Does Home Owners Insurance Decrease with Property Value?

Question

As we all know the property values continue to plummet. If my property value has depreciated a significant amount will my Home Owners Insurance be less due to the decreased value? Logically I say yes but I am a new homeowner and am unsure.

Answer 1

Help yourself:) You can easily check how quotes will change from property value in internet, for example here: http://home.bebto.com

Answer 2

OK, you're talking about two different things.  There are lots of different kinds of values.  The values that are dropping - btw, they are still more than they were ten years ago, and five years ago, just not as much as maybe two years ago - called a market correction - are MARKET VALUES.  That means, what you could get, when you sell the house.

The insurance company can't sell your kitchen off, if  there's a fire.  They don't sell of 20% of the house, and you're not selling 20% of the house to them.  They are FIXING the house.  So the standard homeowners policy is a REPLACEMENT policy.   Last I checked, contractors aren't charging any less to fix stuff, and building materials and supplies haven't gone down in price, either.

If you think your house is overinsured, you can always ask your agent to recalculate the replacement cost of your house.   But more than likely, the value has gone UP, not DOWN, as materials cost has gone up.     Not the market value, but the cost to fix it.

Answer 3

No. Homeowners insurance reflects the cost of returning a home to its present condition, should something happen to it. If anything, your homeowners insurance coverage is likely too low. According to Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, a company that monitors property values for the insurance industry, 58% of single-family homes are not insured for the full cost of rebuilding them. On average, these homes are underinsured by 21%. This means the insurance would cover only about 80% of the cost of rebuilding. For example, the insurance company would pay only $240,000 toward the rebuilding of a home that costs $300,000.

Many insurance companies offer “extended replacement cost” on their homeowner’s policies. This allows for up to 20% more than the stated coverage to be paid toward replacement costs. Marshall & Swift/Boeckh takes this coverage into account when calculating underinsurance, however, so the insurance gap remains.

To avoid underinsurance, read your policy to see if your policy offers extended replacement cost coverage. If so, find out how much coverage you have. If you have been in your home for a few years and especially if you have made substantial upgrades to it, contact your insurance agent for an analysis of your home’s replacement cost. This could result in increased premiums, but the additional amount you pay will be well worth it.

Answer 4

Your insurance premium is based on coverage you have purchased for your house and its contents; the dwelling is normally insured for less than full replacement value. The Homeowners policy covers your house and contents to the extent that you purchased coverage. So if your house is insured for $200,000 and the contents for $20,000, you will still have the same insurance coverage in the event of a loss or claim.

If the market continued to decline and your home's value slipped to 180,000 market value, your coverage would not change.

Answer 5

Homeowner insurance should be for replacement value. Re:

What it would cost to rebuild your home?  So no, insurance does not decrease.

Answer 6

Insurance is for the amount of your home for the loan.  Now if the local value goes up, it won't matter as that isn't what your mortgage is for.  It is to cover your home and you are paying for a set value.

If the house is paid off, you are still insured up to what ever dollar amount you are paying for.