How Much Does Homeowners Insurance in Alabama Cost?
Age and condition: Homes that are newer and in good shape cost less to cover than homes that are older and in bad shape.
Costs to rebuild: The cost of supplies and building in your area can affect how much your home insurance costs.
Type of construction: Brick or stone homes usually cost less to cover than homes made of wood.
Place: Homes in places with a lot of crime cost more to insure. In the same way, insurance companies charge more for homes in places like Gulf Coast towns that are prone to storms.
Fire protection: Most of the time, it costs less to cover a home that is close to a fire hydrant and a fire station.
Claim history: Homeowners who have filed insurance claims in the past often pay more for their insurance.
Credit history: A lot of insurance companies rate you based on your credit score. Homeowners with bad credit often have to pay more for their insurance.
The rates below are for plans with dwelling coverage of $200,000 to $500,000 and liability coverage of between $100,000 and $300,000.
How to save money on Alabama home insurance
Even though you can’t choose how much your home insurance costs, there are things you can do to bring it down.
Compare prices to find the best deal.
Check to see if you can get savings. Insurance companies often give savings to people whose homes are brand new or have security features like fire and burglar alarms, deadbolt locks, impact-resistant roofs, sprinkler systems, and storm shutters. You might also get a deal if you buy your home and car insurance from the same company.
Make your insurance higher. The Insurance Information Institute says that if you raise your deductible from $500 to $1,000, your homes insurance rate could go down by up to 25%. But don’t make your deductible so high that you can’t pay it if you have to make a claim.
Keep your credit score high.
Every year, look over your coverages. If the value of some of your personal things has gone down, you may be able to lower your insurance premium by lowering the amount of coverage for your personal property.
How to Choose the Best Alabama Home Insurance Company for You
Start by asking your family and friends for their suggestions. You can also find carriers in neighbourhood agencies and on the Internet.
When looking for home insurance, look for a company that has a good mix of price, coverages, discounts, and financial health. On their websites, credit rating companies like AM Best give away free information about finances.
Make sure the insurance agent and company are licenced to sell insurance in Alabama before you buy a policy. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has a free customer insurance search results tool that you can use to find out about licences. You can also use the NAIC tool to look at the Association’s record of insurance company complaints.
What does Alabama home insurance cover?
Standard home insurance plans usually cover six things.
Dwelling: This type of policy covers your house and any connected buildings, like a carport.
Other structures: It pays to fix or rebuild things like a fence or a garage that isn’t connected to the house.
Loss of use: If your home is damaged by a protected loss, you may have to move out while it is being fixed. Loss of use insurance can help pay for things like hotel bills and food out.
Personal property: If a covered peril destroys personal things like clothes and furniture, personal property coverage can help pay to replace them.
Medical payments: If someone gets hurt on your land, medical payments coverage can help pay their medical bills. This plan does not pay for anyone who lives in the insured’s home to get medical care.
Personal liability: If a guest gets hurt in your home and then sues you, personal liability coverage can help pay your court fees.
Is Alabama a state that requires homeowners insurance?
You do not have to buy home insurance in Alabama. But if you take out a mortgage on a house, the lender will usually make it a condition of the loan that you buy homeowners insurance. Most of the time, you have to keep insurance until you pay off your debt. Even if you’ve finished paying off your mortgage, it may still be smart to protect your home with a home insurance policy.
If you want to apply for a grant from Strengthen Alabama Homes (SAH), which gives money to people to help them make their homes stronger against high winds and rain, you must have a homeowners insurance policy.
Does Alabama have any special insurance requirements for homeowners?
The insurance code in Alabama does not force homeowners to buy any kind of home insurance. But some homeowners need more security than a standard policy can give. For example, if you have expensive art, jewellery, or sports gear, you may need to add a “valuable item endorsement” to your policy to cover them better.
Before SAH will give funds to applicants, they must have both a wind-force insurance policy and a flood insurance policy if their home is in a high-risk flood area.
Insurance for floods
Standard home insurance plans usually cover water damage caused by burst pipes, but they don’t cover damage to your house or its contents caused by floods. Homes that have a high chance of flooding and have a loan backed by the government must have flood insurance.
Through the National Flood Insurance Programme, a lot of home insurance companies sell flood insurance, and some also sell private flood insurance. Flood insurance is the only way to protect homes in places that are likely to flood.
Use the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood map tool to learn more about how likely it is that your home will flood.
Insurance for Earthquakes
The Alabama Emergency Management Agency says that both the Bahamas Fracture Seismic Zone and the Southern Appalachian Seismic Zone could cause strong shocks in Alabama.
Most standard home insurance policies don’t cover damage to a house or its contents caused by an earthquake. If you want earthquake insurance, talk to your insurance agent or company to find out more.
Disclaimer
The information on this website is not meant to be legal advice, and it is not meant to be. Instead, all of the information, content, and materials on this site are just for general information.