What deductible do you keep on your homeowner's insurance?

[rafiki]

.

[Loupelou]

I would have to decide if something big happened could we come up with $5000 and can dh make the repairs himself.

[Jennifer in MI]

We've also never used our insurance.

 

But, we opted for the $5000 deductible. We chose it because it was the highest deductible with which we felt comfortable right now with our savings accounts being what they are. If we "lost" the $5000, we'd still be comfortable.

 

So, I think that deductibles are very personal - it depends on how much you have in savings and how much you can afford to "lose" should you ever need it.

[Tammy]

how much will your rates drop if you change it to $5000? Mine is $1000....and I will keep it there. My hurricane deductible is much more.... $3618. My policy for one year is about $1300....and that is in hurricane country, LOL.

[Tap]

Ours is $1000. The difference between 1-5,000 was negligible for us, something like $20 a year.

[lynn]

The maximum we can I think it's $5,000

[Deidre in GA]

the deductible should at least be $1000. making claims - which the insurance company regard as nickel & dime - can result in your rates being raised or you being dropped altogether. consumer advocate clark howard recommends at least $2000. if your DH thinks your family can absorb $5000 that fine but it would be too rich for my blood.

[gingersmom]

I think mine is $2000.

[LMA]

the deductible should at least be $1000. making claims - which the insurance company regard as nickel & dime - can result in your rates being raised or you being dropped altogether. consumer advocate clark howard recommends at least $2000. if your DH thinks your family can absorb $5000 that fine but it would be too rich for my blood.

 

To add to this, for many insurance companies, an inquiry about a possible claim qualifies as a claim even if you do not file a claim. My neighbor asked about a broken window, decided it was cheaper to pay cash, did not file a claim, and ended up having a claim put on the record.

 

To answer OP, our deductible is $500.

[RegGuheert]

With car insurance, your lender often dictates a maximum deductible amount. I'm wondering if there is the same kind of limit imposed by mortgage lenders. Does anyone know?

[gardening momma]

To add to this, for many insurance companies, an inquiry about a possible claim qualifies as a claim even if you do not file a claim. My neighbor asked about a broken window, decided it was cheaper to pay cash, did not file a claim, and ended up having a claim put on the record.

True. I know someone who inquired about something also, never made a claim, and since it was their second "claim", their insurance dropped them.

 

We have a $500 deductible, which we are thankful for right now, as we have a roofing claim right now (which involves interior walls as well).

[Linda1951]

1 percent of value of house for house burning down or blowing down

2 percent of value for hail and wind and flood

We have always had our deductible higher,.

 

also you might consider that the value of your house had gone up and also the cost of replacing it since you bought it. We bought ours for 103,000 and our insurance man suggested that since it would cost 135,000 to replace it now to put the coverage of insurance up to 140,000.

[Mommyof4ks]

We have $1000, because I know we can always come up with that. If you have $5000 handy, then that makes sense, but if not it might be hard to come up with it later if you need it. Just my .02

[susie in tx]

We live in Texas and have a 1% deductible for all homeowner's claims. When determining how much insurance to carry, it's important to look at the cost to replace the house. FE, if there was a fire that completely decimated my house, I would need enough insurance for them to take the debris off the land, prepare the dirt and rebuilt my exact same house. So, we get quite a bit more insurance than just the value of our house.

 

This last spring, we had an hail claim. Most of the roofers around here are waiving the deductible and just taking what the insurance company gives us. I talked with our insurance company and they did not consider that to be fraud.

[Unicorn.]

Also in TX, and also a 1% deductible. Good advice on replacement cost vs worth.

[AngieW in Texas]

Also in Texas. Our deductible is 1% of replacement cost. The roofers ate half of our deductible when we had our roof replaced after the hailstorm several months ago.

[Susu]

Personally, I would not be comfortable with a $5000 deductible. It is just way too much money to have to come up with. Even if I had that much in an emergency fund, it would stress me out completely to have to raid that much money at once! But it is a personal tolerance thing, I think...and all of us have varying levels of financial tolerance...

 

Now, if that high of a deductible saves a substantial amount of money per year, it might be worth it to you, but if I did that I would start a savings account to have that money on hand.

 

I think if you had such a high deductible you would be thinking of your insurance as more of a catastrophic policy, and would be planning on doing many of your own repairs/replacements for losses under $5000. If you take that mentality, then it might work for you...but as for me, I know that I have made 2 or 3 claims over the years for less than $5000 and I was very glad of the insurance in those times!

 

Susu