Home Owner's Insurance - What do you pay? Trusted companies?

I'm looking to buy home owner's insurance for my house. It is in the New Center area of Detroit. I would say the value of the home is around $50-60K. I went onto the Liberty Mutual site, and put in a replacement cost of $40K, and it gave me a quote of $672/year or $56/month. I called and they said a replacement cost would be $130K+ [[the cost of rebuilding the house). And that quote was $90ish a month. I called my [[auto) insurance agent. She said that home owner's insurance for my house would be around $150/month. That is the quote that most brick-and-mortar places are saying.

I'm tempted to buy the cheap insurance through Liberty Mutual, but don't want to get screwed if anything were to happen because of such a low replacement cost. What do you guys think?

Anyways guys and gals, please post who you have insurance from and what you are paying monthly, annually or semiannually.

Thanks.

-Tahleel

Go for the cheap insurance, then add riders to the policy for specific concerns. Mainly cover yourself for paying off your note because face it, if you get burned out, you ain't re-building ...

I pay $365 a year with AAA for a home that value of $150,000. I do however have my cottage and car insured through them so I get a discount.

I pay $859 / year and I'm with Allstate [[madison hgts. along with full replacement cost)

I pay $778 per year.

City of Flint 48503
House is insured for $200,000
Garage for $20,000
Multi Policy discount for having my car insured through them.
Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company.

Not sure if they insure down in Detroit area though.

I pay 1200 a year for homeowners in oak park [[state farm). Insured for a ton about 169,000. Still feel I pay too much. But its the cheapest I find.

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Originally Posted by gnome

Go for the cheap insurance, then add riders to the policy for specific concerns. Mainly cover yourself for paying off your note because face it, if you get burned out, you ain't re-building ...

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I bought my house in cash, and did all the renovations in cash. There's no bank note. Any advice? I know if anything were to happen, insurance would rather pay a bank to avoid litigation instead of a person who would be easy to push around.

-Tahleel

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Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

I pay $365 a year with AAA for a home that value of $150,000. I do however have my cottage and car insured through them so I get a discount.

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Where is your home located? How did you come up with the value? Did you tell the company what work was done, and they calculated it? Is it 2x SEV? Or was it appraised? Or did you come up with this number?

I'll definitely give them a call Monday and see what they can do.

Thanks!

-Tahleel

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Originally Posted by Roq

I pay $859 / year and I'm with Allstate [[madison hgts. along with full replacement cost)

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I hear Allstate is very good as far as claims. I wish I could afford them though. I'll call them just for kicks and giggles though and see what they can do for me.

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Originally Posted by HoodKING

Remember to consider the claims handling policies of HO carriers often the cheap rates have lousy claim departments which nickle and dime you when you have a claim often you pay for what you don't get by way of cheap premiums...

Also remember to avoid trick of buying an alarm system to get a 5% discount when at end of day the alarm system costs more than discount savings on the HO quote.

I never want to insured the insurance company..I have never owned any alarm or car alarm systems that is why I have insurance!!!

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I honestly wouldn't mind an alarm system. I've been thinking of getting one anyways. Since I work midnights, my girlfriend would spend a lot of nights alone by herself. The Pitbull security system works great, but he can't call the fire dept for a fire or EMS for a medical emergency. :p

-Tahleel

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Originally Posted by gumby

I pay $778 per year.

City of Flint 48503
House is insured for $200,000
Garage for $20,000
Multi Policy discount for having my car insured through them.
Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company.

Not sure if they insure down in Detroit area though.

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That's not a bad price either. I will give them a call on Monday. How is their claims department? I'm kinda iffy about smaller companies not paying out if there was a claim.

-Tahleel

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Originally Posted by STEELWORKER

I pay 1200 a year for homeowners in oak park [[state farm). Insured for a ton about 169,000. Still feel I pay too much. But its the cheapest I find.

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Too rich for my blood. :D You'd think yours would be a lot cheaper since it's a house in the suburbs, notably in Oakland county.

-Tahleel

All insurance is a rip-off, Car and home. But it's a necessary evil.

Be real careful here- I had an absolute nightmare with a homer owners claim- I had a water line bust on my second floor of my Ferndale home which 16,000 gallons of water leaked while I was on vacation. It took two years of litigation and reconstruction to get my house back. The company was AAA, and they where the biggest bunch of rotten, thieving, bastards. I hired a private adjustor, and he literally saved my bacon, and we won in binding arbitration. He told me the three worse companies for claims were: AAA, Allstate and State Farm. He said Michigan based Citizens was great, as well as Fireman's Fund. I switched to Citizen's. Your better off having no insurance, than rotten insurance, because you won't get your money. Don't skimp here. Ironically Citizens was anyways cheaper. As for the AAA claims adjuster, if he were on fire, I would not piss on him to put him out. My brother had a car accident a few years later with AAA, and it also turned into a court deal, and they finally coughed up what they were legally bound to pay- but the court and lawyers made them do it. They are the worst company ever.

I would watch it with Allstate; they're a bunch of bastards. I had a home insured through them and when Hugo hit the east coast, my rates immediately doubled. The reasoning from the company was that Allstate had to spread out the cost of the disaster among all policy holders.

After that, I decided not to renew with them and I would find another insurer when my policy term expired with Allstate. When the term expired, Allstate automatically renewed my policy [[at the new rate) and hitting my account for the amount, too. I did not authorize either of these actions, yet I became in trouble with my C.U. because I was over drafted due to this amount and the amount I took out to take a policy out with a different insurer. No apologies, reimbursement but I did get a few chuckles thrown in for measure when I discussed this situation with the agent.

What Allstate doers is cut their rates so people will flock to them. Then, they bring up the rates quickly. When people dump them for other insurers, they cut prices again and the cycle continues. Not made up; that's inside info, peeps.

Screw'em and go with someone else.

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Originally Posted by Baselinepunk

I would watch it with Allstate; they're a bunch of bastards. I had a home insured through them and when Hugo hit the east coast, my rates immediately doubled. The reasoning from the company was that Allstate had to spread out the cost of the disaster among all policy holders.

After that, I decided not to renew with them and I would find another insurer when my policy term expired with Allstate. When the term expired, Allstate automatically renewed my policy [[at the new rate) and hitting my account for the amount, too. I did not authorize either of these actions, yet I became in trouble with my C.U. because I was over drafted due to this amount and the amount I took out to take a policy out with a different insurer. No apologies, reimbursement but I did get a few chuckles thrown in for measure when I discussed this situation with the agent.

What Allstate doers is cut their rates so people will flock to them. Then, they bring up the rates quickly. When people dump them for other insurers, they cut prices again and the cycle continues. Not made up; that's inside info, peeps.

Screw'em and go with someone else.

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Don't ever be fooled into thinking that insurance companies hate natural disasters, actually they love them, it gives them license to raise premimus. They take in way more then they'll ever pay out.

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Originally Posted by tahleel

Where is your home located? How did you come up with the value? Did you tell the company what work was done, and they calculated it? Is it 2x SEV? Or was it appraised? Or did you come up with this number?

I'll definitely give them a call Monday and see what they can do.

Thanks!

-Tahleel

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Warrendale. That is the number they came up with. I have been in this house since prior to proposal A so SEV don't mean much. They ran my credit and told me that they were going to give me a VERY GOOD rate because they need to write policies in Detroit and most folks that they get are bad risks. Garage is another $15k, $300k for Bodily injury, $110k for personal property [[too much in my opinion), $30k additional expenses. I also have an alarm on the house and a high deductible [[though lower than what many of you are paying for a year).

The only reason why I am sharing all of this is that a lot of you are getting screwed. You need to read about how insurance works and get several quotes.

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Originally Posted by Cinderpath

Be real careful here- I had an absolute nightmare with a homer owners claim- I had a water line bust on my second floor of my Ferndale home which 16,000 gallons of water leaked while I was on vacation. It took two years of litigation and reconstruction to get my house back. The company was AAA, and they where the biggest bunch of rotten, thieving, bastards. I hired a private adjustor, and he literally saved my bacon, and we won in binding arbitration. He told me the three worse companies for claims were: AAA, Allstate and State Farm. He said Michigan based Citizens was great, as well as Fireman's Fund. I switched to Citizen's. Your better off having no insurance, than rotten insurance, because you won't get your money. Don't skimp here. Ironically Citizens was anyways cheaper. As for the AAA claims adjuster, if he were on fire, I would not piss on him to put him out. My brother had a car accident a few years later with AAA, and it also turned into a court deal, and they finally coughed up what they were legally bound to pay- but the court and lawyers made them do it. They are the worst company ever.

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Unless things have changed, Citizens won't write in Detroit. A lot of companies have not wanted to write policies in Detroit for a long time, because of the bad experience. What the State Insurance Bureau did was mandate that companies who did over $xx [[I don't know the amount) business in the state, HAD to insure everywhere in Michigan. Citizens used to be under the limit.

I myself live in Wayne, I pay around $600 for a house that was valued at $136k almost 3yrs ago.I have my policy through Grange , As well as the 2 vehicles I have insured. Until earlier this year I had one vehicle with Grange and the other with AAA. My AAA bill was almost as much as my house as for my 16yr old auto. I do though keep my road service with AAA. But I have heard complaints about pretty much all the insurance companies mentioned here. Good luck with your search.

I have Farmers and have had pretty good luck. I'm paying $900 for a home with a similar replacement value. The quote for $90 p/m isn't too bad either. Homeowners insurance in Detroit is outrageous [[OK, insurance of any sort for that matter in Detroit!) so be prepared to shake your head at every quote. Some, like State Farm, have outrageous rates as a way to not insure in Detroit but still be able to pick up the choice areas of Wayne Co [[Insurers must offer ins. for the whole county or not be able to offer policies in that county at all per state law).

Some of you are getting ripped off. Shop around. I had several quotes that were around $1500.00/year. Finally, AAA insured my house [[near Gumby's) for $100,000 with a garage [[another $20,000) for about $450/year. I only owe about $50,000 so as long as my note is covered I don't give a shit. I'll take my chances that the house burns down.

Make sure you understand what you have and don't have. We got what appeared to be a really good deal on our insurance, but this year decided to pay a little more to add some coverage. The 'really good deals' often come about by giving you lower coverage limits.

Three areas we looked at that I would make sure you know:
1) Guest medical coverage - This is for someone getting injured or sick on your property and requiring emergency coverage. Say your daughter and friends are climbing trees and the neighbor kid falls and breaks her arm. You take her to the ER. This would actually cover that visit. Our basic plan was $1,000; we increased it to $5,000.
2) Liability - If someone gets injured on your property and sues you, the insurance company will pay up to the covered amount. Given the amount of klutzes and people looking to sue for any reason, we increased this from the basic $100,000 to $1,000,000.
3) Water backup - If your sewer line backups up or sump pump fails and floods your basement, the damage associated with this is not covered under the regular policy. We had $1,000 of coverage, and increased it to $10,000. Our biggest likelihood of damage for this is in the basement, and since part of ours is finished, we have all of our exercise equipment down there, our furnace is located down there, it made sense to add the additional coverage.

Bumping those three areas increased our policy $209 per year. We have Allstate and they didn't have a bundled rate for these things, but I know that my parents have AAA and added the same items [[with even higher coverage limit on the water backup) and got it cheaper because they offered it at a bundle price.

I think a lot of times people get burned on homeowners policies because they don't understand exactly what is and isn't covered. I think a good way to make sure you're covered is to come up with a list of things that you might envision yourself filing a claim against, and just drill your agent [[is it covered if my house burns down, if my house gets struck by lightning, what if my collectible baseball cards get damaged, what if there's a slip and fall, what if a pipe bursts). You should start to get a feel for how covered you actually are with the answers. And,if possible, have the conversation by e-mail so that you have a documentation trail.

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Originally Posted by sirrealone

Make sure you understand what you have and don't have. We got what appeared to be a really good deal on our insurance, but this year decided to pay a little more to add some coverage. The 'really good deals' often come about by giving you lower coverage limits.

Three areas we looked at that I would make sure you know:
1) Guest medical coverage - This is for someone getting injured or sick on your property and requiring emergency coverage. Say your daughter and friends are climbing trees and the neighbor kid falls and breaks her arm. You take her to the ER. This would actually cover that visit. Our basic plan was $1,000; we increased it to $5,000.
2) Liability - If someone gets injured on your property and sues you, the insurance company will pay up to the covered amount. Given the amount of klutzes and people looking to sue for any reason, we increased this from the basic $100,000 to $1,000,000.
3) Water backup - If your sewer line backups up or sump pump fails and floods your basement, the damage associated with this is not covered under the regular policy. We had $1,000 of coverage, and increased it to $10,000. Our biggest likelihood of damage for this is in the basement, and since part of ours is finished, we have all of our exercise equipment down there, our furnace is located down there, it made sense to add the additional coverage.

Bumping those three areas increased our policy $209 per year. We have Allstate and they didn't have a bundled rate for these things, but I know that my parents have AAA and added the same items [[with even higher coverage limit on the water backup) and got it cheaper because they offered it at a bundle price.

I think a lot of times people get burned on homeowners policies because they don't understand exactly what is and isn't covered. I think a good way to make sure you're covered is to come up with a list of things that you might envision yourself filing a claim against, and just drill your agent [[is it covered if my house burns down, if my house gets struck by lightning, what if my collectible baseball cards get damaged, what if there's a slip and fall, what if a pipe bursts). You should start to get a feel for how covered you actually are with the answers. And,if possible, have the conversation by e-mail so that you have a documentation trail.

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All good advice. Although 1 million seems a bit extreme in liability coverage. Premises liability personal injury claims are virtually nonexistent these days. But if you have a dog or young kids playing in the yard, etc., there are still some hazards. And 100k leaves the possibility that something terrible will happen and the insurer will leave you holding the bag.

As for water damage, I would pay attention to mold exclusions also. Usually at the first word that something nasty is growing in the basement or wherever, they stop everything. If you have at least a modest mold limitation - rather than exclusion - that covers up to 50k or so, you don't have to worry as much about the insurer leaving all of the water damage due to concerns about mold liability.

As for companies, State Farm takes company-wide pride in denying claims. For a long time, claim denials were directly built into the pay structure there. Now they reward it with more of a wink and a nod, I think.

I've had good experiences with Frankenmuth in other areas. They seem very concerned about their individual policy holders and their reputation; they rely less on pure advertising-driven volume and need to keep people happy.