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Been paying homeowners insurance for about 40 years with never a claim.
SuperStorm Sandy hit (two 90 ft oaks on my roof and through it, damaging ceiling, windows and dormers in upstairs bedrooms, plus lots of other damage); got everything I paid in premiums over the years and then some. Not quite enough to cover all the damage, but without insurance I'd be up the proverbial creek.
Insurance is risk management. If you're willing to take the risk and/or can afford it, then "self-insure"; if not, buy insurance. Simple.
Insurance is risk management. If you're willing to take the risk and/or can afford it, then "self-insure"; if not, buy insurance. Simple.
Agree whole-heartedly. I am now very low income, with nothing to be taken from me. BUT, I have a lot of insurance - renters insurance (Geico), liability-only car insurance (Geico) - (the car is only worth maybe $500 so not worth collision insurance to me, but will cover someone elses car if I hit it and medical, etc.), pet insurance (Healthy Paws), and roadside assistance insurance (AAA Plus).
Other than the liability-only car insurance, I pay a higher premium for the other types of insurance, so that I have low deductibles, and better coverage - because I don't have much in the way of a savings account.
So, for me, it's peace of mind knowing that if I got the Old Faithful problem from an upstairs tenant, my renters insurance will put me up in a hotel, and would pay to replace my meager belongings. If my dog gets hit by a car, my deductible is only $100 per year, and my coverage is 90% - I only have to come up with 10%. With my AAA Plus roadside insurance, I can get towed 100 miles for free to my mechanic, if the car breaks down when I go visit my friends and family in the Bay Area.
Even though I'm low income, I spend a fairly large chunk per month on insurance. I think of it as a savings account, specifically for these types of problems. But, it's also a savings account that can't be taken away from me if I get sued lol!
At any rate, it's a matter of gambling against future events, whether you decide not to insure, or under-insure, or insure to the max. I'm not a gambler at all, so perhaps that's why my budgets have always included insurance. Honestly, I've rarely needed it. But, when I have needed it, I was sooooo happy I had it.
Been paying homeowners insurance for about 40 years with never a claim.
SuperStorm Sandy hit (two 90 ft oaks on my roof and through it, damaging ceiling, windows and dormers in upstairs bedrooms, plus lots of other damage); got everything I paid in premiums over the years and then some. Not quite enough to cover all the damage, but without insurance I'd be up the proverbial creek.
Insurance is risk management. If you're willing to take the risk and/or can afford it, then "self-insure"; if not, buy insurance. Simple.
What if you invested your annual premiums for 40 years into say the stock market? My guess is that you would have made out better than you did, but that way, you are risking your house and the randomness of the market.
Op, assuming no mortgage, you can insure for any amount you want. You can have multiple exclusions... I think you will find it worthwhile to get homeowners. Google best homeowners claims and pick one high on whatever lists you find.
Why have an insurance on a home you don't have a mortgage on? In case of an ice storm and a 70 year old maple tree falls and smashes half of your house and rips the power lines out as well. This happened to my parents. The insurance adjuster came out about a week after it happened. Why so long? The roads were closed and there wasn't power in the area for about a week due to that ice storm.
Insurance company paid for:
Rebuilding of the half of the house that was damaged
New roof for entire house
New siding for entire house
Heavy duty power tools - including chainsaws and wood chippers
Tree removal services - that alone cost over $2000
Lose of everything in the fridge and freezers
Replacing the electric lines to the house - that was over $5000
Paid for hotel and meals for a certain period of time
Replaced furniture and appliances
Without insurance, my parents would have lost the house they've owned for 33 years. It's been paid off for years. My dad didn't want the expensive of insurance and now he's glad mom forced him to keep it. That policy has paid for it's self repeatedly.
The chances of being sued for 200,00 are negligible. Insurance is not a non profit business looking to help the people, they make a killing taking money that they do not pay back. There is a reason insurance companies are always among the most profitable businesses in the world
People are sued every day in this country! The dollar amount doesn't really matter. I know several people in my family who've been sued and their insurance helped fit the case. But hey if you have thousands of dollars you don't mind giving away, by all means let me send you my address!
When I was a young man I got into a minor car accident and was sued for a lot of money (nuisance claim). I hired a lawyer who asked me several questions:
"Do you have any saving? - No
Do you own any property? - No
Do you make a lot of money? - No
Then you have nothing to worry about. If you have nothing they can't get anything."
So if you have nothing, then skip the insurance, But if you have something that you want to keep then you need insurance.
This is very true. If the OP has purchased a house, he/she has something that can be taken in a lawsuit. Happens all too frequently unfortunately. My $656 policy let's me sleep at night knowing I won't be losing my home because some loser wants something without working for it or because Mother Nature forgot to take HRT meds again.
I asked my grandfather who was a Farmers agent why doesn't everyone have insurance and his answer was only people that have something to lose buy insurance... of course I was 5 at the time.
Many people drive cars without insurance, tags or even a driver's license.... I know because one hit me in a parking lot and there was nothing I could do about it... police would not respond since it was on private property and no injury... DMV would do nothing because they said the most they can do is take away a person's license.
I was out because my $1500 car only had liability...
The chances of being sued for 200,00 are negligible. Insurance is not a non profit business looking to help the people, they make a killing taking money that they do not pay back. There is a reason insurance companies are always among the most profitable businesses in the world
Insurance companies primarly make their profit by investing the premiums in stocks and bonds--they may only break even or even lose money in a year after balancing premiums collected versus claims paid, especially in a tough hurricane year.
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