How much homeowner's insurance needed

You will need a policy sufficient to cover everything inside your walls including all built-ins such as cabinets. You should have umbrella liability policy--many people carry $2 million for this. If you need an agent, I have a good one.

Oh--by bundling all your insurance you may be able to get a better rate. So if you drive, it pays to ask an agent to price the auto, coop, and liability policies together.

Kyle West, please kindly refer an agent. Many thanks!

"You will need a policy sufficient to cover everything inside your walls including all built-ins such as cabinets. You should have umbrella liability policy--many people carry $2 million for this. If you need an agent, I have a good one."

Wrong.

For co-ops, you need only the equivalent of souped-up renter's insurance. The only things you need insured are those that you will take with you when you leave the apartment.

Built-ins and other "fixtures" are covered by the building's insurance.

Unless you live on Park or Fifth in a Classic Seven or larger, with loads of antiques and fine art on the walls, no way would you need $2 million in insurance.

My brother is looking at the Edge in Williamsburg and they are requiring a standard $1m policy at a minimum. He's getting quoted at just over $4k per year, which seems pretty high to me. Anyone have any insight? My policy covers about half that and I pay much much less, so not sure what the principal factor is here.

The Edge is a CONDO. That's a completely different ball of wax, and yes you would need substantially more insurance for a condo than for a co-op.

Matt may well be right--its been a while since I dealt with this. I thought I remembered my custom cabinetry wouldn't be covered, but regardless, you likely need more than you think. When you start adding up all the furniture, the clothing, the electronics, the housewares, it all gets expensive quickly. I have been extremely pleased with Honig Conte Porrino's Allesandra Conia who has been my agent for many years. I've had policies for NYC rental, coops, vacation home, auto, liability, and events through Allesandra. Good luck.

On this I agree whole-heartedly with Kyle.

I have a $250K policy on the contents for my one-bedroom.

Key is REPLACEMENT value versus depreciated value. Sure, my decades-old stereo system and television ... collection of vinyl ... CD collection ... etc. might not be "worth" that much, but if everything disappeared and I had to REPLACE it with new, it would cost many thousands of dollars.

And most people forget about their clothes. How much would it cost if you had to replace every pair of slacks, every pair of jeans, every sweater, every t-shirt, every pair of socks, underwear, etc., not to mention the big-ticket items like suits and winter coats. And SHOES! That episode of SATC where it was painfully pointed out to Carrie that over the years she'd spent $40,000 on shoes isn't that far from reality for many women.

"For co-ops, you need only the equivalent of souped-up renter's insurance. The only things you need insured are those that you will take with you when you leave the apartment."

Not True. You are responsible for the entire kitchen, bathrooms, floors, built-ins, wallcovering, mirrors, light fixtures, air-conditioners, in addition to everything you take with you when your move.

The Co-op's insurance only covers damage within the walls and ceiling. If a pipe breaks the co-op will repair the pipe and put your wall back to it's "original" plaster condition. If you have mirrors, wallcovering, built-ins, etc. the co-op will not cover it, that's what your insurance covers.

Also, if there is a fire, or burst pipe and your need to stay at a hotel for weeks or months, make sure your policy picks up that cost in addition to meals out.

The most important coverage is Liability insurance, that's where the umbrella insurance comes in. If someone gets hurt in your apartment, slips and falls, door slams on their finger, or gets cut on some jagged edge, they can sue you and in today's litigious society, $2 million isn't that much. The umbrella will also cover liability over and above what you carry on your auto.

Also your policy should cover any damages, if the co-op gets sued and they can't cover the damages and have to put in a special assessment. Your insurance will pick up the cost of the special assessment.

Jewelry is generally covered under a separate policy.

That's why you need a strong policy.

Thanks for all the comments. One agent told me to get the Sewage backup coverage since she saw a lot of claims on this, while another agent told me it's not necessary since I am living in a 20-story building with 200+ units. I am not sure who to believe in.

"Thanks for all the comments. One agent told me to get the Sewage backup coverage since she saw a lot of claims on this, while another agent told me it's not necessary since I am living in a 20-story building with 200+ units. I am not sure who to believe in."

How new is the building?

If it's an older building in which people have sneaked in washer/dryer units, it's very possible to have damage from drain back-ups, even in upper floors.

It's a post war building built in 1960's. Of course the coop prohibits installation of washer/dryer, but I have no idea about this. Is this a frequent occurrence in this instance?

I'm in a similar building and never heard of Sewage Backup Coverage.

Many of these extra coverages only run a small amount per year, so if the agent has explained it to you and you think it makes sense go for it. My gut instinct is that the co-op or the apartment that caused the backup would be responsible.

I've lived in Manhattan over 30 years and never came across that issue.

I'm buying an apartment in the Corinthian, 330 E. 38th Street, and am wondering if anyone who lives/lived there can advise on the price per square footage for the "property replacement cost" of this building. $250/sq feet? $300 sq feet? or $350? The apartment itself is 884 sq feet.

Here are the links to the building and the apartment itself:
http://streeteasy.com/building/the-corinthian
http://streeteasy.com/building/the-corinthian/44p

Thank you in advance!

CoyWold, consider the arbitrage opportunity - you might be happy if you couldn't replace the apartment above the Queens Midtown Tunnel entrance - so why not save on the insurance and let your neighbors who paid the excess at $350psf end up covering you?

Fieldchester: Every morning I get up, go to the bathroom, and squeeze out the likes of you. Your last post reminds me why there should be an overall moderator on SE, to flush away your kin and kind. Get the metaphorical language, boy?

And the most offensive thing about your post is not the sauciness of its content, but rather its lack of imagination, originality, or wit. Try re-reading the book on your night stand: "How to Be An Internet Troll—for Dummies and/or Fieldchester" (page ix): "If one must reduce one's existence to being a SE troll—perhaps due to a lack of a good friends, a paucity of education, micro-genitalia, a childhood trauma such as having been beaten up in the playground or having been molested by one's uncle or harboring, even now, the unfulfilled wish of being molested by one's uncle, or all of the above—then at the very least, out of consideration for the internet community—try, really try, to use all of your 93 IQ points."

CoyWOlf, I had trouble figuring out how much homeowners insurance I needed. I do not even remember how much I got. I asked the managing agent for the building how much people tended to get, asked the insurance broker, and asked the mortgage broker... and then chose an amount on the high end of their estimates.

Thanks Kylewest for the insurance agent recommendation. Our Allstate agent gave me no help at all regarding how much to insure our Brooklyn condo for, so I basically took a guess. That the Edge is requiring $1 mill means I should really discuss this with an agent who knows more about condos.

Regarding drain/sewage back up coverage, it's usually so cheap, as in a few dollars a month, that it's worth getting. We collected big with this after Sandy because our sump pump stopped when the power went out (after the back up battery ran out).

To save money on policies, we do try to review the details and see if we can forego (self-insure) for anything. Drain back up with ruin floors and they are expensive to replace, so it always looks like a bargain to me.

I use Chubb and really didn't have to do much thinking. My experience has been the appraiser comes in, measures the sq ft., looks at condition and "other things" you may have installed like expensive blinds, expensive kitchen stuff, etc., and then figures out the $ psf coverage, and then the broker walks you through all the options. Mine I believe is $365 psf w/a total replacement value of about 450k. They also ask you to add in valuables, like the STC shoes. Fine arts/jewelry over 50k was itemized and separate. There was a small premium bump from 1mm to 5mm liability and is worth it given how quickly litigation can burn through even through seven figures.

Thank you, Flutistic and Sippelmc. Your replies were totally helpful.

Apparently I hit a nerve.

You've got a lot.

"Every morning I get up, go to the bathroom, and squeeze out the likes of you."

CoyWolf, if you have to *squeeze*, you're not getting enough fiber.

>CoyWolf, if you have to *squeeze*, you're not getting enough fiber.

Are there any green markets around 330 East 38th Street?