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Colleen Said:

Home owner's Insurance on my new house.?

We Answered:

Maybe BEST to shop around but foremost you should keep in mind the anniversary date of your HOMEOWNER's POLICY and then look at breakdown of coverage that will show all the details.

We have owned 3 Single Family Homes and I might add you are getting things a bit confused so please bear with me as I try to explain your monthly mortgage payment and how it will flunctuate etc.

Normally your mortgage company will put into escrow to pay the following items:

1. INTEREST <= tax deductible on Schedule A Itemization based on mortgage loan rate x amount of outstanding loan

2. PRINCIPAL <= this amount sometimes is very little in beginning and your HOME EQUITY is determined by approx market value less OUTSTANDING LOAN

3. PROPERTY TAXES <= also tax deductible on Schedule A Itemization is based on local jurisdiction assessed value x tax rate to pay for schools and fire, police etc and this amount has been going up and many local governments currently experiencing trouble bec home sales which have fees that are paid to local Govt have slowed down

4. HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE <= normally paid once a year to INSURANCE COMPANY to cover rebuilding of structure, loss of contents due to fire, natural disaster and liability in event someone fell down on your property etc and sued etc. can vary based on zipcode, whether property is subject to floods or hurricanes, whether you have alarms and smoke detectors, distance from fire hydrant & fire station etc.

Sorry I don't know if I answered your question but as you can see there are quite a few variable components that affect monthly mortgage amount and it is best to simply ask for written quote from reputable insurance firms (I personally use USAA in San Antonio TX and GEICO) unfortunately Homeowners Insurance like everything else has been going up for several years now along with property taxes and there is not much else you can do and yes, claims would make premium go higher.

Also purpose of escrow where mortgage company makes property taxes and homeowners insurance is to protect their interest bec if they allowed homeowner to pay directly, they are at risks if say you didn't make pymt and fire occurred -- well financial institution that owns your mortgage loan would lose big-time...

Hope the Above Info Helps!

Shelly Said:

What should I do about the quote i got from our home owners insurance?

We Answered:

Generally insurance companies will refer you to a contractor who will do the repair for the amount they quoted, before deductible. Have you tried asking?

Insurance companies are known for low-balling the damage assessment. Their hope is you will cash the check and go away, and possibly never do the repair. So long as you can document the damage and you follow through with the repairs, you have a solid case for forcing them to pony up.

It does sound like you may have to pursue this legally. Insurance companies for some reason respond much better to an attorney than the homeowner. I would make contact with an attorney to get their guidance on how to pursue this... not with the intent to sue, but with the intent to convince the insurance company you will sue if it comes to that.

For now, it is most important that you document everything in anticipation of a lawsuit. Make videos, put your words in writing and keep copies. Prepare for battle.