Insurance is getting very expensive as all aware. I can’t imagine being an actuary when 1 in 100 year events are happening every year… We’ve got home, auto, motorcycle and liability with State Farm. It’s about $5500 a year all in, so I thought I’d go shopping. Talked to Farmers–they don’t insure properties over 10 acres or $1M. We’re in Montana for crying out loud. Properties under 10 acres are in the city center and are pushing or above the $1M limit. American Family is similar. I guess we’re staying with State Farm (who have been fine, I’ll say). I find those criteria very strange having lived in ski towns the last 40 years. Plus that takes most of the East and West coasts off the list also. Any insights?
Are those national criteria, or criteria in your area/state?
Good question. If they’re not national and limited to MT then it’s even weirder.
When we moved to Telluride in the 90s some HOAs mandated shake roofs. You can’t insure a shake roof now for love or money, and for obvious reasons.
Because I was googling about this after my first response…
It does look like the “mainline” P&C insurance companies may steer away from covering high-value homes; there are other insurers, such as Chubb and PURE, which specialize in that.
But, that said, the crazy increases in home values means that houses which weren’t “high-value” homes a few years ago suddenly now may be so.
Also, if you’re perceived as living in an area which is prone to wildfire risk, that may also be affecting insurers’ willingness to consider you.
I’ve got high worth clients who use Chubb or Lloyds, but those are usually edge cases where that was the only option. We did a house above Telluride at 11,000’ with no winter access other than snowmobile or snowcat. Tough to insure.
Aside:
Is your username a short form of Telluride? I’d always wondered where it came from and just now it seems obvious.
Have you landed there? Spicy. @Llama_Llogophile is more likely to have landed there. It used to have a 200’ dip in the runway but they levelled it out, sort of. 750’ cliff at the end of the runway to make it more interesting.
I’ve actually never been to Telluride. Had a trip scheduled once, but it fell through. I’ve been to Aspen more times than I would have liked, in several types of planes. If I were an insurance company, I wouldn’t write a policy on any aircraft operator going to either of them.
I’ve been to Montrose a couple times and Eagle / Vail more times than I can count. All in 757s. We ran A319s into the smaller fields like Aspen and Hayden / Yampa Valley. I’m sure there were a couple more mountain destinations around there but I’m drawing a blank on their names.
In SoCal we have to go through the California Fair Plan, which is now like $4k- just for Fire insurance.
Yeah–at least TEX is on top of a mesa instead of deep in a valley. I’ve heard that Aspen wouldn’t have gotten certified except for all the money.
@DrDeth A buddy in SW CO just got quoted $5000 for insurance on a $800,000 home, and it excluded wildfire.
In the UK, floods are the cause of the most insurance problems (ironic since most of the country is so dry they have a hosepipe ban). They now use a map showing areas of potential (and actual) flooding that can make a house unisurable. Fortunately for us, we are well clear, but a near relative is stuck with her insurance company, as they are obliged to keep her on.
The US has the same system.
But Congress gets to adjust the maps to ensure anyone in highly flood prone areas in their district is miraculously moved to unfloodable ground. without budging an inch in any direction. Especially not upwards.
And flood insurance is a separate program from conventional insurance that’s underwritten inadequately by the Feds. All in the name of encouraging people to build in flood prone areas.
Not a shred of honest logic in the system from stem to (sinking) stern.
As wildfires become a bigger thing here, it’s plausible the US develops a corresponding wildfire insurance scheme. That will be equally corrupt on top of intellectually dishonest.
I never sold to mountain people, just suburbanites. I wonder if anyone is still selling HO2 policies? My understanding is they are good for protecting against catastrrophic losses, but save you money by not covering piddly everyday nonsense like a HO5. Of course, I don’t know that a lender would get on board with that.