Texas Home Owners' Insurance Rates - Wow! (Dallas, Tyler: 2015, HOA fees)

[CatTX]

Our rates went up again, we are now at $1300 per year for a 1600 sq foot, 35 year old house. I checked other insurance co's rates and we are actually paying on the low side. We are not in an area prone to tornadoes or major inclement weather, the only issue here is black mold and insurance doesn't even cover that. So why are the rates so darn high? Relatives and friends in other parts of the country are only paying $45 - $50 per month.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by CatTX

Our rates went up again, we are now at $1300 per year for a 1600 sq foot, 35 year old house. I checked other insurance co's rates and we are actually paying on the low side. We are not in an area prone to tornadoes or major inclement weather, the only issue here is black mold and insurance doesn't even cover that. So why are the rates so darn high? Relatives and friends in other parts of the country are only paying $45 - $50 per month.

I learned, only 5 or 6 years ago, as a senior citizen, no less, late in life, that the rate for you home owners insurance is not determined by just your local area losses or claims, or your specific claims, as IS the case in car insurance.

Texas had a number of grass/forest fires, hundreds of miles from my area, and MY insurance rate increased as much as 25%. So that is when I "checked" with the insurance companies, and what I just shared is what they told me.

Also, we live in Northeast Texas, when there were "huge" hail losses in North Central Texas, DFW, our rates when up another 20%, in one year. So this may explain why your particular rate is so high.

Probably others will respond with differing opinions or ideas, but that is what I was told by more than one insurance agent.

[War Beagle]

Hail damage in TX has become a major insurance issue in TX. Hail is common in much of the state. What has changed are public adjusters, contractors and attorneys who have started chasing hail storms to get new roofs when they aren't needed.

[Sollaces]

Fort Bend County rates have increased every single year. This is a county with flooding and hail. 2016 was especially bad for flooding. Our Farmers insurance agent said his company is getting out of Fort Bend -- They're losing money.

[CatTX]

Thanks for the comments, Mark, War Beagle and Sollaces.
Wow, so we pay extra because there was a fire or a flooding a days drive away? Nice. It's not just the insurance rates either, property taxes are also outrageous unless you can finagle an ag exemption.

[Sollaces]

You can protest your property taxes and should. The problem with homeowners insurance is if assessments go up, taxes, property values, of course property insurance goes up. To cap all that off you have HOA fees going up and your water district (MUD).


Harris County assessment rates have gone up 10% each year.

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by Sollaces

Harris County assessment rates have gone up 10% each year.

This is not accurate. I do Property Tax Arbitration and had many Harris County hearings for the 2016 tax season, with still several to go since there were so many filings this year, and many of the 2016 values were the same as the 2015 values. Doesn't stop people from fighting the value, but I'm saying that most of my hearings showed the same value rolled over from 2015, not an increase.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by CatTX

Thanks for the comments, Mark, War Beagle and Sollaces.
Wow, so we pay extra because there was a fire or a flooding a days drive away? Nice. It's not just the insurance rates either, property taxes are also outrageous unless you can finagle an ag exemption.

Oh, just for the heck of it, actually it could help you, I have GEICO Homeowners, and for ME, don't know what they are for everyone else, the REST are about 100% more, one agent asked to see my quote, just to be sure he was comparing apples to apples, and he really could not believe the rate, soooo....

[CatTX]

Sollaces, we protested a couple times, but last year several houses sold on our street and the new assessments are way higher than the ones for the previous owners who had lived there for decades.

Mark, thanks for the tip, when we first moved here I was told geico only does auto insurance in TX. I will definitely check with them if they do home now. Edited to add, I just did their online online estimate and they quoted $1640 per year, so $300 more than Allstate. Darn.

[KathrynAragon]

Insurance is too individualized and tailored to make broad statements about it. For instance, we have a 2500 square foot home with some nice furnishings but not special riders, and we have good credit (I think that plays a part in many insurance prices), and our yearly premium is about $1200. And we live in a "high wind risk" area (on the west side of Tyler going toward Dallas - we've had lots of wind events and tornadoes and hail over the recent years very close to us - in fact, many houses in our neighborhood have 6 year old roofs because a tornado came through and damaged a lot of roofs 6 years ago).

So without knowing the particular history of your area, whether or not you have riders, the actual value of your home, credit score, etc. it's hard to say whether or not your premium is reasonable.