Comments on: Home Insurance, Mortgage Insurance, And Life Insurance?

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:51 +0000

When you say “mortgage insurance,” if you are referring to PMI, find out how soon you can cancel it and do so when you are allowed.
If you are referring to mortgage life insurance, don’t get it, it’s a terrible deal. Just get more life insurance, if you think you need it.

By: mbrcatz

mbrcatz — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

An agent should come out to calculate the cost to rebuild the home – it’s part of buying the policy, so no extra charge.
That same agent should be willing to take the time and sit down with you, and explain which coverages you need, and explain all about the policy. If they don’t do that, you need a different agent.

By: CHARLES R

CHARLES R — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

mortgage insurance should be factored in your mortgage. In Canada its tacked onto the principal of the mortgage. All its doing is covering the banks portion of your house, so its of little value to you.
The second is the homeowner’s policy. You should check whether:
- your adequately covered in all areas ie do you have sufficient coverage for your spouse’s jewellery
- do they pay replacement or depreciated value on claims
- liability coverage if a guest is injured while on your property
- what hazards and perils are covered (fire, acts of god, terrorism)
- deductables
I’ve never had to pay for the home evaluation. The insurance company wants to do business with you so its their pockets that should pay for the valuation.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

Increase your life insurance. Have a good home insurance policy that will cover the replacement value of your home and contents of your home. Plus tornado, hurricane, strong winds, underground mines, identity theft provisions. Dump the mortgage insurance that is why you want more life insurance.

By: John M

John M — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

get rid of mortgage insurance as soon as you can. check with your lender for how to do that.
You want to insure your income, or source of funds, through something like short term and long term disability insurance rather than insuring the payments that you will make from that money. mortgage insurance is for the benefit of the lender and is usually required until you reach a certain level of equity in the property. other kinds of insurance to avoid are things like credit card payment insurance.

By: FRANsuFU

FRANsuFU — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

Of course you need home insurance but mortgage insurance is not compulsory. The type of coverage I would recommend, and which I have, is replacement cost insurance. To my knowledge, insurance companies do NOT charge to evaluate your home in person, because it’s in their best interests to sell you a policy. An additional charge of inspection would not be very popular.

By: arklatex

arklatex — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

Good idea to bundle the insurance. I would have thought you would have to have this coverage in place before you could close on the home.
If you get a home ins. quote that does NOT sound reasonable, considering shopping the bundled service to other carriers.
They will ask you basic stuff like sq footage, # bedrooms, construction materials, proximity to fire station, and zip code, and everything is pretty much calculated off standard formulas. They don’t require additiona inspection, although I have been told that they may do “drive-bys” to make sure that people aren’t taking out fraudulent policies (like on an empty lot or a shack or something).
Ask about the deductible, ask about how they calculate the “contents”, and about terms of homeowner’s liability. A good agent will explain all this to you and once you get the spiel from one, you should be able to compare apples to apples on other policies.
If you live in a flood plain, you will have to have separate coverage for that. States like LA post-Katrina are very picky on this now and premiums are therefore higher. You may want to do some research to see which insurance companies have been LEAST affected by Katrina claims (and maybe now the CA wildfires) as they will possibly be more reasonable on rates for new policies.
Good luck!

By: Rocket French or Bust

Rocket French or Bust — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:50 +0000

Most homeowners insurance do not perform inspections. You are smart to bundle homeowners with auto insurance, however mortgage insurance and life insurance generally has no effect on discounts for home and auto.