For those of you who own homes in Texas, I'm sure you've been recently greeted with a rate increase as a result of mold claims. I was with Farmer's for 6 years and had to switch because my rates DOUBLED this year. I read recently that most of the rest of the country pays MUCH MUCH less than Texas homeowners do in home and property insurance. I was wondering if anyone here would care to share their rates with the group so we can see some comparisons from Texas and other states. My new insurance is with Texas Select. It is basically $80K worth of coverage for the dwelling - essentially a basic policy for my home - with a $500 deductible. My rate is just over $1300 per year. Anyone else?
It has to do with all the mold claims. The Insurance has to now cover Mold, or at least that is what my inurance agent says. DD
Mine doubled as well Jeff. It sucks. I went from $766 a year to $1536. I did stay with my same company (MetLife Home and Auto) and same coverage.
its expensive.. but worth it if your house ever burns down! .. trust me ours caught on fire 10 years ago..
I don't have a problem with insurance. If you have a mortgage, you don't have a choice. Either you pay for it or they'll force you to. However, I read that rates in California and New York are even cheaper than here. Texas is, in some cases, two and three times more expensive than insurance in other parts of the country and this was BEFORE the mold claims forced an increase. What sucks about the new insurance, and why the state may sue the insurance companies in Texas, is that they doubled the cost of insurance but now won't cover mold. If you want mold protection, the costs are more than triple what they were. The reason mold is so bad in homes is because newer homes are built for maximum energy efficiency. They are practically hermedically sealed as a way to keep the house efficent and lower energy costs, BUT, the tradeoff is that there is no place for humidity to go. Anyway, my concern is that we are so much more expensive than other states and I'm trying to figure out why.
This is from Insure.com... In 1997 (the latest year for which figures are available), the average premium for a Texas comprehensive home insurance policy that offered between $125,000 and $150,000 worth of coverage cost $985 annually, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. By comparison, the national average in 1997 for a comprehensive insurance policy was $481. Even if insurance rates grew at double the rate of inflation (12 percent) per year, which never happens, that equals $1383.85 in Texas and $675.76 which is still less than HALF Texas rates. Given the fact that our rates have doubled in that time as well, we could easily be paying triple what other states are. That is ridiculous.
jeff... yeah i was joking.. it is awefully expensive.. but i guess no matter how much we pay we've gotten our use out of it from that fire... does everyone have flood insurance? we dont at the present time.. but with all that happened last year might get it.. then again if the worst flood in houston history didn't flood the house.. who knows if anything ever would..
I've actually considered it but I live in the Heights and there is a reason they call it that. We are only a few blocks from the highest point in the city of Houston, so that helps.
