Homeowners insurance

hello from southwest florida. i found some ins. information at www.vimovingcenter.com go to real estate then go to STX then just over 1/2 way down page. hopefully doing my stx premove last 2 weeks of april.

You will find insurance is expensive with deductibles for both hurricanes and earth quakes.

A rule of thumb is figure the cost of insurance is 3% of the value of the home. If you should find a home with wood framing you probably will have a great deal of difficulty in finding coverage.

One policy will cover all risks.

Jim

Don`t use Mariam Mathes, or ANY Insurance using Crawford V.I. as thier claims management.
Keep in mind, my building is 40 years old, has been inspected 2X in the past 3 years by Diferent Home inspectors as it was sold twice in that time,none of which reported any cracks to supporting columns or anywhere else.The Insurance company had photos taken for Marian Mathis by one of their own employees after I purchased in 2003 which showed no such damage.
What I`m saying, is:
A building built 40 years ago, by the same guy, with the same sand/concrete/rebar builds this building, on December 11, 2004 we have a 5.2 seismic event(earthquake). While it doesn`t affect most of the buildings here, each building/event is unique in it`s self.
Well, right after the event, I had several cracks.
It felt just like a freight train went through our home, & afterwords, my columns & walls were cracked on the tallest, and only the tallest walls of the building (the tallest walls are most subseible to the earth movements).
Remember, There was NO damage before hand.
I had two separate contractors inspect & make quotes for the damage I sustained from this event.
Below is a copy of the fax I sent Crawford V.I on 6/20/06 for damages I sustained on12/11/04:

This fax is to inform Crawford V.I. Inc. that Bad Worth has not responded (again) to my claim.As a reminder, in an effort to mitigate damages, I`ve repeatedly have asked Brad what should be done.
Brad has ignored/abandoned me & refuses to return my calls. A complaint is on file with the Lieutenants governor's office to support this.
Since, I`ve been informed That Brad Worth is the only claim person Marian Mathes uses/has & as stated above ignored me & my claim, I had no choice, and I have been advised by my mortgage company to obtain forced place insurance by my mortgage company, First Bank of the Virgin Islands.
Since the Forced placed Insurance is only for the loan amount, not the Dwelling amount I had with Marian Mathes, I have reduced coverage, & the cost is over $500 more annually!
Furthermore,
The cracks measured @ measurement point #1 & #2 have increased from #1@..221" to .318"(8.07MM) & #2@.216 to .310" (7.8MM).
While there were no significant changes over the course of time, the largest increase was noted on January 14, 2006 (I usually check measurements every week, on Saturdays).
The bottom line is:There is increased damage since Brad Worth has inspected my building, & I have reduced coverage for more $!
Again, I ask, WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MITIGATE DAMAGES TO MY BUILDING???
First Bank has not given me a policy as to what my new deductibles are.
I would like to hold Marian Mathes & Crawford (V.I.) Inc. responsible for any losses I may sustain for the new insurance (which includes, but isn't limited to increases in premium, loss of coverage) & the additional damage(s) to my building.
Donald Rand

In the opening line of your fax you referred to this chap as "Bad Worth", that seems to sum up the nature of that outfit pretty well. Best of luck getting that mess straightened out. Sounds like a good attorney might be your next stop.

We received a reduced rate from the insurance provider offered through AARP. They are in Puerto Rico.
I have previously posted their info. I will do a search and come back with it.

Here is the link with the information on Real Legacy.

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/list.php?4

The AARP providers rates were higher than the company I had my insurance with through Marshall Sterling.

Jim

I have my insurance through AARP. Rates are great. We had a fire in our studio apartment about a year ago and they settled efficiently. I am happy with them.

When you are estimating your likely coverage expense, keep in mind that you don't have to insure the land value, so take 80% of your purchase price as the approximate value of the house itself. Your annual policy will usually cost somewhere from 2%-3% of the house value for full insurance. The variation is due to assorted discounts and penalties that are unique to each house. Concrete roofs and hurricane shutters get discounts, for example. Many wood framed houses are nearly impossible to insure, even at 4%.

80% of home value may be good for most homes, but what about waterfront? I would guess 70% of the value is in the land and that homeowners insurance can cost upwards of $15,000 - $20,000 for those follks (say $1 million home)?

We used Tunick Insurance on St Thomas and for our 3 bedroom 2 bath house with lots of glass but out of flood zone we pay around $5500 a year. I hope that helps answer the question. I had a claim a few years back and I was surprised at how fast they settled and had a claims adjuster out here.

How many of you with concrete homes "self insure" when to the hurricane insurance. I know some do only carry fire, theift, and liabilty. I know you have to own your home without a morage to do this. It would seem that after a few years of $5K to $10K insurance bills, the self displinded person that would keep money aside could save money this way. Of course you would need a home in a non flood area as well.

That is exactly what my husband and I did on StX.
Our home was 2,400 sq ft. concrete (mostly) and we lived on top of a hill in La Grande Princess. It had stood virtually undamaged in all the major hurricanes and we were lucky enough to be able to buy it cash outright.
We could have replaced the portion of the roof that was not concrete (small) and cleared any downed trees from our driveway , cleaned out the pool etc with one years' premium so we elected to self insure.
Worked for us!

We also self insure on our poured concrete home. We set the house back in the hill and installed roll down hurricane shutters. So far so good. I know how insurance works so i put my insurance money in building a strong,fire resistant,wind protected house.When I hear stories about how after a big storm the insurance companies work over people, we put money in not being damaged.I hope this works out , but I am a person who tries to take care of myself.

StuScott,
You used Tunick ....is your house n STT or STX? Any idea what the price would have been if you were in a flood zone?

Anyone have any idea how home insurance on STT compares with STX? I have also thought about going without insurance. But that would almost guarantee the next big one is on its way to my place a month after I buy it. I also wonder what % of people self insure. Probably on a concrete house its a safe bet.

Just a couple of random observations on the issue of insurance vs. self insurance.

In some ways it is a lot like going to the casino. Don't gamble more than you can afford to loose!

Also consider that that even if your house was directly in the path of hurricane "Billy Bob" you are more likely to be damaged than destroyed. If said hurricane does damage your home, it will likely damage other homes if not many homes.

If this happens, contractors and repairmen will be swamped. Do you have basic knowledge in construction to at least "dry in" your home to protect it from further damage while waiting for permanent repairs, or do you have a very good on-island friend in construction who will put you at the top of their list?

This is an issue that really does have two sides to it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am nowhere near being mortgage free so the decision has been made for me!

I think that it is a matter of one's ability to tolerate risk both mentally and financially!

Dave, you said
"This is an issue that really does have two sides to it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am nowhere near being mortgage free so the decision has been made for me!"
There is a third possibility that is becoming more & more common, it is those who pay for insurance, but are screwed by them, so it`s a double whammy! (your not covered, yet you pay dearly for coverage)
At least the folks who self insure can put the $ they saved towards repairing their damages.
The only ones who got paid from my covered casualty are Mariam Mathes(the broker), Crawford V.I. (The claim adjusters who make even Turnbull look good for releasing 31 convicts, Bad Worth their premier adjuster one ups Turnbull), & Paul Farraras the Structural Engineer, who tries to convince me the cracks my columns have the moment the earthquake passes is from "settlement, & thus isn`t covered". Funny, this building is 40 years old, & had no cracks before!(I have 2 home inspection reports in the past 4 years(2 years within the episode), 5 witnesses, 2 repair estimates & common sense. Stevie Wonder can see this is BS!
I asked him(Paul Ferraras)if he was payed by, & on behalf of Crawford V.I., he stated he was, I told him then there is no point in hearing your input on this unless your the honest type.....
Ah, as you may have guessed, Paul Ferraras puts $ before ethics!
How come I don`t get a lawyer? I was told by my attorney friend between the deductible, & the honest repair estimates, it`s just not worth it!
This is a SMALL PLACE, hope these jerks have the nerve to face me & the other island neighbors they screwed!
I`ll make this my vendetta, I will inform those others to STAY AWAY from these people, EVERY CHANCE I GET!
Try ANOTHER Insurance Company, if you "need" one!(or just throw your $ in the trash, you`ll get the same result!
If you can afford it (I work 6 days a week, eating baloney sandwiches, saving my pennies in hopes of one day being able to pay off my loan, I look forward to the day I will walk in that dam insurance company & tell them what I really feel about their (lack of)services)!
I work HARD for my $, I`m in the service industry, I EARN my income!
I DON`T RIP PEOPLE OFF!
I thought, only a government was able to issue a bunch of useless papers for big bucks....
Bottom line, if I was in a position to self insure, what do you think I would tell the Insurance company????

This is a very old thread, but is 2-3% of the property price still a good guideline for home insurance?

Thanks in advance

The question is too vague because the cost is completely depending on the type, amount of coverage, age, condition, location of structure, construction type, proximity to fire hydrant, etc. Liability, contents, structure, fire, flood, windstorm, etc.