Homeowners Insurance for a Cabin

[itpdk9]

Hello all this is my first post here.  I have been enjoying your pictures and learning for some time now. Thank you.  Anyways I did a search but didn't come up with my answer.  I would like to know who you all are using for your Homeowners insurance for your Cabins?

I called my agent, Nationwide Insurance here in Pittsburgh Pa to insure a camp in Kennerdell PA.  The agent gave me a quote thru a broker for $733 dollars a year.  this covers a dwelling valued at 30,000 the shed at $1500 personal property inside the camp at $5000 and a $500 dollar deductible.  This seems high to me as I don't pay much more for my House now.  Does this seem like the norm to you all?

Anyways thanks again for your help and knowledge... I love the forum 

[rick91351]

Wow that is outrageous!  This has been kicked around a great deal here from time to time.  (Seems sort of dead the last year however.)   

Check with you current insurance carrier if an umbrella policy is available.  Check with other carriers if they know of an underwriter that will write one on your home and cabin.  Main thing is shop around a little bit....  We currently went from Farmers to Auto Owners can got a great rate on everything. 

 

[MountainDon]

A big factor in rates is going to be the availability of water for fire fighting and the proximity to a fire department. It is not unusual in what I have seen to see volunteer fire departments not have as high a "value" and that can be reflected in higher insurance rates for a cabin.

Insurance for our out of the way cabin was about double the yearly cost as what we pay for the suburban house. The house is insured for 3.5 to 4 times the value they placed on the cabin. Their evaluation of the cabin was two or three times what it cost us in materials. So yes, it seems out of balance. But the house has a nearby fire hydrant and the professional fire department is only maybe 4 minutes away, tops. I estimate the volunteer fire department would take at least 15 minutes, probably more like 20 minutes, to reach the cabin and that is after the volunteers get to the fire station. Response to the fire at the neighbor's in 2009 was more like 30 minutes and that was at the beginning of wildfire season with crews on alert.

The insurance cost also factored in the metal roofing and fiber cement siding as plus factors as well as water supply, distance, and the fact that we are surrounded by heavily forested land as negatives. I was not all that surprised at the pricing. And every time in the past that I have checked our house insurance cost against others we still come up with a good deal (State Farm).

[rick91351]

We have no fire department.  However the people that live up there full time have found they get a real nice cut in their rates with a large tank of water like 1000 gallons and a fire pump.  Of course that is for full time occupancy and I do not remember the insurance carrier.

What I was surprised at was the dwelling valued at 30,000 the shed at $1500 personal property inside the camp at $5000 and a $500 dollar deductible for about $750.  However sitting here looking at it might not be out of line.  Especially after looking at insurance in the 26 by 50 foot shop.  That was $360 a year.           

[itpdk9]

Thanks guys, there is no fire hydrants and a volunteer fd is prob 30 min response time.  My agent told me that since I don't live there full time and no fire hydrants it will inflate the cost. I just called farmers to get a quote from them. We will see what happens. I know that insurance here in PA is different than other states. I know this from shopping for auto policies.

[Cowboy Billy]

I don't know much about that. But my Dad passed away last February. His house ins was about $800 a year. If we hadn't sold it before the policy needed to be renewed it would have went to $2600 a year. Part of their reasoning was that if a pipe broke or the roof started leaking or other damage happened it would not be fixed in a timely manner causing major secondary damage. And that it was more likely to be broken into when its left empty.

Billy 

[nysono]

I tried to get insurance on our camp though State Farm ( i have numerous policies there) and was told they would not cover it because I did not have year around fire department access (non maintained road (1 nov-1 apr) We had to put it on a rider with our current house 70K structure replacement and all contents was 360/yr....just a little info for ya

[itpdk9]

So thanks again all for the replies.  I figured I would update you all in what I have found out.  I called my insurance co back to see if I could put the cabin under an umbrella policy they said yes but it would only cover personal injury.  It would not cover fire or theft.  So i called another insurance company Farmers Mutual.  They gave me a price quote of $136 dollars a year if it is within 5 miles of a Fire Dept or $220 if it is not.  That is a little more realistic of an insurance quote and definitely beats my original one.  It is amazing to me that insurance quotes can differ so much so it definitely pays to shop around.  Thanks again for your help.

[Woodsrule]

Just a last thought here: most insurers will extend plain liability coverage to your second property for no additional premium. You won't be covered for fire/theft etc...but I would suggest having them place the property on your policy immediately for the plain liability just in case you have a slip and fall type of scenario. I did this for my property. Good luck