How To Maintain Adequate Homeowners Insurance Coverage

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, stories have emerged of homeowners whose hazard insurance coverage was too low to cover the damage to their respective properties. 

Unfortunately, this scenario is common among U.S. homeowners, and is not just limited to damage from natural disasters. Homeowners in Maple Grove and nationwide are often woefully under-insured against catastrophe in its many forms.

Whether you're buying a home, or own one already, revisit your hazard insurance policy choices and be sure that your bases are covered.

Here are four common components of a homeowners insurance policy :

Dwelling/Building Coverage 
Look for the amount listed under this section and divide it by the square footage of your home. Talk to your insurance agent, your real estate agent and perhaps even your contractor to determine whether your current coverage is sufficient. Be sure to consider lot size and building materials.

Liability Protection
What if a person is injured on your property and decides to sue? Whether your dog bit someone's hand or a guest slipped on a wet floor, lawsuits can be expensive. Most liability policies start at $100,000.

Valuable Add-Ons
Few homeowners policies cover valuables such as art, jewelry, antiques, gold, or wine collections. However, you can usually add coverage for these items for a small annual fee. Appraisals are sometimes required.

Condominium Stipulations
When you live in a condominium or a co-op, the building often has coverage for the "walls out". Everything inside a unit remains the responsibility of the homeowner. To be sure, however, prior to purchasing coverage for a condo or co-op, show your insurance agent the homeowners association hazard policy for recommendations.

A little bit of insurance coverage goes a long way when it comes to unforeseen disasters -- but only if you maintain proper coverage. Speak with your insurance agent regularly to make sure you've never under-insured. Accidents, after all, are unexpected by definition.

Simple Real Estate Definitions : Tax And Insurance Escrow

As a homeowner in Maple Grove , your fiscal responsibility extends beyond just making mortgage payments. You must also pay your home's real estate taxes as they come due, as well as your homeowners insurance policy premiums.

Failure to pay real estate taxes can result in foreclosure. Failure to insure your home is a breach of your mortgage loan terms.

There are two methods by which you can pay your real estate tax and homeowners insurance bills.

The first method is to pay your taxes and insurance as the bills come due, usually semi-annually. Depending on your home's tax bill size and the cost to insure your home, these payments can feel quite large -- especially if you've failed to budget for them properly.

The second method of paying your taxes and insurance is to give your lender the right to pay them on your behalf, a process known as "escrowing for taxes and insurance".

When you escrow your real estate taxes and homeowners insurance, you pay a portion of your annual obligation to your lender each month, which your lender then holds in a special account for you, and disperses to your taxing entities and insurance company as needed. Lenders prefer that homeowners escrow taxes and insurance because, in doing so, the lender is assured that tax bills remain current and that homes stay insured.

Want a discount on your next mortgage rate? Tell your lender that you're willing to escrow.

To help calculate your monthly escrow payment to your lender, do the following :

1. Find your home's annual real estate tax bill
2. Find your home's annual homeowners insurance premium
3. Add the two figures and divide by 12 months in a year

The quotient is your monthly "escrow"; the extra payment you'll make to your lender each month along with your regularly scheduled principal + interest payment. Then, when your tax bills and insurance premiums come due, your lender will make sure the payments are made on your behalf.

If you're unsure whether escrowing is right for you, talk to your loan officer and/or financial planner. There are valid reasons to choose either path.

What Does It Mean To Escrow Taxes And Insurance?

The fiscal responsibility of a homeowner -- in Minneapolis and everywhere else -- extends beyond the mortgage's basic principal and interest repayments. Homeowners are also responsible for the real estate taxes on the home and its insurance premiums, too.

Failure to pay taxes can lead to foreclosure, and failure to insure is breach of your mortgage contract.

As a homeowner, you have a choice about how you manage your real estate tax and insurance bills.  You can choose to pay them from your own bank account when the bills come due, or you can choose to pay 1/12 of the annual bill to your mortgage servicer each month, and then let your servicer pay the bills on your behalf when they come due.

Not surprisingly, servicers prefer the latter method -- it reduces two major lender risks:

1. That the home's real estate taxes go delinquent and are sold to a third-party
2. That the home endures catastrophic damage during a lapse of insurance coverage

In theory, when the servicer is paying the bills, the home's taxes are always current and the home's insurance is always paid. This method of managing taxes and insurance is commonly called "escrowing".

To calculate a home's monthly escrow payment is simple. Just take the sum of the annual real estate tax bills and insurance bill, then divide it by 12 months in the year.

As a example, a $4,000 annual tax bill with a $800 insurance policy = $4,800 annually = $400 paid into escrow monthly. These monies are collected as part of the regular mortgage payment along with the mortgage's scheduled principal + interest payment.

Homeowners choosing to escrow tend to get the lowest rate, lowest fee loans. This is because lenders often charge a premium to "waive escrow" (i.e. pay their own taxes and insurance). Escrow waiver fees vary between banks, but can range up to half-percent of the amount borrowed. The larger the loan, the stiffer the penalty in dollar terms. 

Choosing to waive escrow can also raise your mortgage rate by up to 0.250 percent.

If you're unsure whether escrowing is right for you, talk to your loan officer and/or financial planner. There's good reason to go either route depending on your profile.