Is State Farm Ripping Me Off?

Question

Colorado Home Single Family Homes1.) New construction SFH 2145 sq ft | 4 bd 3 baInsurance: 593.00 on a 359k home

2.) 2003 SFH 2048 sq ft " 4 bd 2 baInsurance: 799.00 on a 330k home

3.) 1993 SFH 2184 sq ft 4 bd 3 baInsurance: 1,491.00 on a 344k home

How on earth is #3 about double?! Seriously, $1,491 for a policy? What am I missing?

All are through our State Farm agent, whom had everything; Our personal home, four cars etc.

I think I need counseling and advice.

Colleen F. · Answer

What type of coverage?  Could be age, type of construction, location.   If the coverage limits are the same and you have replacement cost, construction matters.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

@Larry Alexander - why don't you ask your agent to explain? It could be type of coverage (replacement vs purchase), location, type of coverage etc.

Bill S. · Answer

@Larry Alexander location can also matter. For example a home in the country or just outside of the City limits where the fire department is not full time would have higher rates. Homes in the mountains of course with wild fire exposure. Homes where the distance to a fire hydrant is outside of the standard reach of a fire hose (~600 ft last I checked). Homes in high crime area.

Another item to check is deductible. Sometimes agents don't use the same amount for all policies. For example a $10k deductible on $400k of coverage was half of a $2k deductible. Incidentally, $10k is a good chunk of the cost of a new roof (think Colorado hail storms).

Todd Rasmussen · Answer

@Larry Alexander

Cost of purchasing a house is independent of the cost to rebuild it. Have you had a claim since your last other policy renewed? Claims free discount is huge with State Farm.

I'd check your overages and deductibles from policy to policy.

Also are they all written correctly as rental dwelling policies?

If none of the above explain it, I'm guessing your agent got away with something for you on the first couple that he didn't get away with on number three.

Jonathan R McLaughlin · Answer

@Larry Alexander check the water table took

Greg M. · Answer

Lots of good things already mentioned, but age is the likely #1 factor. Insurance companies don't like things over 20 years old. Replace the plumbing, electrical, roof, and water heaters and you'll probably see the rates drop significantly.

Other factors could be number of corners (the more corners the more expensive to rebuild) or fireplaces or the fact that the house is at the end of a very narrow cul-de-sac and rebuilding would be more difficult.

J Massey · Answer

In Texas, the age of the roof accounts for about 1/4 of the price of our policies. A basic hailstorm can ruin a 25 year old roof very easily, much more so than a new roof. Age in general leads to more claims (older roof, older pipes, water heater etc.).

Jason Bott · Answer

Larry, there is some underwriting criteria #3 set off.

Could be that their premium product has a max 25 year old age limit and you are in their secondary policy that has higher rates.

Crime score, construction, Protection class (how far from a fire station) all can have big impacts on the premium.

I'd suggest marketing #3 to some other agents if you have the time.

@Larry Alexander

Larry Alexander · Answer

Thanks All, @Marcus Auerbach I was too heated at the time. I'll give him a call and talk to a couple other insurers. So little time, so much to learn.

Is State Farm Ripping Me Off?

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