I just received my homeowner's policy renewal from Liere Insurance and saw a 26% YOY increase on my premium. I called them up and asked them to see what my policy premium would be at if I were to increase my deductibles. Low and behold, I was able to get it just under $1800 for this coming year.

2% on all other perils
5% on wind/hail

I know, cool story bro...but if you're able to cover the deductible, it's not a bad way to save some money on your insurance.

It's all becoming pure insanity.

Same, it's going to have to be catastrophic for me to be able to file a claim at this point….

what a deal, pay the insurance company thousands of dollars to cover fire & lightning. Something that occurs in about 1 in 500 homes each year.

Yes. It's the first thing I tell an insurance agent. Quote me with max deductibles. The savings in premiums over the years have more than paid for themselves.

I really want private high deductible insurance. Forget all these large advertising outfits.

According to the agents I work with directly, The roof is the most claimed item. I carry a high deductible. I would set deductibles as high as you can possibly be comfortable with. I view insurance as a thing for catastrophic damage. In my opinion, I don't have insurance so I can replace my roof every 5-10 years. I have insurance in case it all burns to the ground.

Besides all of this, if you are insuring with the roof being your primary concern, then see about upgrading to metal to reduce your exposure. Also, keep in mind that carriers are getting very tight with roof claims. I have no less than 5-10 every year that go through the appraisal process to force a carrier to pay a claim they should have done on their own. It's time consuming, costs me a little more, and cost the carrier a hell of a lot more. My point is that there is a decent chance you may have to kick and scream to get your roof replaced if it's needed so keep that in mind if you want a low deductible thinking you'll make it up on the roof. You might not.

Before I can make that calculation, we need to know how much annual premiums are for a house like below valued at $375,000.

1%, 2%, 5% deductible premium costs will be needed and I don't have that info. How much did you save by going to the higher deductible?



First, there is no 'average' price of a roof. It's like asking you what is the 'average' price of a house. We need more details.

So, let's use this as an example:



2800 square feet of living space per Zillow. House built in 1999.

Several things to note on this. We have single story and two story roof requirements. We have porches front and back requiring special attention to low slope techniques, and we have pitches that add to the cost.



The price of this roof will come in around $18,000. This is for a good quality Class 3 architectural shingle with modern synthetic underlayment, and accounting for low slope materials to satisfy install requirements, replace all accessories and flash accordingly.

Deductible on this one is $7500. Based on what I know about this neighborhood, that is a 2% deductible.

So....

Deductibles on a house valued at $375,000:

1% = $3750
2% = $7500
5% = $18,750

Most people I roof, based on their premium, have paid for their roof many times over. Think about that. You have sent enough money to your carrier to reroof your own house several times. You can bet your sweet tail that when lightning hits my home or hail destroys something, I am claiming that every single day of the week and I will max that claim out to recoup my costs.

What you need to think about is how much MORE you are paying every year to keep that 1% or even 2% deductible, how many times you have roofed your house due to age or storm damage, and see if it makes sense.

For me, on that house, I would keep a 5% deductible if I could swing it. That would be the minimum. If I could get a higher percent deductible, I would absolutely do it. I can eat an $18,000 roof without noticing it and if I have saved that much from the reduced deductible every 5 years, then you've saved it anyway and that makes sense.

When you get insurance coverage, make SURE your house is properly appraised. Can the customer above rebuild that house for $375,000? I don't know, maybe, but it might be close or undervalued. Then, don't insure so your deductible is cheap and you can get a roof covered. Insure your house as high as possible that you can afford in case the whole thing is catastrophically destroyed or you have a seriously large repair. Figure your odds, don't let fear and emotion work into the equation. I would go for a 5% deductible on the house above if I could. I am plenty comfortable covering that, and if I SAVED the money I would have spent on the 1% deductible, then I have paid for my own roof anyway.

The house above has the original roof. In 26 years of insurance coverage and premium payments, not once was a roof claim made.

****CAVEAT****
Some carriers are requiring re-roofs at 10 years for asphalt shingles. Not all, but some. This seems to bother people a lot, and it should as you may not need a roof at 10 years. However, if we use the math above, bullcrap insurance policies ignored, you've saved enough to cover that yourself still.