Hello Guys,

I have a three-family  house and four bedrooms in each unit in Worcester, MA. I need advise on the home owner's insurance. Currently, I am paying $2700/year for a 800k dwelling.  Do you guys think the price is good?

I appreciate your response.    

@Maksud H. On a side note, how do you like Worcester? I’ve been running numbers on multi-families and the returns look much better than here in NY. I live in Norwood a couple years back and really enjoyed that town, but I do remember hearing Worcester was a problem area.

what insurance company have you had experience with there in the Woo?

That seems pretty cheap for an $800k property and 12 tenants. What insurer are you using?

Seems about right to me. Worcester premiums are usually pretty high. Might be able to get it a little lower but I don't see it going below 2,400-2,500. Feel free to PM for a reference. 

Sorry for late response. I used mainstream insurance agency. Kathleen is there agent who helped me. 

@Brian, yes Worcester is a problem area but the ROI is much better than any other regions in Mass. I bought the three- family for 333k a year ago who is generating around $50k per year. I don't think you will find anything near to this CAP in Boston area.

@Maksud H. seems high. Once a year I take all my Dec pages, redact the premiums and shop with new insurance carriers, usually worth it.

Can you bundle the 3 family with your own residence and your vehicles?

@Mike Hurney   If you want lower quotes, dont black out the pricing. 

If my underwriters do not see pricing, they leave 10-20% of fat on the quote.

@Jason Bott then I don't need your contact! and I''m sure if you beat my current prices you'd jack them back up the 2nd year.

I understand you need to make a living so whatever it takes. I like to shop and follow up!

@Mike Hurney Not sure I understand your comment.  Maybe you are only working with Direct writers? (agent representing only 1-2 companies)

When you work with a larger agency who represents 50-100 companies, there is no need to play games.  99% of the time we can get you access to the insurance company who has the best rates at the moment.

If one of my underwriters increases my clients policy in the second year, I move my client to a different company. 

Hopefully this info makes you future insurance shopping easier on you.

I absolutely second Jason.

In fact, I send a quote with the price blacked out, if that happens.

When I get the inevitable phone call, I just say I thought price wasn’t important.

Okay, I did that 5-10 years ago. Now I just decline and move on to a customer that I can develop trust with.

Jason's post is spot on.   One of the advantages an Large Independent agency has is the ability to split the properties and place them in separate companies or bundle them all into one policy.   Similarly, we can re-adjust the coverage & carriers on the properties when conditions change.  Often done behind the scenes with out the client having to do a lot of work. 

There are other factors you want to consider if you decide to shop the coverage such as:

- does the agent know the type of business your in

- do they have a claims department to help if you do have a loss (company is the decision maker on claims

     but a good agency can help if there is a problem.

- do they fit your future plans (are you looking into different states, other types of property, flipping,

     construction, etc...)

Hope this helps.

I have to laugh on this, one insurance agent to another.  I don't provide proposals to people who black out the premiums either as there is already a lack of trust to build the relationship on.  So why bother?

Originally posted by @Derek Lacy :

I absolutely second Jason.

In fact, I send a quote with the price blacked out, if that happens.

When I get the inevitable phone call, I just say I thought price wasn’t important.

Okay, I did that 5-10 years ago. Now I just decline and move on to a customer that I can develop trust with.