Originally Posted by
MechEngr
I expect that insurance underwriters dislike uncertainty the most. If they don't have sufficient statistical data about something they are likely to charge more.
I don't know. Even when they have the data it appears they still use some sort of voodoo calculation to determine cost or even coverage. For example, when I built my current house which is located 20 miles from the central Gulf coast, I had plans drawn that followed the requirements of the Dade County, FL Hurricane codes, which are considered the premier hurricane building codes in the industry, simply because my state didn't require any special codes. I took those plans to three of the A-rated insurance companies in my area for review and quotes. Two of those companies stated they could not write a policy since I was below a line on the map regardless of what additional codes I followed.
The third gave me a quote but offered no discount for the additional preventative measures I was taking in its construction. So since I was going to pay the same cost for replacement insurance, I had my builder cull out the overkill building items since I wasn't in a high velocity wind zone and kept the common sense items like you mentioned. Its been 17 years and I'm still money ahead than if I had built 100% Dade County compliant and thats even after a 300%+ increase in my premiums. I think if insurers were more proactive with preventing damage than just making a buck, more people like myself would take the initiative to invest in better mitigative options to reduce damages.