Just a bit of free advice that came to mind. I’ve seen this many times, people shop for cheap insurance and end up with a high deductible. Look at the wind/hail deductible and the “all other perils” deductible as they are sometimes different.
Example: A guy had a $250k house in Texas (8 years ago) and was happy that he had a great price on his insurance. Turns out that his deductible was 5% of his policy limit. At the time, it cost $11k to replace his roof. He had to come up with all of the money to replace his roof.
Example 2: Someone bought a new house and didn’t pay attention to their deductible as they were just trying to get insurance on it. Four months after buying the house it was hit with large hail. Their deductible was $10,000, which they couldn’t afford after just spending a lot of money to buy the new house.
Example 3: In Florida, the lowest hurricane deductible you can have is usually 2% of your policy limit. My neighbor had his set at 10%. His house was undervalued at $250k, but a $25k deductible still hurt.
Some people can afford the hit when they have a high deductible. I’ve seen a lot who can’t - so take the time to check to see what yours is.
same with car ins…
kid 2 just went to find ins for newly acquired former parental vehicle and didn’t understand about changing deductible amounts and the impact on the cost. being in grad school, money will be tight for ins…but i am sure parents will bail out on deduct…maybe
same with car ins…
kid 2 just went to find ins for newly acquired former parental vehicle and didn’t understand about changing deductible amounts and the impact on the cost. being in grad school, money will be tight for ins…but i am sure parents will bail out on deduct…maybe
same with car ins…
kid 2 just went to find ins for newly acquired former parental vehicle and didn’t understand about changing deductible amounts and the impact on the cost. being in grad school, money will be tight for ins…but i am sure parents will bail out on deduct…maybe
And get an umbrella…
When I went to check my homeowner’s deductible I saw that the next billing of my umbrella will jump almost 25%. Granted it is only $115 to $142, but that is a sizable rate increase.
same with car ins…
kid 2 just went to find ins for newly acquired former parental vehicle and didn’t understand about changing deductible amounts and the impact on the cost. being in grad school, money will be tight for ins…but i am sure parents will bail out on deduct…maybe
And get an umbrella…
When I went to check my homeowner’s deductible I saw that the next billing of my umbrella will jump almost 25%. Granted it is only $115 to $142, but that is a sizable rate increase.
Yeah our umbrella is going up like 40%. What’s going on?! Blame Biden?
same with car ins…
kid 2 just went to find ins for newly acquired former parental vehicle and didn’t understand about changing deductible amounts and the impact on the cost. being in grad school, money will be tight for ins…but i am sure parents will bail out on deduct…maybe
And get an umbrella…
When I went to check my homeowner’s deductible I saw that the next billing of my umbrella will jump almost 25%. Granted it is only $115 to $142, but that is a sizable rate increase.
same with car ins…
kid 2 just went to find ins for newly acquired former parental vehicle and didn’t understand about changing deductible amounts and the impact on the cost. being in grad school, money will be tight for ins…but i am sure parents will bail out on deduct…maybe
And get an umbrella…
When I went to check my homeowner’s deductible I saw that the next billing of my umbrella will jump almost 25%. Granted it is only $115 to $142, but that is a sizable rate increase.
And still well worth it
Don’t you get an employee discount?
Definitely worth it.
I have my insurance with a different company. We are too expensive. And i like exclusive agents. Employee discount is only 5.%.
Another definition of Rich… You need an Umbrella insurance policy.
Given in Michigan Residency and Retirement accounts are protected. Not sure how much a law firm would need to see in assets to make it worth suing but I am guess under $100k is not worth the hassle.
Crossed my mind that there could be some kind of secondary insurance market specifically to cover high deductible payments
For folks that go with a high deductible to lower monthly premiums (but can’t actually afford their deductible), they take out a second insurance w/some manageable premium amount (in addition to the first policy). And if/when a claim hits, they would be completely off the hook for their deductible amount. The pitch being a high deductible is now “free”, or worry-free.
I’m sure some actuaries can figure out the pricing for this insurance-for-insurance business to be viable. As long as there are enough customers, and where claim-free customers > those with claims, to subsidize those folks. Essentially a bank collecting $$ deposits for deductible payouts.
You OP makes sense in some cases, but in my case since I’m on the insurance of last resort here in CA, I wish I could go way above my 20k deductible, even 200k I would take if I could. Insurance for me is just to fulfill my obligation to my lender, which is not a choice. And it is getting so fucking expensive as most of the insurers of 20 years ago have left the market, or at least left the housing market.
So all you that like to shit on CA for whatever reasons, true and made up, here is a real one. Our insurance industry is on fumes, and is so bad that most are taking their balls and playing somewhere else. We need a new strategy for sure, and I hear that some are trying. It used to be just a few of us, but now it is hitting millions in places that never thought it would happen, and we all are on the govt insurance plan that can double year after year, and that is only fire alone. You still have to get another policy for all the other stuff too…
I dont know how it all ends here, but in the meantime I will take all the stuff I can to lower it, including the highest deductibles. Yes it is rolling the dice, but at todays prices, you only need about 4 or 5 years to make up that deductible in real dollars, so not really a huge gamble in the long run…
You OP makes sense in some cases, but in my case since I’m on the insurance of last resort here in CA, I wish I could go way above my 20k deductible, even 200k I would take if I could. Insurance for me is just to fulfill my obligation to my lender, which is not a choice. And it is getting so fucking expensive as most of the insurers of 20 years ago have left the market, or at least left the housing market.
So all you that like to shit on CA for whatever reasons, true and made up, here is a real one. Our insurance industry is on fumes, and is so bad that most are taking their balls and playing somewhere else. We need a new strategy for sure, and I hear that some are trying. It used to be just a few of us, but now it is hitting millions in places that never thought it would happen, and we all are on the govt insurance plan that can double year after year, and that is only fire alone. You still have to get another policy for all the other stuff too…
I dont know how it all ends here, but in the meantime I will take all the stuff I can to lower it, including the highest deductibles. Yes it is rolling the dice, but at todays prices, you only need about 4 or 5 years to make up that deductible in real dollars, so not really a huge gamble in the long run…
Florida is in the same boat with hurricanes. And they aren’t charging high enough premiums to be able to cover a very bad season.
The company I work at has pulled back hugely in California and Florida for property. The Carolinas are in danger as well. We non-renewed around 50% of our commercial policies across the country in the last year or so. A large number of home and farm policies across the country have been dropped. We just aren’t going to take on that risk. And the states want to fight rate increases to match the risk. Companies aren’t obligated to sell in a state and if they can’t make money they will leave. There is a lot more money to be made at the moment from our financial side so that is what we are doing. We might be a mutual but we are still awfully focused on profit.
Appears having a house in hurricane or fire prone areas might not be a great idea.
Appears having a house in hurricane or fire prone areas might not be a great idea.//
It looks to me like if the regulations will allow it, there is some room for some companies to swoop in and make some money here. There are just a lot of homes that are never going to burn, but because of proximity to fire zones, they get lumped in with them. And why the hell do we not have a 100/200k deductible. Imagine how much the companies would save on those policies if written correctly and they were toast for whatever reasons. They pay out 100’s of thousands of claims, it would be a windfall to knock 100/200k off of each of them.
And for us homeowners it would be fine in areas like CA or FLA, because that is a fraction of what the real home values are. At a 100k deductible, I would only be risking about 15% or so in a complete wipe out, so not really life changing. I would gladly accept those changes for a premium I paid just 5 years ago…Becasue there are also things I can do to mitigate total disasters here on my property, and would be much more incentivized if I had more skin in the game for sure…
You OP makes sense in some cases, but in my case since I’m on the insurance of last resort here in CA, I wish I could go way above my 20k deductible, even 200k I would take if I could. Insurance for me is just to fulfill my obligation to my lender, which is not a choice. And it is getting so fucking expensive as most of the insurers of 20 years ago have left the market, or at least left the housing market.
So all you that like to shit on CA for whatever reasons, true and made up, here is a real one. Our insurance industry is on fumes, and is so bad that most are taking their balls and playing somewhere else. We need a new strategy for sure, and I hear that some are trying. It used to be just a few of us, but now it is hitting millions in places that never thought it would happen, and we all are on the govt insurance plan that can double year after year, and that is only fire alone. You still have to get another policy for all the other stuff too…
I dont know how it all ends here, but in the meantime I will take all the stuff I can to lower it, including the highest deductibles. Yes it is rolling the dice, but at todays prices, you only need about 4 or 5 years to make up that deductible in real dollars, so not really a huge gamble in the long run…
Are you saving the difference so you can pay the deductible?
Are you saving the difference so you can pay the deductible?//
As I dont live hand to mouth, or week to week as a lot of people do, I can pay it if in the small % I need to without saving it each year. But I do understand your question,
Appears having a house in hurricane or fire prone areas might not be a great idea.//
It looks to me like if the regulations will allow it, there is some room for some companies to swoop in and make some money here. There are just a lot of homes that are never going to burn, but because of proximity to fire zones, they get lumped in with them. And why the hell do we not have a 100/200k deductible. Imagine how much the companies would save on those policies if written correctly and they were toast for whatever reasons. They pay out 100’s of thousands of claims, it would be a windfall to knock 100/200k off of each of them.
And for us homeowners it would be fine in areas like CA or FLA, because that is a fraction of what the real home values are. At a 100k deductible, I would only be risking about 15% or so in a complete wipe out, so not really life changing. I would gladly accept those changes for a premium I paid just 5 years ago…Becasue there are also things I can do to mitigate total disasters here on my property, and would be much more incentivized if I had more skin in the game for sure…
That first line is the rub. Ignore the capital needed for reserves to start with, state insurance boards control the rates that can be charged, the types of coverages you have to offer, and what sort of deductibles, exclusions, etc. You have to file for approval to change the wording on a bill.
And no one wants to come in and take on that risk. There are a lot easier places to make money right now than property insurance.
I would imagine that, based on demographics, people here are more likely to be able to absorb higher deductibles than many that I encounter.
Since I live in Florida and already have a hurricane claim for over $100k and a hail claim for over $75k - I am reluctant to file another claim. My insurance company has been great and I don’t want to lose them, so I’ll eat some losses to avoid losing them.
My insurance company has been great and I don’t want to lose them, so I’ll eat some losses to avoid losing them. ///
Which is how it used to be back in the day. But now your address just pops up on some AI generated program, and you are toast regardless of your history with the company. IF I were you and had another big claim, I would just take it nowadays, because you could be gone next year regardless. I thought and acted as you in the past, not claiming many little things to keep off their radar, but in the end it was the program that got me. Now I wish I had taken those claims, at least it would put off my break even with them for a couple more years…
