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Old 09-12-2008, 03:53 PM
 
184 posts, read 1,004,424 times
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We are getting a new home owners insurance policy and got a very good quote, much lower than the others we received. However this quote has hail damage deductible at 1% of value of house, which would be >$5K for us..

We are new to Austin and wondering if residents here consider hail damage a serious concern? Is it worth paying higher insurance premium (say 30% more) that gives hail damage protection at a fixed/lower deductible (say $2K)?
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Old 09-12-2008, 04:00 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,232 posts, read 35,410,327 times
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$5000 deductible for hail?!?! I think I had mine at $250 at my last house, $500 at the current. There are two basic deductibles, and the one that covers hail you will want to be lower. Essentially (depending on your house), you are not covered for hail damage. If you have a very expensive roof, maybe that deductible makes sense, but not to me. The real question is how much is the 30%? You have a good chance of needing a new roof due to hail before the roof life is exceeded, so as an assumpition, assume that your roof is worth $5000 over 15 years, or about $335/year (adjust based on the value of your roof). Then look at the difference in deductible - you would save $3000 with the lower deductible, or about $200/yr. Is the premium increase around $200? Then you are about break even - assuming you don't get hail damage every 8 or 10 years, then the difference will be more like $300 or $400 a year.
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Old 09-12-2008, 09:01 PM
 
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What about for car insurance. Its it better to have a lower or higher deductible? Do cars tend to get hail damage?
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Old 09-12-2008, 10:21 PM
 
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That's pretty high. I think ours is like $500 for hail damage. And, yes, it's worth it. I have had to replace a roof twice in 15 years because of hail.

As far as cars go, i have never had hail damage to my car. It seems to always be in the garage when hail is a threat. If the weather is that bad, i don't drive in it. I did get caught at the mall once during a hail storm, but I didn't have any damage to the car.

With that said, we raised our car insurnace deductable from $500 to $1000 a few years ago. Since that time, we have saved way more money on premiums than the additional $500 we would have to pay for a claim. So even if we wreck a car tomorrow, we would still come out ahead.
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Old 09-13-2008, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Round Rock, TX
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I don't know about supposed to or the cheapest way to do it... we had roof damage from the winds in the storms this may/june and we had severe roof damage leading us to have the roof replaced. Our deductible for hail was simply our normal deductible which was 1%. I'm unaware of separate deductibles for hail damage on a house.
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Old 09-13-2008, 08:44 AM
 
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We have separate deductibles. Windstorm/hail is $500 and everything else is 1%. It used to be the other way around until I read some advice here from Trainwreck. It makes sense to have windstorm/hail as the lower deductible if at all possible (it wasn't possible when I lived on the Gulf Coast).
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Old 09-13-2008, 11:50 AM
 
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Thanks for the feedback, specially Trainwreck.

With all other coverages being equal, the annual home insurance premium with 1% hail damage deductible is $900. The other quote with $2000 ded. is $1330. One with $1000 ded. is $1700.

So if we go with the high deductible (1% = $5K) policy and the roof is damaged once within the first 5 years, we would have effectively paid $1K additional premium per year.

With the lowest deductible, we would pay (1700-900=)$800 additional premium per year plus the $1000 deductible. So if we get hail damaged once in first five years, we end up paying $1K additional per year.

Assuming a once in five year chance of hail damage, both the above options are equal for out-of-pocket expenses.

If there is no hail-damage in the first 5 years, we would save about $4.5K with policy with 1% deductible...
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Old 04-14-2009, 01:35 PM
JCZ
 
1 posts, read 5,463 times
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Default Roof Hail Damage Deductible

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
$5000 deductible for hail?!?! I think I had mine at $250 at my last house, $500 at the current. There are two basic deductibles, and the one that covers hail you will want to be lower. Essentially (depending on your house), you are not covered for hail damage. If you have a very expensive roof, maybe that deductible makes sense, but not to me. The real question is how much is the 30%? You have a good chance of needing a new roof due to hail before the roof life is exceeded, so as an assumpition, assume that your roof is worth $5000 over 15 years, or about $335/year (adjust based on the value of your roof). Then look at the difference in deductible - you would save $3000 with the lower deductible, or about $200/yr. Is the premium increase around $200? Then you are about break even - assuming you don't get hail damage every 8 or 10 years, then the difference will be more like $300 or $400 a year.
My homeowners insurance told me there is no option other than a 1% deductible for hail damage. What insurance company offers options?
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Old 04-14-2009, 04:04 PM
 
10,130 posts, read 19,782,236 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JCZ View Post
My homeowners insurance told me there is no option other than a 1% deductible for hail damage. What insurance company offers options?
My insurance company (USAA) offers $1000 or 1% on hail damage. They did mention, however, that they may stop offering the $1K option soon. It's really crummy, homeowner's insurance premiums went up over the past few years -- and at the same time, coverage went down (water damage, mold, etc all typically not covered now), and the lower deductibles for things like hail and wind are being eliminated.
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Old 04-15-2009, 09:07 PM
 
Location: West Round Rock
433 posts, read 1,651,329 times
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This thread made me review my current policy and I noticed I'm paying somewhat more than most here.

I have the Fireman's Fund Prestige Home Premier policy, which include things like the items below. Do your policies include these? Just trying to determine if I'm overpaying:

Home - Full Cost Replacement Coverage
Pays for a home of a like kind and quality at its current price to replace with no deduction for depreciation -- even when costs exceed coverage amount.

Personal Property - Replacement Cost
Coverage Pays for contents of a home at the current price to replace with no deduction for depreciation. (cash settlement available)

Other Structures - Replacement Cost
Coverage Replaces structures, such as unattached garage or fences.

Increased Costs Required by Code Changes
Guards against any cost increases for repairs or construction as a result of changes in building, zoning or land use codes.

$50,000 Loss Assessment Coverage
Pays when homeowners association assesses all unit owners for a common loss.

$25,000 Identity Fraud Expenses

Deductible Waiver
Waives deductibles of $10,000 or less when losses exceed $50,000.
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