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I was in the bank a few minutes ago and there was a lady behind me saying to another lady about how she is recovering from a house fire , the other lady said "oh I'm sure your house insurance will kick in " then the lady who had the house fire says "oh we did not have house insurance we could not afford it and still live " , I cannot imagine living in a house without house insurance . Then I find out from my husband that his sister and her husband don't have house insurance either . I was floored . How do people sleep at night not having house insurance I know we would be sunk if something happened without insurance .
Unlike driving a car, you can legally own a home without homeowners insurance. Some people really cannot afford the insurance, but others - they don't care. When is gone, it's gone.
That will apply for a home you 100% own. If the bank still owns it, the lender will most likely require you to get homeowners insurance coverage.
Two types of people might qualify to go without coverage - the independently wealthy, with an asset so small to them that it wouldn't matter if they lost it, or someone who just can't afford insurance.
It depends upon how much home owners insurance is where you live. In some parts of the country, HOI is expensive because of frequent weather issues like hurricanes. All over the country, people who live in flood prone areas either chance the flooding or pay $$ for flood insurance. I think living in a rural area, several miles from town with only a volunteer FD and without a municipal water or at least a "dry hydrant" near by raises your HOI significantly. Having a large house with lots of square footage or fancy amenities raises the price. If you heat with wood or have an older roof or a house that's not in the greatest shape, you may not be able to get home owners insurance at all, at least not at what you would consider a "reasonable" price.
I live in a house on a hill in a city with municipal water and a paid fire department in an area that's not prone to either hurricanes or tornadoes, so my home owners insurance, including liability and including full replacement value on the house and its contents, is less than $700 a year. If I couldn't afford that (< $60/month), then I probably shouldn't be owning a house. OTOH, I have friends and relatives who live in the South Carolina Low Country and in Florida who easily pay several times what I pay for essentially "bare bones" HOI with very high deductibles.
A few years ago, we had a huge forest fire in the Black Forest area north of Colorado springs. Over 500 houses burned.
Unfortunately, quite a few were without insurance.
If you have been living in your house for a long time, and the mortgage is paid off and your income drops so that you are barely getting by and then you get a bill from your insurance company for $3000 per year (typical) you might decide that you can't afford it.
We have a mortgage, so we must have insurance, but really, we feel so burdened by all the insurance we pay that if we put the money under the mattress, we would have plenty for all but the hugest losses. As it is, we are required to cover a lot of stuff that we don't care about replacing.
My feeling is that, as usual, a good and helpful idea has been corrupted, and is now mostly a ripoff.
I live about 20 miles from the poorest town in Florida, and about a month ago a tornado hit the town and destroyed many of the houses. Many of the residents didn't have insurance because they claimed they couldn't afford it, and now some are upset because the government isn't offering enough assistance.
I was in the bank a few minutes ago and there was a lady behind me saying to another lady about how she is recovering from a house fire , the other lady said "oh I'm sure your house insurance will kick in " then the lady who had the house fire says "oh we did not have house insurance we could not afford it and still live " , I cannot imagine living in a house without house insurance . Then I find out from my husband that his sister and her husband don't have house insurance either . I was floored . How do people sleep at night not having house insurance I know we would be sunk if something happened without insurance .
It's a bit crazy not to have it. It's better to sell the home and downsize if you can't afford the insurance.
What a dumb idea. Even if you own your home 100% why would you not have coverage? My insurance costs me well less than 50 bucks a month.
But it doesn't coast everyone that low or they would keep it. I was looking at older homes in Florida and the lowest is $150 a month and that's with the highest deductibles. The principal on the home is about as much as the insurance.
It's a bit crazy not to have it. It's better to sell the home and downsize if you can't afford the insurance.
Some people financial situation suddenly changed like loss of job or prolonged sickness. Housing market is not so good right now, and paying the mortgage is often cheaper than renting an apartment. So, yes - some people decided to ditch the insurance, especially in areas where it cost an arm and a leg - and go without it, praying that nothing major happen to their house.
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