Home Insurance

In the six months that have passed since Margaret Fulcher received her most recent homeowners insurance policy, she has moved on from being shocked to simply incensed. The premium to fully insure her Baltimore rowhouse increased fourfold last year — to a sum she can ill afford and one that she thinks does not accurately represent the cost of replacing her home. "This is a case of homeowners insurance underwater," said Fulcher, comparing her premium to a mortgage that is worth more than the home to which it is attached.

In the six months that have passed since Margaret Fulcher received her most recent homeowners insurance policy, she has moved on from being shocked to simply incensed. The premium to fully insure her Baltimore rowhouse increased fourfold last year — to a sum she can ill afford and one that she thinks does not accurately represent the cost of replacing her home. "This is a case of homeowners insurance underwater," said Fulcher, comparing her premium to a mortgage that is worth more than the home to which it is attached.

Home insurance rates are rising around the country, as evidenced by rate increases at several major firms in Florida. But there are ways to economize. The Insurance Information Institute offers several simple steps to lower your bill: Consider increasing your deductible, the amount of money you must pay toward a loss if you ever have a claim. Higher deductibles usually mean lower premiums. Consolidate your insurers by purchasing your homeowners insurance from the same company you buy your auto policy.

County officials are urging residents to purchase insurance policies if their homes have recently been added to newly redrawn flood insurance rate maps. The Federal Emergency Management Agency worked with Maryland's Department of the Environment to overhaul the statewide maps, which show which homes and businesses are most susceptible to flooding, and thus are generally required to buy flood insurance . In Howard County, the maps have not changed since 1986. Because of better technology, an additional 360 residences and 130 other structures near rivers and streams will be identified as being at risk of flooding, unless their owners appeal.

New York-- As South Florida and Louisiana clean up after Hurricane Andrew, insurers are rushing their resources into the breach. Soon, the physical debris will vanish from the land. But financially, many of Andrew's victims will never recover. They don't have enough homeowners' insurance to replace their enormous loss.Only about one out of every three homeowners has enough coverage, according to an estimate by Marshall & Swift, a leading source of building data for the insurance industry.

Washington -- Here's the headline many congressmen up for election this November would like homeowners and buyers to read this week: "House passes tough anti-redlining home insurance legislation. Minority and low-income consumers to gain new fair housing protections."But here's the real headline: "House passes toothless bill" that will do virtually nothing to curb central city redlining in home insurance policy availability, pricing or coverage.By a voice vote July 20, the House defeated a bill approved by its banking committee that had the strong support of consumer, civil rights, and housing groups concerned about discriminatory home insurance practices in urban markets around the country.

Out of sight, out of mind.Homeowner insurance policies are often shoved in desk drawers and forgotten. Folks preoccupied with other matters overlook the fact that they provide an important financial safety net for a family's hopes and dreams.Always shop around to avoid paying too much, yet be sure to get the coverage you need from a respected firm you can count on. Update coverage at least every two years, taking into account home improvements, additional possessions or appliances.Just ask any homeowner whose insurer wouldn't pay after disaster struck.

NEW YORK -- Metropolitan Life, one of the country's largest life insurance companies, was expected to announce today that it is sharply expanding its auto and home insurance subsidiary by buying a unit of St. Paul Cos., a leading corporate insurer with offices in Baltimore, for more than $500 million, executives close to the negotiations said.With the acquisition, the number of cars and homes insured by Met Life would nearly double, to 4.35 million, analysts estimated. The deal would also increase the reach of Met Life's auto and home insurance business from its stronghold in the Northeast to towns and cities throughout the Midwest and parts of the South.

EVERYONE EXPECTS insurance companies to be risk experts. Setting an insurance premium is, indeed, the actuarial science of probabilities: The probability that a policy-holder will experience health problems, that a driver will get into an accident with the family car or that a home or its possessions will be damaged.So it is noteworthy, indeed, when Allstate Insurance Co., the state's No. 2 insurer, acknowledges that it may have set premiums so low for Maryland homeowners in the past that it must impose unusually large increases this year.

An article in the Business section on Jan. 7 mischaracterized recent auto insurance rate increases for State Farm Insurance policyholders. The company raised auto insurance rates last year by as much as 44 percent in some parts of the state.The Sun regrets the error.Insurance industry advocates told state regulators yesterday that proposed regulations for companies filing home and auto insurance rate increases of 15 percent or more could raise costs and lead to higher premiums for policyholders.

Home insurance rates are rising around the country, as evidenced by rate increases at several major firms in Florida. But there are ways to economize. The Insurance Information Institute offers several simple steps to lower your bill: Consider increasing your deductible, the amount of money you must pay toward a loss if you ever have a claim. Higher deductibles usually mean lower premiums. Consolidate your insurers by purchasing your homeowners insurance from the same company you buy your auto policy.

Chances are when you bought that antique end table six months ago or picked up a painting at the art fair, you didn't call your insurance agent to update your home policy. "A lot of people think, `I've got home insurance, and I'm protected,'" said Victoria Larson, an Allstate Corp. agent in suburban Chicago. "We take it for granted." Most of us pay attention to home, condo or renter's insurance only when we get our renewal notice, move or hear about someone else's loss. While big-ticket items like a diamond ring or a fur may spur you to take out an additional policy, don't overlook seemingly everyday items.

Consumers might want to think twice before filing a claim on their home insurance policies, warns the Maryland Insurance Administration, because it could lead to higher premiums or even lost coverage. A local lawmaker and some consumers are unhappy about that. They say they buy insurance to cover their property when something goes wrong and want insurance carriers to be forced to notify customers if they're in danger of losing their coverage. Maryland law - like many around the country - generally prevents an insurance company from canceling or not renewing a policy if fewer than three weather-related claims are filed in a three-year period.

Home insurance companies are searching through their customers for the ones they want to keep: those who file few claims or, better yet, none at all. Rising construction costs, weather losses, and a poor investment climate have made insurance companies wary of anyone who files claims with any frequency. At most companies, that's anyone who files more than one claim every eight years, the industry average. By that definition, James and June McCloy of Rockport, Mass., were positively claim-crazy.

In an age when fire protection can be bought over the Internet and billion-dollar insurance companies are merged and sold like commodities, Baltimore Equitable Insurance is a throwback to another era. Founded when George Washington was president, the 12-employee firm has shunned diversification and stuck to selling an obscure type of homeowners insurance offered by only a handful of large companies in the United States. It has rarely advertised, existing mostly on word of mouth. Agents still visit clients, taking pains to carefully measure homes and assess risks.

When an unhappy buyer sues the former homeowners, claiming that the sellers negligently misrepresented the condition of the home, or failed to disclose defects in the home, the sellers may have the right to require the company that issued their homeowners' insurance on the property to defend the buyers' lawsuit. Here are the facts of a case that Maryland's highest court decided several years ago: The buyers purchased a farmhouse in Frederick County from the sellers. According to the buyers, three weeks after they moved into the home with their nine children, the septic system failed, causing sewage to flood the surrounding surface area and walks.

Insurance company lobbyists lined up yesterday to tell the state Senate Finance Committee that any changes in the state's new, relatively laissez-faire system of regulating auto and homeowners' insurance rates would be premature and would not control rate increases."

Home insurance companies are searching through their customers for the ones they want to keep: those who file few claims or, better yet, none at all. Rising construction costs, weather losses, and a poor investment climate have made insurance companies wary of anyone who files claims with any frequency. At most companies, that's anyone who files more than one claim every eight years, the industry average. By that definition, James and June McCloy of Rockport, Mass., were positively claim-crazy.

NEW YORK -- Metropolitan Life, one of the country's largest life insurance companies, was expected to announce today that it is sharply expanding its auto and home insurance subsidiary by buying a unit of St. Paul Cos., a leading corporate insurer with offices in Baltimore, for more than $500 million, executives close to the negotiations said.With the acquisition, the number of cars and homes insured by Met Life would nearly double, to 4.35 million, analysts estimated. The deal would also increase the reach of Met Life's auto and home insurance business from its stronghold in the Northeast to towns and cities throughout the Midwest and parts of the South.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Housing Administration wants Congress to let the agency insure up to $130 billion in home mortgages both this year and next.Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo told a House Appropriations subcommittee yesterday that this year's cap of $110 billion is too low for the FHA to meet homebuyers' demand. HUD, which oversees the FHA, originally asked for a cap of $120 billion in its fiscal 2000 budget.Raising the cap would allow the FHA to insure an additional 400,000 mortgages this year at no cost to taxpayers.