Home Owner Insurance Rant

[kmt1972]

Actually I am pretty happy about my insurance. I pay $2500 a year for insurance on my 3500 sq ft house and my car. The amount I pay actually went down over the last 5 years.
I also have life insurance which I will pretty much cancel in a couple of years as I get close to FIRE.

 

[meierlde]

How about $2050 for just homeowners on a 2700 sq. ft. home in a Houston suburb. This does not include flood insurance on our home.
This is through USAA and I have been told that Texans pay the highest HO rates in the country.

It should be noted that there is quite a variation in premiums in Harris County, in Clear Lake you have to go with the wind pool, whereas its different in the Woodlands. The distance from the coast does make a big difference, in the expected winds and thus the damage. The nearer the coast the higher the premium, thus Brazoria and Ft Bend would be higher than Waller Co for example.
As you go north the chance of a big tornado EF5 goes up however, so that north of Austin etc it is quite high (Jarrel for example).
However on big thing that has driven the rates up is hail storms and having them happen over a metro area resulting in a lot of new roofs. While in Tx you can't have your premiums raised because you made a weather related claim by law, if you and your neighbors in an area have a lot of claims from the storm the rates for that area can go up. (But is because the group of claims not your individual claim, the law holding that you can't do anything about the weather).