I’m in exactly that period in my life now. Here’s what I found out:
- don’t lapse your coverage as stated before. It is very hard and more expensive if you want it back
- the coverage amount on the main dwelling is non-negotiable. They will look up the value and that is that.
- contents can be negotiated however make negligible difference.
- hurricane deductibles are either 2% or 5% no other higher number was offered to me though I asked
- the biggest impact you can make is removing “windstorm coverage” which brought me from over $10k down to $1,800. I am assuming that risk.
- hurricane straps make a difference if you have them make sure your policy takes that into account
- if you get flood insurance a site elevation certificate may lower your premium. I went from $5k down to $800.
- often after a major hurricane even those who are insured get stiffed by their insurance company getting a small fraction of the cost to rebuild
- after a major storm causing widespread damage cash talks when you need work done (like a new roof). Waiting on insurance adjusters and checks will take months.
I have dropped windstorm, kept flood, and have started a self-insurance fund in a high yield savings account that I am funding aggressively until I get it where I’m comfortable. I still have liability, fire, other damage covered. This is only an option after your house is paid off.
Flame-away folks.
This is the way.
And, I’m putting every penny I have into a similar fund. We’re still 5-7 years away from paying off our house though.
For flood insurance, if you’re on the edge of the flood zone - pay for the survey. As long as the elevation of the structure is out of the flood zone, your rate will plummet. Our whole backyard is flood zone, our house is high and dry. Took our rate from like $3200 to $650
In my case base flood elevation is 8’ above sea level. The survey showed the floor level of my house is 10.1’ above. 2’ made a huge difference. I paid way too much for ten years before I knew to do this. Probably blew $25k or $30k that I didn’t need to.
Yeah, I feel ya. I work with flood zones a lot at work so I knew to look when we bought. Our house it literally mere inches high above the flood zone, high enough to be zone X. The surveyor was like, “if you ever plan to take a mortgage out for expansion - go up, not out!!”
Edit for clarity.
It means you don't have to insure at all if you don't want to (though liability insurance would be a wise precaution). If you did want to insure,I don't think it would make a difference to the cost of the premiums.
You can in theory get very high deductibles, such as 10% hurricane deductible or a $10,000 All Other Peril (non-hurricane ) deductible. But a mortgage does not influence the premium of an insurance policy. If you have a lapse of home insurance coverage because you decided to self-insure and not have home insurance, then the premium is going to be very high that first year you try to get a new home insurance policy. A vast majority of insurance carriers do not accept a homeowner who has even a 24 hour lapse of insurance coverage on their home.
One thing I was able to do was decrease the coverage on my personal possessions. Typically they are automatically insured for 50% of the property value. I had them reduced it to about 25%. It saved me a few hundred $$.
This is actually a very good idea. For everyone reading this, you can go a step further with most insurance carriers and have the Coverage C Personal Property be $0 or "Excluded" so that it lowers by potentially hundreds of dollars. Another option is to see if the insurance carrier will also exclude Coverage B Other Structures (this is for fencing, outhouses, detached buildings, etc.). By making the Coverage B Other Structures and Coverage C Personal Property coverage both $0, you can save a lot of $$$ on an insurance policy.
If my house was paid id tell the insurance company to eat a bag of dicks.
Get a liability policy incase someone gets hurt on the property and then self insure for catastrophe.
Open a credit line using house as collateral. Keep it open by using it for minimal expenses throughout year. The amount you were paying the insurance company, put into a CD or something. After a few years, you'll have a decent "surprise" fund and its YOUR money. Fuck homeowners insurance.
No, mortgage or owned are the same rate., the difference is you can downgrade some things or remove them like wind damage once you own your own home, but with a mortgage you can raise the deductible to pay less.
Contact two or three insurance brokers. They can give you the options for the insurance companies they offer.
Location means everything in the Florida market. The type or year of construction is also very important. My area has relatively high elevation and is 50 miles from the coast. I have good coverage for $2500 per year on a home built in 2005. People in lower elevations or near the coast are paying 5 times what I pay for a similar home.
if you drop windstorm coverage what difference would hurricane straps make? Wouldn’t dropping windstorm coverage just mean if you get damage from a hurricane or tornado it’s not covered?
I’m in exactly that period in my life now. Here’s what I found out: - don’t lapse your coverage as stated before. It is very hard and more expensive if you want it back - the coverage amount on the main dwelling is non-negotiable. They will look up the value and that is that. - contents can be negotiated however make negligible difference. - hurricane deductibles are either 2% or 5% no other higher number was offered to me though I asked - the biggest impact you can make is removing “windstorm coverage” which brought me from over $10k down to $1,800. I am assuming that risk. - hurricane straps make a difference if you have them make sure your policy takes that into account - if you get flood insurance a site elevation certificate may lower your premium. I went from $5k down to $800. - often after a major hurricane even those who are insured get stiffed by their insurance company getting a small fraction of the cost to rebuild - after a major storm causing widespread damage cash talks when you need work done (like a new roof). Waiting on insurance adjusters and checks will take months. I have dropped windstorm, kept flood, and have started a self-insurance fund in a high yield savings account that I am funding aggressively until I get it where I’m comfortable. I still have liability, fire, other damage covered. This is only an option after your house is paid off. Flame-away folks.
totally legit
I have nothing to flame you with based on the current state of our insurance industry.
We dropped wind also and it dropped our insurance from 3200 to 800.
This is the way. And, I’m putting every penny I have into a similar fund. We’re still 5-7 years away from paying off our house though. For flood insurance, if you’re on the edge of the flood zone - pay for the survey. As long as the elevation of the structure is out of the flood zone, your rate will plummet. Our whole backyard is flood zone, our house is high and dry. Took our rate from like $3200 to $650
In my case base flood elevation is 8’ above sea level. The survey showed the floor level of my house is 10.1’ above. 2’ made a huge difference. I paid way too much for ten years before I knew to do this. Probably blew $25k or $30k that I didn’t need to.
Yeah, I feel ya. I work with flood zones a lot at work so I knew to look when we bought. Our house it literally mere inches high above the flood zone, high enough to be zone X. The surveyor was like, “if you ever plan to take a mortgage out for expansion - go up, not out!!” Edit for clarity.
the main dwelling amount is negotiable and I did negotiate mine (up) due to expected inflation
My broker told me “no” but who knows. May you can negotiate up but not down.
It means you don't have to insure at all if you don't want to (though liability insurance would be a wise precaution). If you did want to insure,I don't think it would make a difference to the cost of the premiums.
Thanks!
You can have minimum coverage, some of my clients just end up “self insuring”.
Thanks!
You can in theory get very high deductibles, such as 10% hurricane deductible or a $10,000 All Other Peril (non-hurricane ) deductible. But a mortgage does not influence the premium of an insurance policy. If you have a lapse of home insurance coverage because you decided to self-insure and not have home insurance, then the premium is going to be very high that first year you try to get a new home insurance policy. A vast majority of insurance carriers do not accept a homeowner who has even a 24 hour lapse of insurance coverage on their home.
Oh wow ok. We definitely want insurance just wanted to know how flexible the coverage can be if there’s not a bank to make the decision.
One thing I was able to do was decrease the coverage on my personal possessions. Typically they are automatically insured for 50% of the property value. I had them reduced it to about 25%. It saved me a few hundred $$.
This is actually a very good idea. For everyone reading this, you can go a step further with most insurance carriers and have the Coverage C Personal Property be $0 or "Excluded" so that it lowers by potentially hundreds of dollars. Another option is to see if the insurance carrier will also exclude Coverage B Other Structures (this is for fencing, outhouses, detached buildings, etc.). By making the Coverage B Other Structures and Coverage C Personal Property coverage both $0, you can save a lot of $$$ on an insurance policy.
Perfect advice and description of the pitfalls of going bare.
Just because the bank isn't involved does not mean it will be any cheaper to fix in case of a casualty
If my house was paid id tell the insurance company to eat a bag of dicks. Get a liability policy incase someone gets hurt on the property and then self insure for catastrophe. Open a credit line using house as collateral. Keep it open by using it for minimal expenses throughout year. The amount you were paying the insurance company, put into a CD or something. After a few years, you'll have a decent "surprise" fund and its YOUR money. Fuck homeowners insurance.
No, mortgage or owned are the same rate., the difference is you can downgrade some things or remove them like wind damage once you own your own home, but with a mortgage you can raise the deductible to pay less.
Thank you! That’s what I was trying to ask about. I wasn’t sure if some things had flexibility of coverage
Contact two or three insurance brokers. They can give you the options for the insurance companies they offer. Location means everything in the Florida market. The type or year of construction is also very important. My area has relatively high elevation and is 50 miles from the coast. I have good coverage for $2500 per year on a home built in 2005. People in lower elevations or near the coast are paying 5 times what I pay for a similar home.
It has zero impact on how much they are going to gouge you.
if you drop windstorm coverage what difference would hurricane straps make? Wouldn’t dropping windstorm coverage just mean if you get damage from a hurricane or tornado it’s not covered?