How to Find and Choose Massachusetts Home Insurance Quotes
There are a handful of extra responsibilities that come with the privilege of owning a home. Along with maintenance and property taxes, obtaining a reasonable level of home insurance is among the most important of these responsibilities. Massachusetts home insurance quotes are likely to remind you that owning a home isn’t cheap. Indeed, between premiums, property taxes, and maintenance, you may be lucky to break even with annual home equity gains, even after the housing market recovers. Still, home insurance is a must whether you own your home outright or the deed is held by a bank. Complete property loss is already an emotional upheaval; you shouldn’t have to add financial ruin on top of it.
Massachusetts Home Insurance Quotes: Average Costs
In 2006, the last year for which reliable data is available, the average cost of Massachusetts home insurance quotes was $925 compared to $804 nationwide. The higher costs can be contributed to a number of factors, including an aging housing stock and relatively high home prices. Indeed, Massachusetts ranks in the top ten for both home prices and average home insurance premiums. The good news is that unless you live along the coast or in a floodplain, you probably don’t need supplemental insurance as you would in, say, California for earthquakes or in Florida for hurricanes.
Massachusetts Home Insurance Quotes: Policies and Coverage
Harsh winters can create several hazards for your home. Along with the 11 basic home perils (fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, explosions, riot or civil commotion, damage from aircraft, damage from vehicles, smoke damage, vandalism, theft, volcanic eruption, glass or safety-glazing material damage), you might want to make sure your home insurance policy covers ice dams, frozen pipes, snow damage. Few insurance companies will actually cover ice dam or snow removal, but many will cover damage caused by these winter hazards.
In case of major structural damage, it’s imperative that you know whether your policy covers the market value of your home or replacements costs. Needless to say, what your home will fetch on the housing market and what it costs to build a new home of comparable dimensions and amenities is quite different. In fact, due to the recent housing crisis, this gap may be at an all-time high for many homes. To make the best decision in this regard, you may need to find out what this gap amount is and how the additional coverage will affect your insurance premiums.
Massachusetts Home Insurance: The FAIR Plan
Some people are unable to get home insurance on the private market because they live in a high-risk area or have made repeated claims on previous policies. Sound familiar? Well, fortunately, the Bay State guarantees access to home insurance through the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriters Association’s FAIR Plan. Indeed, if you qualify for this plan, it may be cheaper this year. Initially, insurance proceedings suggested the FAIR Plan premiums might increase by as much as 3 percent this year, but with further research and negotiations, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance was instead able to secure a .72 percent decrease statewide.
Finding Massachusetts Home Insurance Quotes
With nearly 100 companies offering home insurance for the Bay State, often the trouble with homeowners insurance is not finding quotes so much as narrowing them down and choosing the best one for your home. This is where NetQuote thrives. Fill out a brief online form, and we’ll match you to the companies that best fit your insurance needs. This allows you to narrow your home insurance search without unduly sacrificing the benefits of free market competition. Indeed, the insurance companies will know that the competition is also offering quotes, heightening the level of competition. Moreover, you can survey various quotes and insurance policies from the comfort and security of your own home. By doing this basic research and avoiding the high-pressure situation of cold-calling insurance agents or talking to them face-to-face in their offices, you can put yourself in a better position to make the best decision for your home and your household.
