home insurance for a home that was built 107 years ago?
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at
3:36 am
greatdame53209 asked:
why on earth did i get a quote of 3500-4000 for 300k insurance on this home? Is the home that damn old?
why on earth did i get a quote of 3500-4000 for 300k insurance on this home? Is the home that damn old?
Filed under: Homeowners Insurance
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Yes. Most carriers will not put insurance on a home over (insert years here – usually 50 – 75). The main problem is, the policies are all written and filed on “cost to rebuild with like kind & quality”. Well your house PROBABLY has plaster walls, all copper piping, tons of wood trim, some of which might be hand carved, those fancy cut glass doorknobs, solid wood doors, and the cost to REBUILD the thing, up to current code, is likely 5-10X market value of the house.
Additionally, unless the house was COMPLETELY UPDATED within the past 15 years (new furnace/ac with ductwork, all new wiring & breaker box, new roof, new hot water heater, new plumbing) you’ve got some pretty old systems there just WAITING to fall apart from age, causing a claim (think : When was your VERTICAL STACK replaced? How about your water and sewer pipes, outside the house? Snaked ‘em recently for tree roots?)
So. Unless you have a high value home (at least $500,000 cost to rebuild) and it’s in spectacular shape, and you have great credit, so can take out a Cadillac homeowners policy like Chubb’s high value homeowners, you’re going to have to do A LOT of legwork to find a carrier (most likely, a small, regional carrier you can access through a local independent agent) to find a company willing to insure you.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.
Yes the home is that dam old. It’s a wonder you can get insurance on it at all unless there has been a major renovation done on it. Most of these homes are very dangerous, especially the wiring and heating.
knock the house down and build a new one for cryin out loud.
I feel your pain — I had the same problem when I purchased my home built in 1851. I did alot of hunting around and found that Allstate would cover my home for a VERY reasonable price.
My joy was somewhat dampened when Allstate sent an inspector to my home and increased my rate because of the home’s original mahogany floors, other interior woodwork and elaborate wrap-around wooden porch added in 1889.
So give Allstate a call and see what they can do for you.
I’m an insurance agent and I also have an old home. My house was built in 1903. There have been a lot of updates to the house including the wiring, heating, plumbing and shingles. The reason the premium is higher is because they can’t place you in their best program due to the age of the home and the reconstruction cost of a home that old is much much higher than the same size house built in the past 20 years. What you need to do is ask them to use modified replacement cost. Not all companies will do this so you have to find a company that will. With modified replacement cost you are agreeing that if there is a loss you will replace with today’s materials. (ex. woodwork that comes from a home improvement store instead of having it hand milled to match all the rest of the woodwork in the house. When you use modified replacement cost is brings the replacement cost of the house down considerably so your insurance is cheaper. I have done this with my house. If your house is on the historical register you probably will not be able to do this but you should check it out.