Insurance and the Tornado, the second disaster!

[MossRoad]

In some of these instances...assuming no mortgages - would it not be better to look at self-insuring for structure rather than paying out crazy premiums for the just in case event? Liability insurance is totally separate and needs to be paid for.

In my case, our house is market valued currently around $124K. The insurance company says it will cost well over $250K to replace it. Insurance is around $550 per year. I’d have to save $250K to self insure, while I’ve spent less that $15K on insurance over the last 25+ years in that home.

Don’t know about commercial structures, churches, private schools, etc. Would be interesting to see the numbers on those.

 

[MossRoad]

The pipe organ was separately insured for 1.5 million. Many stained glass windows. Front and sides were huge stone blocks about 4’ long and 2’ high. Don’t know if you could ever get replacements. Beautiful old church inside and out.

Man, that’s tough.

I’d guess I’ve been in hundreds of old churches and chapels in my life. Maybe pushing 500. Pipe organs, stained glass, ornate wood carvings, ornate stone carvings, beams, arches, heck, just some pews are works of art. Then there’s the gold leaf, hand painted murals, statuary, tile work…. It goes on and on. Craftsmen and women that can do that kind of thing are getting fewer and fewer, and sometimes you can’t even find the materials they used originally.

Sometimes it’s better to just cut your losses, put up a more practical space for the congregation’s budget, and make a nice memorial/historical display area off to the side so people don’t forget what was.

However, if the congregation has the will, drive, means and knowledge, who knows what they can accomplish? I’ve seen some pretty impressive fund raising in my life.

 

[ultrarunner]

In my case, our house is market valued currently around $124K. The insurance company says it will cost well over $250K to replace it. Insurance is around $550 per year. I’d have to save $250K to self insure, while I’ve spent less that $15K on insurance over the last 25+ years in that home.

Don’t know about commercial structures, churches, private schools, etc. Would be interesting to see the numbers on those.

600k to rebuild with 5k premium. (No idea about renewal)

600k assumes total loss but compared to the older neighboring homes my newer build has many fire resistant features.

I’m the only home in the entire area with full fire sprinklers inside and outside (Under eves) with two inch supply at 180 psi. The 2” line comes at an additional cost of $1200 annually.

The engineer owner builder designed right after the Oakland Fire Storm where 3000 homes lost. It was to be his forever home.

Even metal frame triple pane installed to mitigate fire risk as well as clay tile roof and all the engineering required to support the roof seismically.

None of the mitigation measures count when shopping for insurance which I find odd as well as 4” new water main to area hydrants with 180 psi…

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I just switched my insurance back to USAA. Put the house of 1200 square feet at $385k total replacement cost with possessions. Automatically that gives me up to 25% over to cover the rebuild cost and another 60K to rent while being rebuilt along with some minor riders for about $1200 a year.

 

[ultrarunner]

The replacement cost policy is one less thing to worry about.

As for personal property of value… I have none except tools but not well covered as it would require scheduling such as tape Bridgeport Mill and South Bend Lathe.

All of my furniture is hand me downs or free… no heirlooms though.

Cars are separate of course…

 

[ljjhouser]

Ok, what? Your location just says "midwest" but are you sure about those prices?

7/16" OSB is $17.65 at home depot today here in Michigan.

In general, lumber is still 50-100% higher than the pre-pandemic norms, but it's not astronomical anymore, and prices are still dropping daily. People are building like crazy around here.

I thought the same thing. And prices change daily. Looks like 7/16 is about $24 now and 1/2 good stuff for roofing is still $58. And they are building everything with it here also. Don't know if there is anything else they can use. 19/32 now seems to be about $31. STILL almost tripple what it should be.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/1-2-CAT-PS2-10-OSB-Sheathing-Application-as-4-x-8/1000068915

 

[MossRoad]

The replacement cost policy is one less thing to worry about.

As for personal property of value… I have none except tools but not well covered as it would require scheduling such as tape Bridgeport Mill and South Bend Lathe.

All of my furniture is hand me downs or free… no heirlooms though.

Cars are separate of course…

Woo hoo!

 

[Ken45101]

So much depends on the type of coverage you have and the insurance company. Some tout their low premiums but when it comes to payout time, that's the bad news.

A few years ago, I had a total loss on a rental house (inherited from my dad.) The insurance company went out of their way to be helpful. Of course, my annual premiums are higher than cut rate outfits.

 

[Hay Dude]

For the money they are talking, they had a church, a school with a gymnasium and hardwood floors, and a six manual pipe organ.

So if a bronze & marble statue of Mao gets destroyed in a tornado, do they rebuild it with OSB & plastic?

 

[Hay Dude]

That's a product of another century. I doubt any destroyed houses get rebuilt with fish scale siding. If you want a church, build a church. If you want a museum, build a museum.

So using your logic, if a 18th century bronze & marble statue gets destroyed by an angry mob riot, does the statue get rebuilt in concrete & plastic?

 

[Jstpssng]

So using your logic, if a 18th century bronze & marble statue gets destroyed by an angry mob riot, does the statue get rebuilt in concrete & plastic?

Yes, with a motion controlled nuclear device inside!

 

[MossRoad]

Come on guys. It’s a church.

 

[RSKY]

I think the 'never gonna happen to us' idea is what messed up the coverage for the older larger churches. When the outside is made of huge blocks of stone you get the idea that the building is indestructible and that was proven wrong. I still cannot understand why they tore down the remaining stone walls. Insides totally destroyed, floor dropped into the basement, everything soaking wet, but the outside walls still stood.

Sister said they had been told that everything had to be built back to modern code (of course) and that will keep them from building back in the same form. Congregation has been told it may be three years until building back begins, and may be ten years before everything finished.

RSKY

 

[kevin37b]

So using your logic, if a 18th century bronze & marble statue gets destroyed by an angry mob riot, does the statue get rebuilt in concrete & plastic?

I thought you were baling hay ? Not BS .

 

[California]

you must know what coverage you're getting, and most importantly insurance company, you need to be selective and read customer reviews before opting for insurance

Advice needed: where can I get a quality independent review of the coverage I just bought?

As noted above this ancient and non-code farmhouse was dropped when the insuror quit writing policies in this state, then my local agency and another wouldn't cover it due to its age. The insuror who finally covered it seems more targeted at shabby mobile home parks. I had to drop many standard components (theft, loss of use) to get the price down to 3 times what I had been paying. No other insuror was found that would write a policy. Basically I'm covered for liability to others, and replacement in case of total fire loss. Not much else.

I need an independent and professional review of my policy.

 

[ultrarunner]

Was CA Fair Plan able to offer coverage?

Independent Adjusters are a good source to evaluate coverage.

No idea what a review would cost.

 

[Snobdds]

In some of these instances...assuming no mortgages - would it not be better to look at self-insuring for structure rather than paying out crazy premiums for the just in case event? Liability insurance is totally separate and needs to be paid for.

There are many ways to go about this. Self insure with excess loss reinsurance is probably going to be the best way. To fully insure a property in todays market, an insurance company would have to have such high premiums that it would be unaffordable.

Like my Ranch...

I self insure the first 25k through my property insurance and then my reinsurance company has everything above that to the limit. The catch is reinsurance does not deal with claimants, they deal with other insurance companies and brokers only. So I obtain coverage through company x for Y amount. Then I have to also pay them an administration fee to shop for coverage with their reinsurance companies and to file claims in the event of a loss. If there is a loss, the reinsurance company pays my property insurance that then pays me. Therefore, I still have a high total loss figure, but my premium is very low as I take the first 25k in losses.

In reality, if there is a total loss, I would find an area to recoup that 25k from some covered loss.

Insurance is a game and you have to know how to play it.

 

[California]

Was CA Fair Plan able to offer coverage?

I was told by three agencies this would cost even more and might need the building brought up to code - an impossibility.

 

[ultrarunner]

When I was shopping nothing about code but the coverage provided is minimal to satisfy lender requirements...

 

[Hay Dude]

I thought you were baling hay ? Not BS .

LOL
Nobody bales hay at 6:29 AM in my area.