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September 25, 2007
Home insurance question
My home insurance renewal notice came recently and the premium has increased more than I expected. I called my broker both to see if I was adequately covered for a total loss and to see if there were any choices that could be made in coverage to mitigate the premium increase. Sure enough, total building replacement was way under-valued but, paradoxically, building contents was way overvalued. I asked if if was possible to reduce the contents value insured to compensate for any increase in building value insured and was told by the broker that the former value was inextricably linked to the latter value and that this was the case for all insurance companies. Is this true? It seems like insanity to me.
The broker also told me that I would not see a substantial premium decrease if I were to switch from insuring the contents for replacement value to insuring it for depreciated value. this too seemed bizarre to me.
Should I be looking for a new broker and, if so, does anyone have recommendations?
Thanks,
John Ife
Comments
Find a new broker - big difference between relacement cost and ach (actual cash value)
Sounds like your Broker doesnt feel like doing the extra leg work...
Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 25, 2007 9:39 AM
I received a double-digit increase in my premium recently in a notice and was informed it is due to the perceived risk by insurance companies of those of us in "coastal areas" which includes Brooklyn. I think the issue your agent brought up is ridiculous and sending you off on some tangent to get you to doubt your own rights. It is getting to the point where some homeowners considered to be in homes with "unusual risk" need to seek out non-standard insurers overseas. The problem with that is the premiums are still quite high and if they do not like your claim or go bankrupt, they are outside of state or federal regulation and you are out of luck whereas with a domestic carrier, there is some recourse. Unfortunately, we need to petition our legislators to rein in the premium increase fiesta the insurance companies are holding. Fortunately, our Senator Clinton supports increased "back-up" insurance protection for disasters. I would also suggest shopping around for a different insurer. Avoid State Farm.
Posted by: bheightsejp at September 25, 2007 9:56 AM
My insurer (Chubb) set my contents insured value at 40% of the building replacement cost. This was not negotiable.
Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:15 AM
Definitely find a new broker. I can recommend ours - Patricia Lavook at Elias B. Cohen & Associates, phone 973-403-9500.
She recently wrote us coverage with Chubb for a townhouse closing. We had a policy with her for our co-op apartment and were able to use the same figures for contents coverage and not get locked into that "contents = set percentage of building coverage" number. She has been very good at shopping our (co-op) policy around when the renewal premium seemed too high and actually got Chubb to come down one year when we got a better quote with Firemans Fund.
On the contents coverage, I can't put my hands on the premium breakdown, but I seem to remember that insuring contents at replacement cost instead of actual cash value added something nominal to the premium, like $38/year. DEFINITELY keep replacement cost.
On keeping the premium in check, have you tried all the usual suspects - minimum $1000. deductible, credit for alarm system, limiting your riders for jewelry and fine arts (unless you really need them)? Also check what figure the company is using for replacement cost of the building - some insurers go way high (like purchase price minus 20%).
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at September 26, 2007 9:13 AM
I saw your house and it is not worth insuring,jerkoff
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 7:56 PM
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