Homeowners Insurance.
Your home is the largest thing you own, and the policy protecting it is the one document almost nobody reads until the week they need it.
This market changed. Premiums rose, carriers withdrew from whole regions, and roof age now decides whether a
policy is offered at all. Two quotes can look identical and settle a claim tens of thousands of dollars apart,
because the line that matters is buried in an endorsement rather than printed on the summary.
With a very wide panel of carriers behind us, we can usually lower the premium and improve the coverage at
once. Send us your current policy in the chat. We will read it, price it against the market, and tell
you plainly where you stand.
Lower the premium, and raise the coverage
These are usually treated as a trade-off. With enough carriers in front of you, they frequently are not.
A single company can only offer you its own rate for its own appetite. If your roof aged, your county repriced, or their reinsurance costs rose, that lands on your renewal with nothing to compare it against. That is not a negotiation, it is a notice.
We work the other way round. The same home is priced across a wide panel of carriers at once, and because appetite differs so much between them, the spread on identical coverage is often substantial. Frequently the carrier offering the better price is also the one offering the better roof settlement, because your home happens to be exactly what they want to write this year.
Same coverage, lower cost
We start with a genuine like-for-like comparison. The identical policy you hold now, priced across the market, so you can see plainly whether you are overpaying.
Better coverage, similar cost
Then we show you what the gaps would cost to close. Full roof replacement cost, water backup, scheduled jewellery, a higher liability limit. Often the difference is smaller than people expect.
Bundled properly
Home and auto together is the most reliable discount in personal lines. We price it both bundled and separate, because occasionally the best home carrier and the best auto carrier are not the same company.
And we tell you to stay
If what you hold is already competitive and correctly written, we will say so and leave you alone. That happens, and saying it is worth more to us than a policy you would regret.
Send us your current policy in the chat, and we will price it against the market.
Not the premium, the policy itself. It tells us your roof settlement, your deductibles, your limits and your endorsements, which is everything needed to price it accurately. You will have a real comparison rather than an estimate, and there is no cost and no obligation.
Six coverages, and most people only know one
A homeowners policy is not one thing. It is six separate coverages with separate limits, and the ones people forget are usually the ones that decide whether a bad year is survivable.
A — Dwelling
The structure itself. This limit must reflect what it costs to rebuild today, not what you paid and not what it would sell for. Land does not burn.
B — Other structures
Detached garage, fence, shed, pool enclosure. Usually set at ten percent of the dwelling limit by default, which is frequently not enough.
C — Personal property
Everything inside. Often capped well below what a household actually owns, and jewellery, firearms, art and collectibles carry low internal sub-limits regardless of your overall figure.
D — Loss of use
Hotel, rent and meals while the home is uninhabitable. In a total loss this pays for a year or more of living somewhere else, and nobody thinks about it until they need it.
E — Personal liability
If someone is injured on your property or you cause damage elsewhere. Most policies default to $300,000, which is low against a serious injury claim.
F — Medical payments
Small medical costs for a guest injury, paid without establishing fault. Modest, and it prevents small incidents becoming liability claims.
Replacement cost or actual cash value
Two policies can carry the same dwelling limit and the same premium, and settle a roof claim tens of thousands of dollars apart. This is the reason.
Replacement cost
Pays to rebuild or repair with materials of like kind and quality, without deducting for age or wear. A twenty-year-old roof destroyed by hail is replaced with a new roof, subject to your deductible.
This is what most people assume they bought. It costs more, and in a serious claim it is the difference between a repair and a decision about whether you can afford to stay.
Actual cash value
Pays the replacement figure less depreciation for age and condition. That same twenty-year-old roof is settled at what a twenty-year-old roof was worth, which on a roof with a twenty-five year expected life is a fraction of the cost to replace it.
Carriers increasingly apply this to roofs specifically, even on policies that are replacement cost everywhere else. It is disclosed in an endorsement, not on the quote summary, which is exactly why quotes that look identical are not.
There is a third layer worth asking for. Extended or guaranteed replacement cost pays above your dwelling limit, typically an additional twenty-five to fifty percent, for the situation where construction costs spike after a widespread disaster and everyone in the region is rebuilding at once. In that scenario a correctly-set limit from last year is no longer enough.
Non-renewals, and what to do the week you get one
If your carrier stopped writing in your area, raised your premium sharply, or declined to renew you, none of it was personal. Understanding the mechanics makes it far easier to solve.
Rebuild costs, not house prices
Premiums follow construction labour and materials. Both rose substantially, so the cost to make you whole rose with them, regardless of what your home is worth on the market.
Reinsurance repriced
Carriers buy insurance for themselves against catastrophes. When that cost rises across an entire region, it appears in every policy written there.
Roof age became a gate
Many carriers now decline older roofs outright or settle them at actual cash value. Roof age and material are frequently the difference between a competitive offer and no offer.
Regional withdrawal
Some carriers exited whole states or coastal counties. A non-renewal in that situation says nothing about you and everything about their appetite.
Residual markets exist
Florida, Louisiana, Texas and California operate state-backed insurers of last resort. They are a genuine safety net and usually a last resort, because coverage is narrower and cost is higher.
Do not let it lapse
This is the one thing that turns a solvable problem into an expensive one. A gap in coverage restricts your options and your lender will force-place a policy that costs more and protects only them.
The exclusions that catch people
Every standard homeowners policy excludes these. Some can be added back, some require a separate policy, and all of them are cheaper to solve before the loss than to discover after it.
Flood
Excluded from every standard policy, without exception. Requires separate cover through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private carrier. Around a quarter of flood claims come from properties outside high-risk zones, where no lender required it.
Earth movement
Earthquake, landslide and sinkhole are excluded. Available by endorsement or separate policy, and in some states, notably California and Florida, this matters far more than people assume.
Water backup
Sewer or drain backup into the home is excluded by default and added by endorsement for very little. It is one of the most common claims there is.
Wear, neglect and maintenance
Insurance covers sudden accidental loss, not deterioration. A roof that failed from age rather than a storm is a maintenance question, and carriers increasingly inspect for it.
High-value items
Jewellery, watches, firearms, art and collectibles carry low internal limits, often a few thousand dollars in total. A scheduled endorsement covers them properly, usually without a deductible.
Home-based business
Business property and business liability at your home are largely excluded. If you see clients, hold inventory or ship product, that needs a rider or a commercial policy.
How we approach a home policy
We ask for your current policy before we quote anything. Not the premium, the policy. It tells us how your roof would be settled, what your wind and hurricane deductibles are, whether your jewellery is scheduled, whether water backup was ever added, and whether your dwelling limit still reflects what building costs today.
Then we do two things. We price a genuine like-for-like comparison, the same coverage you hold now, so you can see whether you are overpaying. And we price what we would actually recommend, with the gaps closed, so you can see what the difference costs. You choose. We will tell you plainly when your current policy is already the right one.
Because we hold appointments across a very wide range of carriers in every region, a roof age or a coastal address that closes one door rarely closes them all. That breadth is what makes a non-renewal a scheduling problem rather than a crisis.
And we price the bundle both ways. Home and auto together is usually the strongest discount in personal lines, but not always, and we show you the total rather than the discount.
Ask how your roof is settled.
Replacement cost or actual cash value. That one answer separates two quotes that look identical, and it is worth more than any premium difference between them.
Send me your policy to read →Homeowners insurance, answered plainly
Why did my premium go up when I never made a claim?+
Home premiums are priced on what it costs to rebuild, not on what you paid for the house. Construction labour and materials rose sharply, and reinsurance, the insurance carriers buy for themselves, rose with it. Add several years of severe weather losses and the whole market repriced. Your claim history affects your rate, but in this cycle it was rarely the cause.
My carrier is not renewing me. Am I uninsurable now?+
Almost certainly not. A non-renewal usually reflects a carrier withdrawing from an area, a roof past its accepted age, or a change in their appetite, rather than a judgement about you. What matters is acting before the policy lapses, because a gap makes replacement harder and more expensive. We place these regularly.
What is the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?+
Replacement cost pays to rebuild with materials of like kind and quality. Actual cash value pays that figure less depreciation, so a fifteen-year-old roof is settled at fifteen years of wear. On a full roof replacement the difference is frequently tens of thousands of dollars, and it is the single most important line in your policy.
Is my roof covered if it is old?+
It depends on the policy, and this is where quotes that look identical are not. Many carriers now settle older roofs at actual cash value rather than replacement cost, or decline the risk entirely past a certain age. Some still offer full replacement cost. Roof age and material drive both eligibility and price more than almost anything else.
Does homeowners insurance cover flood?+
No, and this surprises people every year. Flood is excluded from every standard homeowners policy and requires separate cover, either through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private carrier. Roughly a quarter of flood claims come from properties outside high-risk zones, where nobody required the coverage.
What about hurricane and wind damage?+
Wind is usually covered, but in coastal states it often carries a separate percentage deductible rather than a flat dollar amount, calculated on the insured value of the home. On a $500,000 dwelling a five percent hurricane deductible is $25,000 before the policy pays anything. Knowing which deductible applies matters more than the premium difference.
How much dwelling coverage do I actually need?+
Enough to rebuild, which is not the same as what you paid or what it would sell for. Land value is not at risk in a fire. Carriers estimate rebuild cost from square footage, construction type, finishes and local labour rates, and under-insuring triggers a coinsurance penalty that reduces even partial claims.
Should I bundle home and auto?+
Usually yes, and it is the most reliable discount in personal lines. But not always: in hard markets the best home carrier and the best auto carrier are sometimes different companies, and the bundle discount does not always overcome the gap. We price it both ways and show you the total.