Insurance is a must guys.

[Handloader109]

I've always had homeowner's insurance whenever I've owned a home. It obviously is a requirement when you have a mortgage, and is tacked on by the mortgage company if you don't have it, (which actually happened to us 30 years ago after Allstate dropped our coverage after having 2 claims in 2 years) But a lot of folks have small older homes or even trailers that are paid for and deem it ok to not get coverage for various reasons.

I have a modest home, and a detached shop. We've had hail numerous times in past 5 years we've been here, and recently a bad storm came through and had some big stuff damaged roof and my pickup. My home is paid for, but I sure keep insurance on it. Put in claim and some money received for old truck, and just got the quote, approved by the insurance co. (Used their approved contractor as there are hundreds of guys up here vying for contracts)

The cost is at least double what it would have been a couple of years ago, approaching $40,000 which does include gutters. I about fell out of my chair. There is zero way I could have paid for this without a large loan. And others in same area which had tornado damage are finding this out too. Costs are extremely high, and if you don't have insurance, there are few options to get things fixed. So get or keep that insurance and make sure it is up to date on the amount... most homes have appreciated a lot.

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[FISH4BUGS]

Good advice. A condo building I manage had a hot water heater let go on the 6th floor that trashed 5 units - $150,000 in damage.
The insurance paid for everything and then some.
never go without.

[white eagle]

a necessary evil for sure
I call them blood suckers

[Bad Ass Wallace]

My home is insured by Smith & Wesson!

[alamogunr]

There is more to insurance than just Homeowners Ins. I know many drivers go without car insurance even though states(most?) require liability insurance. With the high number of lawyers chasing auto accidents in order to file lawsuits, it is insanity to go without.

I've got the maximum liability insurance. I recently added a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy(quoted from the State Farm document). For $141 per year, I get $1 million in coverage. The only requirement was that I also have the maximum liability coverage on my vehicles, which I already had. That effectively gives me $1.5 million in liability coverage.

If I got sued for that much, I couldn't pay it and probably would have trouble paying the lawyer to defend me. The insurance company now has a pretty good incentive to throw their lawyers into the fray to avoid paying a large settlement. If we win, both myself and the insurance company wins. But! If we lose, the insurance has to pony up first. Hopefully, the bill wouldn't exceed the coverage.

I'm sure this is oversimplified and I don't know a whole lot about such things but I get a good feeling about having that protection.

[deltaenterprizes]

I have been having an umbrella policy for over 25 years . Louisiana required it for a statewide carry permit back in the 80s before the new carry permits were available.
A $10,000 policeman’s bond or $500,000 umbrella policy was required.
The cost was about the same but the umbrella policy gave more coverage and it also covered my wife.
Increasing your personal liability from the standard $100,000 to $300,000 does not cost a whole lot also.

[Bmi48219]

alamogunr,
That’s a good price for 1 million PUP coverage. What company underwrites it? We are around $310 a year. No HO claims, one windshield repair, no tickets for either of us in 35-40 years. Lots of UIMs in Florida though, that may have something to do with our premium.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Yeah, an umbrella policy is worth a lot more than a low deductible and you can usually swap one for the other with no money out of pocket.

Our home owners premiums went up 20% or so a couple years in a row. I called about it and they said it was due to construction costs. Couldn’t really argue with them…

[ShooterAZ]

Yeah, an umbrella policy is worth a lot more than a low deductible and you can usually swap one for the other with no money out of pocket.

Our home owners premiums went up 20% or so a couple years in a row. I called about it and they said it was due to construction costs. Couldn’t really argue with them…

I noticed the same thing on our last few billing cycles. The cost of lumber and other building materials has gone completely through the roof. The home is paid for, but I insure it for complete replacement cost. Yep, when you're retired the biggest drain on your budget is insurance, whether it be auto, homeowners, or medical.

[alamogunr]

I noticed the same thing on our last few billing cycles. The cost of lumber and other building materials has gone completely through the roof. The home is paid for, but I insure it for complete replacement cost. Yep, when you're retired the biggest drain on your budget is insurance, whether it be auto, homeowners, or medical.

Add long term care insurance to that. They try to get you to cancel so they can keep years of large premium payments.

I just got a letter offering us the option of increasing the daily benefit. The increase in daily benefit was approx 10%. The increase in premium was almost 40%.

If we elect to keep the benefit the same, if they follow past practice, we will get a letter informing us of an increase in premium. I don't know how else they justify that except they have to keep increasing the salary of top officers.

[Shawlerbrook]

Agreed !

[beezapilot]

Here in FL, each morning there are a bunch of lawyers talking about the huge settlements they get for clients- the point that they all drive home is that the insurance companies pay, but often not the other person involved in the accident. Perhaps people don't see the correlation between huge settlements and rates going up. I carry a pretty hefty deductible on my homowners for damage, it keeps the premiums down and I would prefer to do my own repairs. Hurricane busts a couple of windows, they will pay a contractor a large sum to replace the windows- and I can do the work myself without waiting for all the paperwork and actually GETTING someone there. Roof repair, siding.. Yeah. I'd rather do it myself. BIG stuff is another story.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Add long term care insurance to that. They try to get you to cancel so they can keep years of large premium payments.

I just got a letter offering us the option of increasing the daily benefit. The increase in daily benefit was approx 10%. The increase in premium was almost 40%.

If we elect to keep the benefit the same, if they follow past practice, we will get a letter informing us of an increase in premium. I don't know how else they justify that except they have to keep increasing the salary of top officers.

Insurers have found themselves underwater on older LTC policies. What is sad is that LTC care is going to pot as well. My grandmother in law laid in the floor for hours at what should be a top notch facility given what they charge. Had to hire additional outside care at premium prices. My buddy that worked as a detention officer kept a better eye on inmates that were staying for much less..

[Handloader109]

I'll throw a comment in on the LTC, my mom paid for decades and finally relented to allow sitters as she had in home extra coverage. Roughly 9 months before she passed. We got back about a quarter of what she paid in. But the big problem was the dang paperwork. The crap company, and it is one of the big ones, would ONLY take the sitters time sheets by FAX. This was in 2018 to 2019. No email, only fax. And roughly every 3rd week, they would lose the report. They took a month to pay, and service was horrendous. They would kick back anything they could to delay. Don't do in home. Just not worth the trouble.

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[alamogunr]

I'll throw a comment in on the LTC, my mom paid for decades and finally relented to allow sitters as she had in home extra coverage. Roughly 9 months before she passed. We got back about a quarter of what she paid in. But the big problem was the dang paperwork. The crap company, and it is one of the big ones, would ONLY take the sitters time sheets by FAX. This was in 2018 to 2019. No email, only fax. And roughly every 3rd week, they would lose the report. They took a month to pay, and service was horrendous. They would kick back anything they could to delay. Don't do in home. Just not worth the trouble.

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Would you mind revealing the "big" company? The company I mentioned in my previous post is MetLife. The only experience I have with them is they take my money every month.

[GregLaROCHE]

Insurance gives you that warm fuzzy feeling at night.
On another note, I have to confirm that Allstate insurance had a bad reputation 30+ years ago. They were reasonably priced, but when it came time to pay, it was hard to get them to pay what was due.

[warren5421]

You need renters insurance also. My middle kid had a fire that took out 12 apartments. She had over $80,000 in replacement cost due to antic items she had. I had a copy of all paper work on them. Her limit was $50,000. She now has a lot more insurance as she bought some nicer things at a lower price because she paid cash.

[Frosty Boolit]

Speaking of insurance, what does everyone here think of uscca insurance?