why is my home insurance cheap? or is it? (Houston: appliances, credit score)

[Wysiwyg]

so i have this home insurance policy with a 'small company' under C-wide insurance. its $920 annually, $203K home, HO-B program, 1% deductible. the house is only 1/2 brick face. it seems that it covers everything i was worried about (water damage, mold, wind storm etc). isn't $920 below average? I wonder what i'm missing here. does it have something to do with the company being 'small'? is 'small' an issue? does it have something to do with my downpayment? it doesnt say if they only covered the loan amount so i'm assuming $203K is the whole house. its the lender's insurance company, does it have anything to do with that?

[jimboburnsy]

If you give me their number I'll call and, uh, get to the bottom of it. I've got several problems I would be willing to trade for "My Insurance is Too Cheap."

[chris_ut]

Where is your house located as that makes a big difference. I pay $640/yr for a 250k house so I wouldn't consider $902 to be cheap.

[jimboburnsy]

I'm in SW Houston, FEMA X Zone, Excellent Foundation, Excellent Structure, 1955 construction, 205K appraisal, $1,950 / year Insurance. I've been told that the rather enormous insurance amount has to do with the age of the home, but there must be a way around that. Anyone recommend a good broker? I've shopped around several majors and they all turn up about the same estimate.

[Texas Mack]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

so i have this home insurance policy with a 'small company' under C-wide insurance. its $920 annually, $203K home, HO-B program, 1% deductible. the house is only 1/2 brick face. it seems that it covers everything i was worried about (water damage, mold, wind storm etc). isn't $920 below average? I wonder what i'm missing here. does it have something to do with the company being 'small'? is 'small' an issue? does it have something to do with my downpayment? it doesnt say if they only covered the loan amount so i'm assuming $203K is the whole house. its the lender's insurance company, does it have anything to do with that?

That's pretty damn good. I wouldn't sweat it.

[Wysiwyg]

ah ok, i'm actually glad i'm not paying too low LOL. my house is on a 'dry' spot surrounded by 'wet' sections in Alief. houses here are about 4 ft apart so that maybe a negative, no?
thanks

[ker95]

An HO-B is the best policy you can have, so coverage is probably not an issue. You may want to check to see that your liability limits are high enough to cover your assets - doesn't cost much more to go to $300,000 from $100,000. Make sure your personal property limit is high enough to cover just about everything inside your home, excluding appliances. And double check to make sure the limit on the HOME is the value of the home, not the financed amount.

Check to make sure your insurance company is A rated by A.M. Best, which rates insurance companies' financial stability. Personally, I *might* consider coverage with a company that is rated B+, but absolutely nothing lower than that.

So many factors go into the rates, including your credit score and loss history, beyond just the value and location of the property that you can't really compare your policy to another's in a general fashion.

Hope I helped!

(a licensed insurance agent, but don't do homeowner's!)

[PennsylTexan]

I work for a major insurance company (Travelers) and the premium difference in Harris County is due to the flood/hurricane exposure. Northwest Harris County will have lower rates than Southwest/Southeast Harris County. Some carriers don't even offer home coverage in certain zip codes of Harris County. Those that do mandate 1-2% wind deductibles and sometimes require a flood policy to even provide coverage. Our home here in Bridgeland is covered for $320K and our premium is $870.

Year of construction, your construction type (frame vs. brick), location, prior losses, and whether or not you insure your auto with your home carrier are major rate factors.

The person who suggested purchasing insurance from a company with a great financial rating is correct - you don't want to take a chance on insuring your biggest asset with a carrier who may not have the means to pay in the event of a catastrophic loss.

[Wysiwyg]

folks, thanks for the info. i'm not into the whole financial worries part of growing up yet. just want to make sure i bought enough insurance without going overboard. i'm also not ready to buy insurance for 'acts of god' so i think i got what i need.

do you folks really have to keep receipts for your personal property inside the house *just in case*? who prepares for the worst like that?

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

do you folks really have to keep receipts for your personal property inside the house *just in case*? who prepares for the worst like that?

People who have expensive stuff, a fire proof safe and 30 minutes of free time.