Challenges In Todays Home Insurance Market Place

Challenges In Todays Home Insurance Market Place

As Sheryl Crow says in her song All I wanna Do “I got a feeling I’m not the only one”. When it comes to home insurance rates, if you are feeling like your rates are climbing the premium totem pole you would be right.  You are not the only one feeling this way.  Also, it is not a feeling it is truth. Top comments & questions I hear from customers and prospects:

• I have not filed any claims. Why are my rates going up?

• How much is home insurance?

• Why is home insurance so much these days?

• Is there anything I can do to lower my rates?

Let’s talk about these comments and questions. It is important to first understand several rating factors that go into determining a rate for home insurance:

• Coverage limits

• Cost of labor

• Cost of materials

• Yes, your consumer report index (A soft pull of your credit)

• Location

• Your protection class (quality and distance to fire department and fire hydrant)

• Type of construction

• Age of home and utilities

• Claims

• Insurance carrier combined ratio - Combined Ratio= (Incurred Losses+Expenses)/Earned Premium

• Loss history

• And more...
  
  

Now that we have an idea of what goes into the rating let’s address the common comments and questions I hear:

• I have not filed any claims. Why are my rates going up?

• Your home is getting older

• Cost of labor and materials have significantly increased

• Natural disasters and severe weather have increased the likelihood and severity of losses.

• Change in overall behavior habits due to outside factors people are spending more time at home, increasing the likelihood of a loss.

• The big one! Insurance Carrier combined ratios are not looking so good meaning the carriers are not seeing underwriting profits. When losses (claims) as a whole increase carriers lose money, so they must go up on rates for all.

• How much is home Insurance? Home insurance rates are determined by a long list of factors as we discussed earlier. At the time of this writing in the upstate of SC we are seeing an average rate for a home built in the last 10 years, +/- 2,000 square feet, no prior losses, subject has good to great credit between $1,100.00 - $1,300.00 per year. This same risk and subject was paying $700.00 - $900.00 five to six years ago.

• Why is home insurance so much these days? The largest reason home insurance is so much these days is severity and frequency of weather-related claims. The next reason is the cost of labor and materials.

• Is there anything I can do to lower my rates? Yes! Many of the ways you can lower your rates you already know about, but here is another list of several but not all:

• Multi-line discount – by bundling your home, auto, umbrella, recreational vehicles, life insurance, etc... you will see savings.

• Use other ways of risk management than transferring your risk to an insurance carrier.

• Avoid certain risks that drive up premium

• Reduce risks that could cause claims

• Retain more risk

• Early quote discounts

• Update your home with new utilities

• Improve your credit

• Have a monitored fire and burglar alarm

• Have fire extinguishers and deadbolts

• Give up smoking

• Install a leak detection system

• New home

• Secured neighborhoods

• Longevity

• Claim Free

The home insurance market is ever changing. We recommend working with an insurance professional, like our team members at Advisors Insurance in Greenville , who knows the market, asks the right questions, and stays in communication with you to manage your risk and your rates.