that should be replaced, the next storm could do allot of damage to your house.
I'd be more curious to know, if you have no mortgage, and you shop for wind insurance, will the insurance company force you to get a policy for replacement costs to rebuild your home, like they do when you have a mortgage, or can you go in and ask them (as an example) for a policy that cover $150,000.00 only?
Does anyone who has no mortgage have any experience with that ?

I'm asking because my mortgage only has a balance of $44K, yet my mortgage company & my insurance company both demanded a policy for replacement cost to rebuild the house , in the event the entire house blows over.
While I think insurance is a good thing, if it comes down to losing my house because I cannot afford $7 a year for wind, dwelling & flood insurance, or no insurance, I'd have to choose no insurance. It would be nice if you could not afford complete rebuilding coverage if you could still get insurance for a lesser amount. It wouldn't save your butt if the home was completely devastated , I know.
But I'm desperately putting every extra dollar I have towards paying off my mortgage because I don't want to lose my home. But this extremely high cost each of insurance is killing me.
In perspective, my mortgage payment is $385 a month.(that's mortgage only, no taxes or insurance escrowed)
2008 Market Value - $347.658
2008 Assessed Value-$101,922
Insurance company requires coverage to rebuild home based on square footage :
2270 square footage.
I checked online using a building calculator and it would cost $218K(low ball park) to rebuild home. So my insurance is based on $218K worth of coverage. And since my home as built in 1949, my insurance is higher.

ANyone without a mortgage, please post your experience with buying insurance ?







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[Lilybeans]

No one is required to ever have insurance by law. When you get a mortgage you agree contractually with the mortgage company to keep you home insured to protect their security. If you have no mortgage you can get insurance in whatever amount you want. The insurance company cannot tell you waht to get. They can tell you what they will sell you, but you can shop somewhere else.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

A friend of mine here in Florida opted to just have liability insurance. He has a double-wide. He views it as not needing it for the following reasons;

1) He felt that the yearly cost was excessive for the value of the insured.
2) He can afford to lose everything and easily replace it without making a dent in his savings.

I'm not promoting this...just sharing his viewpoint. He has a no mortgage million dollar house up north that he does insure.

Frank D.

This is the type of answer I am looking for, sharing points of view in real situations, thanks.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by cats_pawn

If you are smart, and escrow what you would normally spend a year on insurance (something that garners some interest) then when you get hit hard by the next hurricane, you might be OK. BUT, most people don't have the discipline to put that money away.
It also depends on your home. Is it a very old house? How did it fair during hurricane Andrew or Wilma? is it in good repair?

The house I am considering was built in 1984 I believe. It is in relatively good shape. The roof was damaged by Wilma. The new roof is up to code and passed inspection with praise. The rest of the house, which does not have hurricane shutters or impact glass or hurricane doors, was not damaged by Wilma.

I have the discipline to save, certainly not replacement value in the short term, but possibly the cost of a new roof.

Unless we are talking category 4 or 5, it is hard to imagine that a hurricane could actually destroy an entire CBS house, though a tornado certainly.

Alternatively, I could probably handle a high deductible. How high do deductibles usually go on wind coverage?

[tallrick]

I built my home in 1990, and it is steel and concrete including the roof. My design should withstand winds of category 5 status, as there is nothing to blow off. Insurance would cost me at least 5,000.00 or more per year, and I have lived here 18 years. Even in 1990 the cost was almost 2,000.00 per year. If you average it out I would estimate I saved 50,000 by never having insurance. It cost me 30,000 to build the place. Yet this house is the exception as there is no wood, or drywall that can be damaged if a window breaks and water comes in. Most homes have a wood roof, where only 3/8 an inch or so of roofing material seperates your valuable home from the rain. Even a small leak in a common home can collapse ceilings and start mold and mildew growing. Unless you are handy, I would recommend against "going bare" unless the 20 year average of insurance costs save you a significant amount. Unless your home is built without wood, it will be susceptible to roof damage.

[DanBev]

My insurance carrier went bankrupt with hurricane in 2004,had reasonable rate.Since then,been without.At first insurer's would not even talk to me.We are trying to sell our 1950 sq ft home.Here in north florida biggest threat is tornado.I have never been uncomfortable without it.If there were a reasonable rate I would cover myself.For a risk of maybe 2-4 percent why pay riduculous rate?Had one hurricane come close in around 1967.My last quote was near $1900.Our doublwide in Lake City costs $485 with full coverage and minimal deductable.This is reasonable.