HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE
I’m looking into homeowner’s insurance for a landmarked brooklyn brownstone. Very interested too hear current feedback on Brownstone Agency. Anybody have any experience with claims, etc? What is a good replacement price per sq. ft. for replacement cost considering landmark issues? I hear about people insuring a wide range from well below market value to…
I’m looking into homeowner’s insurance for a landmarked brooklyn brownstone. Very interested too hear current feedback on Brownstone Agency. Anybody have any experience with claims, etc? What is a good replacement price per sq. ft. for replacement cost considering landmark issues? I hear about people insuring a wide range from well below market value to double and various sq. ft prices and it’s hard for me to know where to begin.
At the end of the day, the best you can do is purchase the most comprehensive home insurance coverage ( http://aarp.thehartford.com/Property-Insurance/Home-Insurance/ ) from the most reputed insurance company you can afford. Look at all your options before you settle for one.
Brownstone Agency’s insurers have changed 2 or 3 times in the 10 years we’ve been with them. I’ve stuck with them because there are so few options and the most reputable alternative — Chubb — is way too expensive. At the end of the day, isn’t your level of coverage all about your risk tolerance and what you can afford? I know we could never afford the coverage to allow us to rebuild our detail-heavy house as is. So I’ve rationalized that, if we suffer a 100% loss, we’ll have to be happy with creating a sleek modern new rowhouse. It’s what happens if we have LESS than a 100% loss that keeps me awake at night.
There is no company that offers the best deal for every person. You have to get quotes from different companies online and see which companies can provide you with the best price: http://www.quotes-center.com/home-insurance-calculator
We just signed up (in the last month or so) to a new policy with Brownstone Agency (Chris Lehman) for a 2-family Park Slope limestone. I highly recommend Chris and Brownstone, although thankfully have not had any claims experience yet to chime in on. The process was super smooth and they were significantly cheaper than competition (Chubb, Liberty Mutual etc). We settled on $275/sq ft as well and feel reasonably comfortable that is a secure level. Everest is their insurer; they act as underwriter and servicer.
Silvermax, is land really just 10% of market value? If your house burned down and you were left with a shell, how much do you think you could get?
I’d expect land in Landmark districts to sell @ $75-$100 per buildable sf. If buildings are selling @ $300-$400/sf, that’s about 25% of the value of the property. Meaning you could probably get away with setting replacement insurance coverage at 75% of market value.
However, in the ‘real world’ many homeowners are constrained my their mortgage size when determining insurance coverage. At minimum, homeowners need enough insurance to cover the mortgage. For most home buyers, this means replacement coverage at 80%-95%, depending on downpayment.
Replacement value is less than market value — it’s based on how much it would cost to rebuild what was lost, not how much it would sell for on the open market. So, assuming a total loss from a fire, the land (10% of the value of the property) does not need to be replaced, but you would have to rebuild everything else. That’s the replacement cost. I did a little asking around before I settled on $275/sf. Generally, the response I got was $250/sf, so I went a little higher.
Sorry about bad experience with Brownstone. I think their underwriter is Everest, but wouldn’t swear to it — don’t have policy in front of me.
My experience with Brownstone was not so favorable. About 8 years ago I had a flood and suffered extensive damage. I used a public adjuster to manage the claim. Even though, it took over 6 months (after the work was done) to get paid. I can’t tell you how many phone calls to Brownstone were made, how many “the check is in the mail” stories I got, and how incredibly aggravating the whole experience was. They are cheap and you get what you pay for. I hope more recent claim experience has been better. Also, check who their underlying insurance company they are writing policies for and what their AM Best ratings are. Mine was a sub of AIG.
thanks for input.
regarding replacement value should be higher than market value?
i spoke to another agent there that put me at $315/sf which in this case puts me at 80% market value.
I just renewed with Brownstone, been with them for 35+ years, have made one claim for a flood, settled without difficulty. I renewed at $275/sf replacement value — Park Slope brownstone, recently renovated — probably a little more than I needed to. Replacement value is totally different from market value.
Ask for Cynthia Brown, she’s very good.