Way to Estimate Insurance

[Noah Stauffer]

Hello All!  First post here, so hope this isn't a dumb question lol.  I am trying to get in some practice analyzing properties, and I was wondering if there is a good way to get a fairly accurate estimate of insurance without having to call or email an agent.  I am not currently in a position to buy a property (educating myself in the meantime), so I don't want to pester people.  Any tips are appreciated.  Thank you!

[Katherine Serrell]

Not a dumb question! In my opinion, the best way is to just call a local broker. Insurance depends on so much including the specific property. The state/city, type of property, age of the home, location, cost to rebuild, flood zone, age of roof or major systems, your deductible, etc. all factor in. I would identify the area or a few areas you are looking to invest and just call 2-3 companies and give them an example property to get a ballpark idea. The biggest, most common factor that I can think of that can really drive up the cost is if the property is in a flood zone which you should avoid anyway.

Just a tip, when practicing analyzing the numbers, if the math is so tight that the insurance being a bit higher than anticipated is what makes or breaks the deal then that is probably a good indicator that it is not a good deal in general. 

[Eliott Elias]

Call and email the agent, picking up the phone and making calls needs to be second nature to you. 

[Ben Guttman]

Quote from @Katherine Serrell:

Not a dumb question! In my opinion, the best way is to just call a local broker. Insurance depends on so much including the specific property. The state/city, type of property, age of the home, location, cost to rebuild, flood zone, age of roof or major systems, your deductible, etc. all factor in. I would identify the area or a few areas you are looking to invest and just call 2-3 companies and give them an example property to get a ballpark idea. The biggest, most common factor that I can think of that can really drive up the cost is if the property is in a flood zone which you should avoid anyway.

Just a tip, when practicing analyzing the numbers, if the math is so tight that the insurance being a bit higher than anticipated is what makes or breaks the deal then that is probably a good indicator that it is not a good deal in general. 

 What Katherine said! Not a dumb question, but it's so granular there are no accurate "ballpark numbers." 

Agents don't consider it "wasting their time" if you will use them when the financials are lined up. We're all human and things take time.

[Cameron Moore]

I agree with everyone here, I will comment on the tough reality of pricing insurance. Unfortunately, insurance is one of the most undpredictable parts of real estate. It comes down to material types, roof age, claim history for the property, claim history for surrounding properties, rolling catastrophies in the zip code, credit, loss history for the applicant, profitability for the other insurance companies in that area, age, marriage status, and many other tiny/annoying factors that us brokers cannot see. 

[Noah Stauffer]

Thank you all for the replies!!  Really appreciate the help.  Looks like I'm picking up the phone lol.

[Randall Re II]

Quote from @Noah Stauffer:
Hello All!  First post here, so hope this isn't a dumb question lol.  I am trying to get in some practice analyzing properties, and I was wondering if there is a good way to get a fairly accurate estimate of insurance without having to call or email an agent.  I am not currently in a position to buy a property (educating myself in the meantime), so I don't want to pester people.  Any tips are appreciated.  Thank you!

 I have a property in Port Charlotte and can tell you, Florida is among the more expensive one's I've seen. Since the Hurricanes, my insurance last year went from 1800 (5% deductable based on property value) to now I'm looking at 3200 a year. It's all based on area, flood zones, how close to flood zones, etc. If your researching a specific area, say Tampa, call in asking for area's specifically asking for quotes from several examples. In Florida, you have two main things to worry about, 4 point and wind mitigation report. They both will need to be done and will greatly reduce costs on the insurance plan. 

[Chris Seveney]

@Noah Stauffer

Call an insurance agent and get a quote….

[Jeff Costa]

Find an insurance agent in your market, and start a relationship. Then use them (if the quote pencils out) to write a policy.  After that first policy, they will be more likely to help you in the future. I have two policies with a single agent, and he turns new quotes around in 24 hours or less, enabling me to use actual insurance numbers in my pro-forma, making it more accurate.

Also, the more pro-formas you create with actual insurance quotes, the better your "thumb in the air" swag at estimating insurance for a new property becomes over time.

[Ryan Wakely]

Quote from @Jeff Costa:

Find an insurance agent in your market, and start a relationship. Then use them (if the quote pencils out) to write a policy.  After that first policy, they will be more likely to help you in the future. I have two policies with a single agent, and he turns new quotes around in 24 hours or less, enabling me to use actual insurance numbers in my pro-forma, making it more accurate.

Also, the more pro-formas you create with actual insurance quotes, the better your "thumb in the air" swag at estimating insurance for a new property becomes over time.

+1 - I was planning on posting this, but Jeff beat me to it. Build a relationship with a broker that will help you through your investing career. The property insurance market is hardening so having someone on your team that will go to bat with you can make a huge difference (and prevent surprises).