Homeowners insurance? I'm having second thoughts.

[ram]

Our homeowners insurance is going up every year. Is it really needed?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Depends on the cost to rebuild in the event of a disaster and whether or not you're willing to take the risk.

I wouldn't be without it.

 

[M-5]

IMO better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[skyhightree1]

IMO better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

definitely agree and it does pizz me off mine goes up yearly with no claims.

 

[tom4018]

We were glad to have it a few years ago after being hit by a bad hail storm, over $10,000 damage done. If you can afford to rebuild on your own I guess a person could just carry a liability policy because if someone gets hurt they could clean you out.

 

[Rafter S]

I agree with Tom. I've heard Dave Ramsey, who is a lot smarter than I am, say that you should insure anything you can't afford to replace. I think that's pretty good advice.

 

[herofan]

I suppose it depends on what kind of a money manager you are. I never carry full coverage on vehicles, and people look at me like I'm crazy; however, I tend to use that money that i would be spending on insurance and do something financially productive with it, if nothing else, just save it.

If I had totaled a brand new car without insurance new car when i was 18, that probably wouldn't have been good; however, I've made it to 47 and never payed it out or needed it, so I figure my bank account is a little thicker for it. On the other hand, if i were just blowing the savings and not allowing it to have me a step or two ahead, I might as well have the insurance.

 

[Jogeephus]

I had a friend who dropped his a few years ago and his house burned to the ground within months of him cancelling it. He died about two years after the fire and he left his wife in bad shape financially. Though I think you can be over insured, something as important as your home I can't see not doing it.

 

[Alan]

I wouldn't be without it, if your home has any mortgage on it insurance is required.

 

[Williamsv]

I sure wouldn't want to be without it. Always try to be sure I get my premium paid on time. Not having insurance would really be taking a big chance.

 

[ram]

My wife feels the same as y'all do. I told her I'd put it out there and see what others thought. I'm going to suck it up and pay I guess. Auto insurance is really a rip-off. My daughter totaled my wife's car by hitting a deer. So I fixed the car myself and now the insurance company won't insure the car with full coverage because it has a rebuilt title. And the crazy thing is we had to get the car inspected and state certified as safe and road worthy. It cost a $100. to get it certified, and a $118. to the state for a rebuilt title, and another $18. dollars to get the title sent to us.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Shop around for coverage ram. I'm stunned by the differences in costs from one company to the next. I see it all the time in my line of work.

 

[Bigfoot]

I not only would encourage everyone to have insurance on their home. Infact, I'd suggest you sit down with your agent, and review your policy. Tons of things you need to consider. Probably the most important thing would be contents. If you live in a 2500 square foot hous, more likely than not you have well over $100,000 in contents. People here that, and think no way. Trust me, you've got a pile of stuff in your house. Furniture is just the tip of the iceberg. I had a catastrophic claim in 2006. Not sure what I would have done without insurance. My house was the only thing I felt like I came out ok on. I had 70% replacement of contents. Meaning for every dollar the insurance company paid me for my home, I was entitled to 70 cents on contents. You'll get a check for half the value of the items in your house. When you actually replace the item, you'll get the other half. Also look at what I'll call a replacement rider. I'm not sure what the actual name of it is. It makes sure your insurance policy keeps up with inflation. Your policy adds value to your house each year, and accordingly, your premium goes up. Likely as not if your home has any age on it at all, it's not keeping up with inflation. For instance, I built a nice home in '95 for $36.75 a square foot. To replace that home in 2006 cost about $80 a square foot. My policy hadn't kept up with inflation. Luckily , I had the rider. I would have been royally screwed without it.

 

[gizmom]

Living 28 miles from the Gulf of Mexico I would not think of not having insurance. After living through a few hurricanes you get a good taste of how bad and how much damage they can do. We had 52 pecan trees prior to Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis now we have two. Overall we were blessed but it could have been so much worse.

gizmom

 

[greybeard]

There have been times I had it and times I did not. When I did not, it was hard sleeping thru storms and always dreaded hurricane season.

 

[TexasBred]

Our homeowners insurance is going up every year. Is it really needed?

Better than life insurance ram. "You" get to spend the proceeds. :lol: :lol:

Mine goes up every year and they raise the coverage as well supposedly to take care of increase in value. I hope I never have to use it but if I ever do having it insured would sure help with the rebuilding.

 

[TCRanch]

Not only do I think homeowners insurance is essential, I'm also a strong proponent of a Ranch Umbrella. There is a 60 acre watershed lake on our property but a small portion adjoins a neighboring property. If the other landowner grants fishing privileges to someone else & they drown, we can be held liable - because how can you tell exactly where the drowning occurred? When we were building the house & commuting from TX some kids brought their 4 wheelers on the property, one of them didn't see a barbed wire fence and fortunately didn't decapitate himself but did break his collar bone. Even though there were/are No Trespassing signs we still could have been held liable but fortunately the parents didn't sue. A neighbor of ours is still in a lawsuit for $2M because he hired a company to burn pastures, their truck broke down, he let them use his, one of the guys died when the fire went out of control & his ex-wife sued. My point is, there are a lot of people in this world that won't accept responsibility for their actions (or their family members) and if they think you have any money whatsoever, they want restitution - regardless whether it's justified. Any landowner with a pond or potentially dangerous animals (testy bulls, cows that just calved, guard dogs, etc) is at risk. My final rant: we were hit by either a tornado or straight-line winds (nobody seems to know for sure) & completely took out 2 of the barns, outbuildings, etc - a complete mess. The kicker? All aforementioned buildings were built in the mid 1930's so we didn't insure them - and replacing them was darn pricey. The pole barn that was insured sustained very little damage. Do you really want to risk losing your house & its contents because odds are nothing "bad" will ever happen to you? Until it does?

 

[wv mud river]

think homeowners is bad try flood insurance. outrages prices

 

[littletom]

If I cant replace out of pocket I insure. House barns tractors etc. Everything except cows. Your money and risk that's just what I do.

 

[John SD]

My ranch policy includes only my house, quonset, and a pole barn. Took grain bins and other miscellaneous buildings off the insurance a long time ago.

Don't insure any vehicles for comprehensive or collision, only $100K/$300K liability and a $1M umbrella liabilty policy over and above that.

Only equipment insured is the Kubota and round baler. Still paying for the Kubota halfway through on a 5 yr deal, but I would insure it anyway.

$5K deductible on all building and equipment coverage.

Only livestock I ever insured were purchased bulls, and I stopped doing that before I quit.