#Homeowners #insurance.

[angledge]

OK, what do I need in a homeowner's insurance policy?

What companies are good? What companies are bad?

What discounts should I look for (other than combining home & auto - that one I know)?

Other tips, stories, suggestions, advice welcome!!

Comments

[love2loveher.livejournal.com]

So, you can usually go cheap, or go... consistent. I just know that I went cheap when I was buying my house, but the company nearly tripled the rates within three years. It was ridiculous.
So I switched to State Farm, who is slightly more expensive, but there is a human in my neighborhood that I occasionally can go sit with, and they don't constantly increase their rates - therefore my monthly payment stays as originally budgeted.

[angledge.livejournal.com]

Did you pick any special coverages? Why State Farm over other companies?

[love2loveher.livejournal.com]

OH OH OH. I went on Nextdoor, and asked my neighbors! That's how I settled on Statefarm.

I can't remember what special coverage I got. A little more than "Minimum necessary" but I know a little about hydraulics, and didn't go for flood insurance. You might think about an earthquake rider?

[angledge.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll be skipping the flood insurance too (Hooray for Zone X!) (And if it didn't flood last Friday, it will never flood!).

Earthquake rider... well, it's a bad one to be wrong on, I guess. On the other, more macabre hand, any earthquake activity here seems likely to be paired with volcanic activity, & if the Yellowstone supervolcano lets go, I suspect insurance will be a very dim concern indeed. :-D

[krick.livejournal.com]

Make sure you don't over-insure. If you pay $350K for a house you don't need to insure it for $350K. Remember that when you buy a house, you're paying for the house *and* the land it's sitting on. If your house burns to the ground, the land still has its original value. So when you buy homeowner's insurance, you only need to insure for the replacement value of the house itself.

As for the "best" company, it really varies depending on where you live. Try asking on the city-data.com forum http://www.city-data.com/forum/denver/

It's not always cheaper to combine home + auto. There's no such thing as a free lunch and they're going to get their money somehow. Also, it makes it more of a hassle if they start screwing you over and you want to move to a new company. I think it's better to shop around and get the best deal for home and auto separately. In my area, Nationwide is one of the better companies for home and Geico is pretty hard to beat for auto.