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Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Saving Hundreds of Dollars on Our Homeowner's Insurance Policy

We replaced the roof on our home last month. This morning, I called the insurance agent and inquired about an adjustment to our homeowner's insurance premium (due in just a couple of weeks) because of this new roof. 

I needed to submit proof of the new roof. So I went downtown to bring the required paperwork. The agent contacted a central office while I waited. She will be able to give me a final dollar amount of savings for this year's renewal in a day or two. 

Replacing an aging roof with a new one can save anywhere from 5% to 35% off of one's homeowner's premium. In my case, we went from a cedar shake roof to an asphalt roof. Wood roofs are typically more expensive to insure than asphalt. I'm hoping for a sizable reduction.

While I was with the agent, we discussed increasing our deductible. A higher deductible suits my husband's and my style of dealing with insurance. We tend to pay out-of-pocket for smaller repairs and not deal with the insurer, whether for our home or car. We save our insurance for catastrophic loss. So, we increased our deductible amount. That right there will save us a few hundred dollars per year. The caveat -- with a higher deductible, we are assuming a larger share of the risk of loss with our home than previously. But we are fine with that. In the 29 years that we've lived in this house we've only used our homeowner's policy once.

With insurance rates skyrocketing in our area, any savings is very appreciated.

6 comments:

  1. It makes sense that going from a cedar roof to asphalt would save on insurance premiums. I'm not sure why asphalt to asphalt would be cheaper unless a new roof would be less likely to leak? We have higher deductibles too and tend to not file a claim unless it's a big one, like when our new car got totaled a few months ago.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Live and Learn,
      My insurance company told me that they offer this reduction because re-roofing means less chance of leaks that could cause interior damage, resulting in a claim. I also think it indicates a homeowner who is taking care of their property in general, and so may have fewer reasons to make claims.

      Delete
  2. I was under the impression that if you file a claim, your rates go up, so we also tend to carry a higher deductible and only use insurance for the biggies. I'm glad you will be getting lower premiums! Hundreds of dollars is not an insignificant amount of savings!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      that's especially been my thoughts too with car insurance.
      You're right, a few hundred $ is nothing to sneeze at!

      Delete
  3. My husband owns an insurance agency and higher deductibles are a great idea. Also, several companies are canceling homeowner policies if roofs are over 20 years old. So many people have had roof claims - insurance has really skyrocketed. It is frustrating!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ruthie,
      My agent told me that she sees the future of auto and homeowners insurance as catastrophic insurance only. I don't know if your husband feels the same way. She did say that their company is dropping customers or downgrading their payment options (going from monthly payments to annual payments) in cases where the insured is either making more claims than average or carrying a lower deductible.

      I read that also about 20-year old roofs. These days, some of the roof replacements come with 30 to 50 year warranties. I wonder how that will affect their homeowners insurance policies?

      Delete

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