Townhouse Insurance: Bending Over for the Soap
Since we purchased our brownstone three years ago, our insurance provider, Chubb, has roughly doubled the annual premium from about $6,000 to a whopping $12,000 on the renewal forms we recently received. Some of this may be attributed to the fact that we actually filed a claim for about $15,000 back in 2006 when we…
Since we purchased our brownstone three years ago, our insurance provider, Chubb, has roughly doubled the annual premium from about $6,000 to a whopping $12,000 on the renewal forms we recently received. Some of this may be attributed to the fact that we actually filed a claim for about $15,000 back in 2006 when we had some flooding that resulted from a collapsed waste line. Mostly, though, it’s because they insist that the replacement value of our house is about $2.8 million, a good 50 percent more than its market value. (In contrast, a friend who own a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights that must be worth north of $5 million just got a bill for $14,000 from Chubb.) In Chubb’s defense, they were an absolute pleasure to deal with when the shit hit the fan (quite literally, in our case). That said, this is some serious dough. We recently checked in with the Brownstone Agency and got a quote that was a little over $4,000 a year for the next three years. We were able to choose how much we wanted to insure the house for, so the quote is based on $2 million. It would be interesting to hear what people’s experiences have been when they’ve had to place claims with both companies. Also, any other carriers we should check out?
My State Farm policy is less than 2k a year. Replacement value with mid-level deductable on 3 floor 2 fam.
Have to admit, I don’t understand how market value even comes into play when buying insurance since you’d never be replacing the land under your house. The worst case is a complete rebuild – i.e. replacement cost, which most insuance companies should be able to estimate. Although I could imagine some folks would sleep better bumping that number.
Market value doesn’t apply because it takes into account the cost of the land. The same structure in Bed Stuy or Brooklyn Heights will have the same replacement cost even if market value is 5x higher in B Heights.
we are in our first year with chubb on a recently-purchased brownstone. they are currently trying to jack up our premiums by 50-100% during a renovation we are doing on the house. they are also imposing several somewhat onerous requirements, such as mandatory installation of a central fire/burglar alarm system. chubb was the most expensive option to begin with, and now i’m losing patience with them.
are renovation upcharges like this typical with homeowners insurance?
Hey, what’s with your homophobic title for this post?
I don’t understand why you would insure the house for 2 mil. I also received an increase in my premium from Allstate last week and switched to Brownstone Agency. I checked with 2 architects who agreed that I was safe with 900k coverage for my 3200 sq. ft. brownstone. I increased the deductible to 5k and will pay 5700 for 3 years. I thought market value and the cost of reconstructing after a fire were not related. The market value of my brownstone would be about 2.5 mil. Am i missing something?
Brownstone Agency goes by the theory that it’s cheaper to rebuild than to find an exact replica. Hence, the cheaper rates.
I would recommend calling State Farm. Their # is 718-787-4500. Those quotes you are getting seem very high.
It’s absolutely crucial to insure for replacement value. It makes no sense to purchase the insurance for any amount less. It sounds as though you have a decent policy, despite the premiums.
Chubb INSISTS that you insure for replacement, not market, value. It’s not our call…