Reasonable estimate for Homeowners Insurance?

[Anonymous]

$1.3 million dollar house, about 4800 sq ft. Wood roof, lots of upgrades, 4 fireplaces. Built in mid-1980s.

Rebuild costs as well as coverage for liability and property seem realistic and reasonable.

Quote is a bit above $200/month ($2450/year). Seems high to be given what we pay now, albeit for a VERY different house. Does that seem reasonable to you? What do you pay?

[Anonymous]

$3500 sq ft plus unfinished basement (1200 sq ft). We pay $950. We have high deductibles though.

[Anonymous]

Much smaller $850k house in N Arlington (4bed cape cod). We pay $50/month.

[Anonymous]

Our house is similar in price, thought built about 10 years ago so it has a sprinkler system. Our insurance is similar, and that's with a high deductible.

Just call Geico and they'll farm it out to brokers to see if they can do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$1.3 million dollar house, about 4800 sq ft. Wood roof, lots of upgrades, 4 fireplaces. Built in mid-1980s.

Rebuild costs as well as coverage for liability and property seem realistic and reasonable.

Quote is a bit above $200/month ($2450/year). Seems high to be given what we pay now, albeit for a VERY different house. Does that seem reasonable to you? What do you pay?

Is this USAA? They tried to overcharge us on rebuild. They said it would cost 1.6 million on a house we bought for 1.4 million, all other companies said 700k. We switched.

[Anonymous]

We pay $1000 a year for a 6000 SF home built in 2011 in McLean. We have all our policies w/ erie (6 including cars) and the deductible is 1000.

[Anonymous]

There is really no good answer to this question. Premiums for homeowners insurance are based on a lot of factors that have nothing to do with what you pay for a house, including the insurance claims history of the house you are buying, the zip code, your own claims history, your credit score (unless you live in Maryland where insurers aren't allowed to use credit scores for homeowners insurance), etc.

The best way to get an estimate is to shop around. When shopping around make sure that you give all the same information to the insurance companies and that you are comparing apples to apples, i.e., if you get a quote for a policy with a $1,000 deductible from one insurance company make sure that the next quote is for the same deductible. Generally speaking, the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Ask for discounts for bundling your auto and umbrella policies.

Some people like to use an insurance broker to find them the best policy for the best price so consider doing that.

[Anonymous]

Also, not all policies are the same-- some give you true guaranteed replacement, some give you just the insured amount, and some are in-between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, not all policies are the same-- some give you true guaranteed replacement, some give you just the insured amount, and some are in-between.

14:06 here and the above is true. Policies differ with respect to coverages and exclusions, so it can be difficult to get a true apples to apples comparison. For example, coverage for losses caused by flooding are usually not covered under a homeowners policy. BUT, some insurers that cover higher-end homes have some coverage for flood.

Things to know when getting a quote:
Desired coverage limit for both the structure of your home and contents of your home
Desired liability coverage amount
How much of a deductible are you willing to pay?
If there is damage to your home will you get actual cash value (replacement cost minus depreciation) or replacement cost?
Any special items to insure, i.e., expensive jewelry, artwork, etc.
Do you have pets? Will you be covered if your pet bites someone? (Some companies will not cover you if you own certain breeds of dogs.)
Do you have a home security system? Usually qualifies for a discount.

Then ASK the company if they have any other discounts. You won't know unless you ask.