Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Home insurance, like everything involved in buying a house, is coming to more money than I had anticipated. What do you think of this home insurance quote for a house in Floral Park.
TRAVELERS $1,595 annually (w/ Central Station Alarm); $1000 deductible
$400,000 replacement cost
$500,000 personal liability
$245,000 personal property
etc.
That's about 50% higher than people were telling me it would be. What do you think? Is this just the reality of the times or is a much lower rate out there?
Also, this does NOT include flood insurance which is an additional $400 a year. Is that something worth adding?
I don't know that area but if your bank isn't requiring you to get flood insurance, that probably means you are nowhere near a flood-risk zone. So it's your call. If you were in a coastal area I would say definitely get flood insurance. Also keep in mind that a standard flood insurance policy only covers up to 250K.
As for the rate quote you got for the amount of coverage, it sounds very reasonable IMHO. The house we sold earlier this year was insured for approximately double your amount, and the premium was over $4000/yr (and that was with a $5000 deductible). So your rate sounds very reasonable.
My insurance went up since we purchased our home 5 yrs ago. Went from 1000 to 1400+. That could be why others quoted you less. I didn't even realize it went up until recently, since it gets paid through our mortgage.
So the rate you were quoted sounds about right. Try State Farm on Jericho in NHP for a quote. I personally would NOT add flood insurance in the area you speak of. You aren't near a flood zone risk and regular basement seepage from rain, etc I don't believe would be covered (don't quote me on this but I am pretty sure).
Definitely check with State Farm - I was quoted a similar amount to that for a $500 deductible. Raising it to a $1000 deductible and I'm at around $1200.
State Farm also gives you a 20% coverage bonus, so if your bank requires you to cover $400K for the replacement value, you just need to get coverage for around $335K which will bump up to $400K with the 20% bonus. I don't remember if there was anything special I had to do to get that 20%, but I have a pretty straight forward plan, no flood, and central monitoring enabled.
Unfortunately, they couldn't match what Allstate was charging me for my auto policy, so even with multi-plan discount, I was better off keeping my auto with Allstate.
As for flood coverage - maybe check the FEMA flood maps to see if your area is close enough to flood zones to worry about it.
Depending on the insurance company, there are a bunch of potential discounts you can get, such as:
An insurance-to-value discount
An affiliated-company discount (depending on who you work for, where you went to college, etc)
An inflation protection discount
A new or recently-renovated home credit (this can be substantial, we got 15% off our last house's policy because we replaced the siding, roof, windows, kitchen and baths)
Monitored alarm system discount
Discount for smoke detectors and/or carbon monoxide detectors
Discount for deadbolt locks and/or fire extinguishers
Multiple policy discount if you also have your car insurance with them
And of course taking the highest possible deductible option helps considerably also.
Definitely check with State Farm - I was quoted a similar amount to that for a $500 deductible. Raising it to a $1000 deductible and I'm at around $1200.
State Farm also gives you a 20% coverage bonus, so if your bank requires you to cover $400K for the replacement value, you just need to get coverage for around $335K which will bump up to $400K with the 20% bonus. I don't remember if there was anything special I had to do to get that 20%, but I have a pretty straight forward plan, no flood, and central monitoring enabled.
Unfortunately, they couldn't match what Allstate was charging me for my auto policy, so even with multi-plan discount, I was better off keeping my auto with Allstate.
As for flood coverage - maybe check the FEMA flood maps to see if your area is close enough to flood zones to worry about it.
As of Jan 08...State Farm was not writing new policies in Suffolk. They still renew their current customers, but unless they have changed their minds, they will not write anyone new.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
