[pastor1189]

Years ago my neighbour was assigned an insurance agent for his property insurance.
It was a state run insurance carrier who also arrogated his coverage to another insurance carrier along with the insurance agent. He is not happy with the insurance agent they assigned him. The agent has never attempted any meaningful savings on his premium in the last five years. Is he obligated to keep this agent or
Can he search elsewhere?

[ebaines]

Of course he can shop around. You can get property insurance quotes from a lot of different carriers. The trick is to carefully compare quotes to make sure the comparisons are "apples for apples" - things like deductibles, liability coverage amount, replacement value versus market value, etc can vary between quotes. If he is currently paying his property insurance as part of his monthly mortgage payments, once he makes the change he will have to notify the mortgage company so that his insurance premiums go from his escrow account to the correct carrier.

[pastor1189]

Thank you. He pays his own insurance and taxes from his sinking funds.
For a number of years. He pays $3,200 for a small house comparable houses
Pay $2,000 annually

[joypulv]

I think all HO insurance is a scam and don't have any. For instance, I know that the metal plate on my ceiling around my woodstove flue is only 12" square instead of the required 24", and if I had a fire, my claim would be denied. They would find something else to deny too, I'm sure.
But I own my house outright.

He might have passed the requirement for needing it for his mortgage, if he's paying it himself?
The best savings on insurance is to get the highest deductible.

[ebaines]

I agree on the high deductible. In 35 years of home ownership I have made exactly zero claims, so my high deductible has been a wise choice. But I can't agree with you on skipping HO insurance entirely, especially for the liability insurance. And while you believe you may not be covered if your house burned due to a fire from your wood stove, what if it burned due to an electrical fault? If you're rich enough to self-insure for both property loss and liability coverage, great. That's what the company I work for does - they are rich enough to absorb any catastrophic losses that may occur at any of their plants, so they don't have property insurance.

[joypulv]

I have never found HO insurance that would separate the basic parts of the bundle.
For liability, a claimant would get my house and my small savings.
For property, I stay vigilant and knowledgeable about plumbing, wiring, and roof to foundation.
I have very little worth in contents.
If I lost it all, I would apply for senior housing and Medicaid and Food Stamps. Better yet, kick the bucket.
Works for me! Not for everyone.

I have heard too many sad stories about claims denied. Scam scam scam

[pastor1189]

Yes In Florida of your house is 30 years old, you must have a 4 point inspection done
Before they will not insure you. One senior on a fixed income opened a can of worms, because they found his plumbing did not meet their criterion. Cost him $8,000 in the upgrade.

[Fr_Chuck]

A person should, every year or two, shop around a bit.

One of the things I also consider is customer service and their claims records,

I did keep a high price insurance on my house, because they were always great at claims for me, and for everyone I knew in my area.

[Alty]

I've had two claims in my life. One for a break in/robbery, one for flooding in the basement. Never had a problem claiming.

Even with those two claims,I pay $700/year. But I live in Canada, and insurance is very different here.

Having said that, as a former insurance underwriter, I would never ever suggest that someone forgo home owners insurance. It covers more than just damage to your home. What if someone slips on your driveway and is severely injured? Unless you can afford to pay millions in damages to that person, out of pocket, it's not wise not to have home owners insurance.

Shop around, no reason not to. First I'd look at the policy that's already in place to see if you're paying for things you really don't need.

[Fr_Chuck]

I do agree, that you need and should have liability insurance if nothing else. Of course, if you have a loan, they require coverage.

You mentioned a "state run insurance carrier" is this policy though a state pool for high risk properties ? Most insurance companies are not "state ran"

[pastor1189]

Citizens Insurance it is called in Florida. Periodically they dispatch some of their
Customers to other carriers. They are not too cheap either. There are many restrictions on older homes because of the 4 point inspection. My friend has a little starter home 1,200 Sq.Ft and pays $3,200 a year. Hurricane Deductible 10%of 12,460. Sinkhole 2,460 Dwelling 124,600 Other Perils deductible 2,500 . He has a 10.5 interest mortgage, and owes $40,000 left on this mortgage

[joypulv]

10.5% mortgage?????? REFINANCE!!! He can afford to refi 40K at 4% for 30 years! (Doesn't matter how old he is!)

[pastor1189]

Financial adviser said first nobody wants to finance such a small amount.
Secondly the Refinancing fees wouldn't be worth the effort

[joypulv]

Did he check out an equity loan to pay it off?
The difference between 10.5 and 4.5 is 'only' 120/mo. But over say 10 years, that's 14,400.
I guess I would use the 3200 to pay down the mortgage faster, each year, and take the risk of being uninsured. But I don't know about FL insurance, except that there are so many different flood and hurricane zones that increase costs a lot.

[pastor1189]

Yes I will tell him. Maybe some kind of equity loan/ personal loan would be better.Depends on the finance charges and fees
He only pays $474.00 a month mortgage. Insurance and taxes are paid separately
Thanks for the help