What to ask when shopping for hazard insurance? (loan, premium, credit)

[trying2moveup]

Going to close in about 4 weeks on a SFH. Want replacement coverage and coverage on the dwelling only (not insuring the land). NOt in a floodplain. Have car insurance currently with Safeco. Considering using them to try to get a multiple discount.

1) What insurance companies do you recommend that provide good coverage for FAIR rates (not cheap, fair. . . not inflated).
2) does increasing the deductible really save $ in the long run if you have need for a major repair and want to use the insurance (we have never used ours previously on our TH b/c it would have jacked the premiums and we had a $1000K deductible at the time, but this house is bigger and is older).
3) what to ask when shopping for a policy
4) how to shop w/o getting multiple credit hits - is it like shopping for a mortgage where all hits count as one during the 30 day "mortgage inquiry" windo?
5) this property is in Maryland, in the DC metro suburbs (if that info helps any).

ANything that I didn't mention that I should know, I appreciate your advice! Thanks for taking time to respond.

[SmartMoney]

I keep saying last post, lol......and that's been for the past 2 hours, so I may ramble......I recommend you look for an insurance forum and ask them about replacement coverage. I personally learned the hard way not all replacement coverage insurance is equal.

In 2003, courtesy of Isobel, we took an 80 ft. oak tree in the roof of our home - damaging the roof, interior living room, chimneys, siding. What we quickly learned, the insurance company (Nationwide) would replace the shingles, but not their problem if it didn't match the rest of the house, including the attached garage. Or, the siding. Sure, they would replace and paint (contemporary wood stained home), and they would try to match as close as possible. Same with the brick. Same with the interior paint and carpet (open floor plan and if not all replaced, it would be ugly). We found ourselves having to take out a 25K loan with FEMA (via SBA) to cover what Nationwide would not. What made it difficult, they chose the contractor, even though we were now paying the majority of the contractor's bill. (total damages to repair 43K) I don't know what to tell you to ask for, I only know, I was vastly disappointed. I also don't know that I could have obtained anything better. (We fought this hard, all the way up to the State level, with representation and lost. We got some minor concessions, like importing brick from a different area for better match, but no where near what you would think is "replacement").

You will be run thru "CLUE" (google it). Not only is your credit a consideration, but prior claims you have had AND the former homeowner's claims of the home you are buying. All claims are in a database for other companies to see. I would see if they will let you shop by you providing your score (even take 10 points off to be safe) and acknowledge you realize the quote is subject to your score being correct. However, I don't know how CLUE is run and it may pull the credit at the same time.

I would not consider a deductible below $500. Your rate almost doubles when you go with $100. Anyone you obtain quotes from should be able to provide you with various scenarios. Multiple discounts do help....

My homeowners all rave about USAA. But you need to be affiliated w/ the military or be a military brat (even an adult brat can obtain coverage). Progressive is reported to be competitive, is an AIG company and I think they will offer comparison shopping for you (pull their competitor's rates - at least on auto insurance). But pay attention to that one. AIG is not one I would recommend right now. (but may be a great way to get other quotes)

Insurance is a lot like buying a car or obtaining a mortgage, only the salesperson knows what you don't know. That alone gives them the advantage. That is why I suggest an insurance forum. There is too much I don't know and I am in a related field and have been for over 20 years.

The good news, most insurance policies can be easily replaced at any time and a refund issued for the unused portion of the policy. But, definitely, something to do before a claim, not after.

Good luck! Report back if you can on who you wind up with and why.

[trying2moveup]

Thanks for your response!

[texdav]

I have been very satisfied with Farmers insurance. Having now gone thru 3 hurricanes and talking to others state farm and All sate are not so good. I also recommend that you ask the agent to show you the cadaliic and then start dropping stuff from there. Make sure you have replaccement.Too often people found that they were given a lower price because they got less coverage and too high a deductible. You need to look at the possibliities in your area.I never filed a claim before this and was gald I had bought good coverage. Also consider flood if there is any chance at all;its cheap and many peole living in my area for 50 years are just now finding it invaluable.Also many smaller companies will take mothhs just to get a adjuster if there is a disaster in your area.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

http://www.choicetrust.com/ is the website where you can get CLUE reports on a home, your home insurance score, your auto insurance score, as well as other interesting tidbits of info.

[brokerdave]

amerisave insurance is supposed to price them all out for you and select the cheapest one for you automatically every premium cycle. i don't know how much is implemented, but i heard about it a few months ago.

i personally have USAA, state farm is good, aig and others can get really pricey. i would suggest starting with where you currently have insurance for your vehicle and see if the discount is worth it.

[d4g4m]

In Florida, you can pick any deductible you want for liability. Wind damage coverage is another story. The deductible is determined by what it would cost to rebuild a new house. That amount is on the policy and the deductible is 2% So if it cost $180,000 to rebuild the house, your deductible is $3600 And if you can find an insurance company to give you a policy for a pre 1994 built house, consider yourself lucky.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

A lot of mortgage lenders will require that the deductible is no greater than a certain amount (typically $1k but some lenders cap at $2k).

[brokerdave]

Originally Posted by ShanetheMortgageMan

A lot of mortgage lenders will require that the deductible is no greater than a certain amount (typically $1k but some lenders cap at $2k).

i have never heard that in all my years. what they require is cost replacement.

[wankel7]

On average how much off do you get for a monitored security system?