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Old 02-09-2017, 10:53 AM
 
85 posts, read 79,313 times
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I'm not sure where to put this so my excuses if it is not in the correct forum. DH and I recently paid off our mortgage and I will be retiring effective April, 2017, DH is already retired.


We live in S. FL and pay about $4000/year in Homeowner's Insurance but, in speaking to our accountant yesterday, I was surprised to hear her suggest we not bother renewing it because it is only necessary when you have a mortgage. She is also of the mindset that S.FL insurance companies tend to fight every claim tooth and nail and drop you when you make a claim and she does have a point there. She felt it was better to keep the money and do necessary repairs as needed.


To be honest, S FL has a huge problem with homeowners insurance where, when you put in a claim they tend to drop you and you end up having to go into the government pool.


I don't feel at all comfortable going without any homeowner's insurance, particularly liability in the event anyone has a mishap at our home. Additionally I worry about big stuff, like fire, hurricanes (although we haven't had a big one since Andrew) as well as other things that could go wrong.


What is the minimum insurance you would put on a paid off home? The home was built in 1999 and is in excellent shape with new kitchen and upgraded bathrooms.


I certainly don't agree with my accountant about dropping the insurance altogether but I also don't want to pay $4000/year or more, depending on what the company decides to charge (they change every year usually up).


Thanks for any advice you can provide on this topic.
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Old 02-09-2017, 10:57 AM
 
7,898 posts, read 7,081,537 times
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Find a new accountant.
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:24 AM
 
Location: The Triad
34,090 posts, read 82,583,206 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmbf57 View Post
DH and I recently paid off our mortgage and I will be retiring effective April, 2017, DH is already retired.
We live in S. FL (home of gentle breezes, soft rain and solid ground)
and pay about $4000/year in Homeowner's Insurance...
That sounds like a lot. Even in Florida.
Shop the current coverages/deductions etc

Quote:
...speaking to our accountant yesterday, I was surprised to hear her suggest
we not bother renewing it because it is only necessary when you have a mortgage.

She felt it was better to keep the money and do necessary repairs as needed.
Do you have the sort of wealth required to "self insure"?

For the 1% the accountant might be correct.
For the rest of us... I'd say she's an idiot.
(shop for a new accountant while shopping for a new HI insurance agent)

Quote:
What is the minimum insurance you would put on a paid off home?
The home was built in 1999 and is in excellent shape with new kitchen and upgraded bathrooms.
Replacement Value. with a high deductible
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:26 AM
 
85 posts, read 79,313 times
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LOL thank you for your replies, she's actually a very good accountant but I questioned her reasoning since we are definitely not part of the 1%. I will be calling around to find better rates and keep us insured. Thanks again.
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:38 AM
 
807 posts, read 1,169,727 times
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I couldn't sleep at night without it.
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:42 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,210 posts, read 80,386,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jrkliny View Post
Find a new accountant.
I agree. If it burns down or a hurricane takes it, you have no place to live, and just an empty lot to sell, less the cost of removing the remains.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational View Post
That sounds like a lot. Even in Florida.
Shop the current coverages/deductions etc


Do you have the sort of wealth required to "self insure"?

For the 1% the accountant might be correct.
For the rest of us... I'd say she's an idiot.
(shop for a new accountant while shopping for a new HI insurance agent)



Replacement Value. with a high deductible
That does seem a lot. In our expensive area, we pay about half that for a 3,000 sf house and it includes earthquake insurance. If you have an HOA, they may require it. See what the construction cost is there per square foot ($200 here now) and multiply times the square footage of your house. If you have that much sitting in the bank, then you could probably manage without insurance. It might be more cost effective though, to shop for a lower rate, or spend some $ on upgrades to lower the rate by lowering the
chances of hurricane damage.
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:42 AM
 
Location: Northern panhandle WV
3,007 posts, read 3,114,594 times
Reputation: 6796
My house is only worth about 40K but all the insurance companies I have talked to insist it be insured for $450.000 which they say is the replacement cost. So if you want to keep it insured you may find you have no choice to lower the amount they will cover you at.
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Western PA
3,733 posts, read 5,939,972 times
Reputation: 3189
Was that figure right, or did you add an extra zero by mistake?! $4,000 for homeowner's insurance? That's outrageous! I knew it was more expensive in Florida because of the hurricanes, but that seems unbelievable to me.

I don't think anyone should be without homeowner's insurance, even for a newer house. Are there any alternatives to paying this outlandish amount? Do you have options on what to cover? Mine is $400/year, but we don't get extreme weather where the house could be destroyed.
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Old 02-09-2017, 12:42 PM
 
Location: equator
11,011 posts, read 6,554,135 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Geeo View Post
Was that figure right, or did you add an extra zero by mistake?! $4,000 for homeowner's insurance? That's outrageous! I knew it was more expensive in Florida because of the hurricanes, but that seems unbelievable to me.

I don't think anyone should be without homeowner's insurance, even for a newer house. Are there any alternatives to paying this outlandish amount? Do you have options on what to cover? Mine is $400/year, but we don't get extreme weather where the house could be destroyed.

You are very lucky! Ours is $1,000 a year for a worthless (according to the realtors) mobile home on 5 rural acres. No mortgage. What could possibly go wrong? No common natural disasters except fire, flood and house-size boulders crashing down....


We have it mainly for liability, which can be YUUUUGE if misfortune strikes.
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Old 02-09-2017, 12:42 PM
 
1,766 posts, read 1,181,556 times
Reputation: 4025
Try going for a higher deductible when you get quotes and don't make claims for small "disasters". Should save some money and insure you against a total loss.
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