Homeowners' Insurance: What Leads to Your Cost

by Rossi Real Estate Services LLC 05/11/2020

If you’re new to homeownership, one of your first expenses is homeowner’s insurance. Not to be confused with mortgage insurance, your homeowner policy protects you in the event of a catastrophe.

Factors that Impact the Cost of Home Insurance

The cost of your home is only one factor in an extensive list of how insurance companies calculate premiums. Just like with car insurance, location plays a big part, as does age and construction. Then there’s your credit score and claims history. Here’s a breakdown of the factors that most determine the cost.

Location, location, location. Living in a coastal area drives up the price of the home and the price of insurance. If there’s a chance a tropical storm or tidal flood can impact your home, you’ll pay extra to cover. The same is true of homes in tornado alley. However, living next to certain first responders may lower parts of your homeowners insurance. For example, living close to a firehouse usually reduces the cost of fire coverage because fire personnel can get to you sooner. Likewise, living in areas that may be higher risk, such as a high crime area, may increase factors of your homeowners insurance, like damage and theft.
Construction materials is another consideration. Brick, stucco, fiberboard, or stone exteriors improve your home’s chances of surviving a fire over wood shakes or wood siding. That old Victorian is lovely, but wood burns quickly, so you’ll pay a premium to cover it.
Roof age and composition. Roofs are expensive. A flat roof costs more than a sloped roof, and a roof older than twenty years carries potential storm damage replacement costs. You’ll pay for that. And, just like with siding, you’ll pay more for a wood shake roof due to its potential to catch fire.
Homes older than about 40 years cost more to fix when damaged. And, they have older major systems that can break inside walls and under floors causing thousands in needed repairs.

A few other things impact the premium too. If your credit score is low, typically the insurance company asks for more money upfront and a higher premium. You’ll also pay more if you made multiple claims within the last five years. Of course, if you’re a first-time buyer this wouldn’t apply to you. Coverage for your personal property increases with the value of that property. If you own expensive jewelry, several computers or electronics, plan to pay more to cover them.

You can reduce premium costs by installing a security system, taking care of maintenance items, replacing major systems (wiring, plumbing, HVAC) and updating the roof. For more ways to learn how to reduce your insurance costs, ask your real estate professional for advice. Be certain to shop and compare prices and coverage too.

Housing Costs

Homeowners Insurance

About the Author

Rossi Real Estate Services LLC

Rossi Real Estate Services LLC is a boutique real estate brokerage firm that provides close personal attention to buyers and sellers in the Capital Region and surrounding areas. “Typical” is not a word that clients use to describe Rossi Real Estate's approach to home buying and selling. Building upon years of experience, Rossi Real Estate employs creative marketing approaches, combined with a vast network, to quickly sell homes. By creating home floor plans, professional photography, and online marketing videos, Rossi Real Estate is able to depict home layouts and professional marketing to potential buyers before stepping foot in your home; this saves the seller valuable time by attracting only those buyers who have greater interest in the home. Additionally, by employing targeted online marketing, Rossi Real Estate targets buyers searching for homes just like yours.

Joe Rossi, the Principal Broker at Rossi Real Estate, builds upon over 12 years real estate experience in every transaction. Joe zealously advocates for his clients by combining his diverse background in law, finance, complex negotiation, and management, with compassion and exemplary communication skills creates. He explains transaction details and guides his clients through every step of the buying and selling experience. Furthermore, Joe listens to his clients’ wants and needs. In a recent transaction, the buyer profusely thanked Joe, stating he was, “[T]he only one in the transaction that was capable of communicating with the sellers in a way that ensured we were able to close on our dream home”.

Our real estate practice includes leading professionals, all of which are NYS Licensed Real Estate Sales Associates: Joseph R. Rossi, Ryan Hart, & Dustin Cogswell. Their experience includes work at a fortune 100 company, military operations, and technical recruiting.

If you're looking for a real estate broker who goes above and beyond the industry, who genuinely cares about their clients, and who will drive results, contact Rossi Real Estate Services LLC today.

The Stuff our attorneys make us include...

In accordance with Real Property Law §442-H, Rossi Real Estate Services LLC implemented a Standardized Operating Procedure governing client engagement. As such, prior to any engagement, Broker:

1. Requires a buyer to produce identification if the identity of the buyer is not readily known through a personal relationship with the broker or licensed sales person;

2. Requires an exclusive agency agreement (i.e. exclusive broker agreement) prior to engagement with any buyer;

3. Does not require pre-approval for a mortgage loan; however, a pre-qualification letter for a mortgage loan or, for cash buyers, proof of funds is required.

Although Broker may not require certain information, a seller of real estate may require this information prior to showing the property and/or as part of any purchase offer.