All Forum Posts by: John Mocker

Daniel,

Rather than picking one company that will do all of it perhaps a better strategy would be to find an independent agent that has multiple companies.   That way, they can shop for the best price/coverage for each type.  You still get the advantage of dealing with one place without giving up the advantage of looking for the best deal for each  property.  

Erika,

You need to get your agent to work on this.   I've seen problems if the siding was Asbestos but not with Vinyl.   They should speak to the company and get a copy of the inspection report.   From that report they should be able to determine what is wrong.  Often there are photos in the report.   Casey could very well be correct that they looked at the wrong property and the photos may prove that. 

Carrie

As you start searching you will get quotes with different limits and term.  That can make it hard to compare sometimes.  You may want to tell the agents you contact what coverage you are looking for.  Tell them they can make recommendations for additions or deletions but that you would like a quote with limits of .....

For the rental properties, at minimum you should have:

1. Building Coverage: if available, get Special Form (sometimes called "All Risk") and the coverage should

be Replacement Cost coverage.

2. Contents Coverage: If you are renting the units with Appliances, Furniture, etc. you need to cover the value of those items. the coverage should also be at Replacement cost. The most common level of coverage is "named perils" which is not as good as "special form". Some companies will quote both.

3. Loss of Rents/Income: Make sure the coverage is enough for 12 mos of rental income

4. Liability: I recommend maximizing the coverage under the policy (that would be $500,000 or $1,000,000 for most polciies. I normally recommend an Umbrella policy as well. That can give additional coverage if the the liability limits of the underlying policy get exhausted. The Umbrellas are normally written in $1,000,000 increments for the limits. If "personal injury" is an available option I would recommend it. It provides coverage against claims of Libel, Slander, wrongful imprisonment, etc.

Depending on the details of the property (age, construction, etc.) there may be other coverages that would be recommended. For example, if the house is on a non-conforming lot or the building ordinances have changed and you would not be able to build the same way if it burned down, you should look at the optional coverage "Ordiance & Law".

Hope this helps.

Kevin,

When a Bank or Mortgage company is added to an Insurance policy as a Mortgagee they are a Loss Payee as part of the Mortgagee clause.  You have not seen that term "Loss Payee" because is normally used to referred to someone with a financial interest in a vehicle or equipment or other Business Property. 

Mark,

First a caution about using a different basis than Replacement cost for valuing the building.  If the limit does not reflect the cost to rebuild you will not have the funds from the proceeds to rebuild.  Further, on a partial loss having Replacement cost coverage will normally fund the full cost of the repairs on a covered loss. 

The increase in the cost of the homeowners seems high but you have to look at what increase has there been over time.  Insurance companies have to file their rates.  Often they will wait a couple years before refilling so the rate is a combination of several years increase. 

The important thing you want to find out is the competitiveness of that quote.  If that is still the best rate then you have to live with it.  If not, then you can renew with a different carrier and save.  

Felecia,

The coverage for the building sounds like it is based on the Replacement cost (rebuilding cost with like kind & quality materials).  We often see this in markets where the rental income of the house makes the resale value lower than the rebuilding cost.  Replacement cost (RC) coverage is better than the alternative method of valuing the building  (Actual Cash Value or ACV).  Coverage based on ACV means the payout would be the Replacement Value minus depreciation.   That would result in a lower payout at the time of loss.  Also, on partial losses, the payout on RC would be the cost to repair. Under ACV the payout would have depreciation subtracted from it.

Rachael,

I do not have any info on Real Protect or the company.   Two places you can get info are

1. The Insurance dept of the state where the property is located (make sure they are admitted to do business or an approved non-admitted Insurer

2.  AM Best (www.ambest.com).  They are an insurance rating agency.

Preston,

Many companies have in their guidelines that they will not write a building with Knob & Tube Wiring.   Be wary of any quote from a standard market company.  Make sure that, if the application asks about it, the Knob & Tube is disclosed.  Also, get in writing from the agent that the carrier is aware of the knob & tube.  You do not want any issues at claim time.

Often, the excess lines (surplus lines) quotes you get will have more exclusions and lower coverage than a Standard market policy so be wary of that also.

Daniel,

I recommend that, if your agent can not help you, you interview several independent agents.   As you pointed out, there are some things that can be shown as a plus, after the work is done.   You need an agent that is willing to take the time to shop this and point out the possitives.   Anything you can give that agent that points out the pluses will help.   If you have not had any losses on this property get loss runs from your prior carriers showing that.   if you know the prior owner and they are willing, have them get loss runs.  The idea is to show that the fire is a one time thing. 

If the work has begun, you may want to switch to a Builders Risk now rather than when the cancellation happens.  Sometimes the Builders Risk companies do not what to write a risk that is already in process.  Remember, the Builders Risk does not normally include Liability so you will need a policy for that as well.

David,

Generally I recommend maxing the Liability coverage.  In this case, the $5 cost could be the best money you ever spend.  Think about the situation of you being served with a lawsuit.   I think you would rather be sitting there with $1,000,000 rather than $300,000.   The question is, do you purchase an umbrella which will give you an additional $1,000,000 above the limits on the  primary policy.  I would get quotes and see how much additional it would be.  If you can afford it, it makes sense