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Home/ring insurance questions

I'm shopping for home owners insurance and it's a pain in the butt! Care to help me out with some questions? We plan to insure my ring as part of our home insurance.

 1) How do you figure out the replacement value of your home? Our appraiser included both a market value of the house and "cost approach," which I thought was the cost to rebuild. The last two companies I called had wildly different estimates of what it would cost to rebuild and hence, wildly different premiums.

2) Insuring the ring seems to be complicated. If I insure it for replacement value (i.e, how much we paid for the ring), it adds $68 a year to the premium. Isn't that a lot? Do you guys insure for replacement value?

3) I asked Geico if we could get a discount on our auto insurance if we went with them. They said they can't do that yet in California, that they've requested it from the insurance commissioner, but haven't back yet. Really? Do any of you get discounts for having your car and home with the same company?

My favorite place on earth: The Amargosa Valley.
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Re: Home/ring insurance questions

  • Everything is done via State Farm. I am pretty sure our house is insured for the value of materials to rebuild. It isn't as much as the house is worth if we were to sell it tomorrow. I think that is how insurance works. 

    My ring isn't covered by the homeowners, it is under a different policy entirely, but under State Farm. We also have three cars under them as well.

      

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  • The insurance companies all have their own formulas for figuring out the rebuilding cost of your home based on location, age, size etc. It will be less than what you paid, because they aren't insuring the "land" only the building. You shouldn't have to worry about figuring out how much to insure it for, they will tell you based on your answers to their questions. $68 a year does seem a bit high, but maybe they know something you don't ? Or try shopping around and see what others quote.
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  • imageCarFar:
    The insurance companies all have their own formulas for figuring out the rebuilding cost of your home based on location, age, size etc. It will be less than what you paid, because they aren't insuring the "land" only the building.

    See, this is what's wonky. They all so far have been higher than what we paid. Maybe that's different than yours because we live in a lower cost of living area so you don't have uber-inflated home prices. But one is $50,000 more than the other? Really? That's a big difference for a 1,400-square-foot home.

    But the point is we have to go by what that company says to be fully insured, right? They determine what that is.

    My favorite place on earth: The Amargosa Valley.
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  • I work for an insurance company-When you insure a house you have to insured for rebuilding cost. This is VERY different than new building cost. It's more of a speciality to build on to an existing foundation and have to work around what's already there. Also, when you're building a bunch of homes you can buy in bulk for toilets, light fixtures, sinks etc, but when you have to rebuild you're buying everything individually.

    As far as your ring-You would need to check with the particular carrier, but you generally schedule it so that it's covered for mysterious disappearance (the most common loss to jewelry) and it's not subject to a deductible if it is lost. Every carrier is different so you would need to verify that information. I have my E-ring, wedding band and diamond earrings scheduled and pay $93 annually.

    I'd be happy to answer questions on a more individual basis via email:
    torylynn213 at gmail dot com 

    ETA: A lot of companies offer a home/auto discount, so you should check on your auto rates with another carrier. Also, the company should figure out your replacement cost-not you. But they will use an estimator based on the information of your home so the more details you give them the better.

  • imagePassanie:

    2) Insuring the ring seems to be complicated. If I insure it for replacement value (i.e, how much we paid for the ring), it adds $68 a year to the premium. Isn't that a lot? Do you guys insure for replacement value?

     

    I don't know anything re: homeowners insurance (still renting, thanks to Lamorinda housing prices), but I know we pay ~$100/year to insure my E-ring through USAA...so $68 doesn't sound unreasonably high...

  • Sounds like you've already gotten some good advice, but just a note on the ring insurance....we have it on the same policy as our homeowner's and the insurance company (AAA) figured out our cost based on the appraisal of the ring and it was a straight $xx per $xxxx sort of thing. (I think it was $17 per $1K.) So, it just depends on your ring...I choke when I pay mine every year, but it is worth the peace of mind for that mysterious disappearance T was referring to.
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  • we have our renter's/car insurance through amica mutual.  the renter's is basically homeowners, sans coverage for a home.  my ring is covered on a rider to the renters insurance.  i can't recall how much we pay but $68/yr doesn't sound that expensive to me.  we do get a discount for multiple lines of coverage.  i suggest you check amica out.  they're a direct underwriter so their rates are better (no agents to pay) and the service is amazing.  i've never found any other company with better rates or service. 
    great blasket island, co. kerry, ireland june 2011
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