Co-op insurance Dwelling Coverage

Doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. I think the problem is that most insurance agents have no clue what it would take to build out an apartment from bare walls. It certainly depends on your level of finishes, but $25k is laughable.

For Chubb, I can recommend Jay Persi at Coughlin Group.

thanks for that, I gave him a call.

Anyone know a contact @ Chartis?

i typically covered the coop for approx 40K. don't know where $300 sf comes from. unless you are talking about a high end gut job. the coop's insurance will have to do some work to begin with, so possible 100K will be easier.

Very interesting thanks, I was actually just referencing an old SE thread which is now the first thing on google when you look for co-op insurance advice haha.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/19213-homeowners-insurance-for-a-nyc-co-op-how-much

From what I know a gut renovation of a bathroom/kitchen would be in the range of 40k already so that's why I was thinking my quote with 25k of coverage wasn't enough.

I pay under $900 for almost 300k of dwelling with Travelers.

Comes out to be about $250 per sqft.

Better to have more than less if you actually end up needing it.

That's a funny thing because that's not really how I saw it-- if your building were to burn down and your actual replacement cost was only 20k (instead of the 300k you paid for), it's not like you can inflate the cost. You can't spend the remaining $280k on gold sinks or anything, and at the same time you've overpaid all these years on the premium.

May I'm wrong though, firsttimer as sn suggests :)

"your actual replacement cost was only 20k"

Nothing costs 20k today.

It's my understanding that "dwelling" applies to bathrooms, kitchens, floors, walls, ceilings, doors, wall coverings, light fixtures, etc.

My policy is for "replacement" costs, not the price you originally paid.

To me it's worth the possible extra couple of hundred a year for the peace of mind. After all insurance is all about peace of mind since generally most people never have a need to file a major claim and all of your premiums are "wasted".

Your quote was very high for very little coverage.

Ya sorry I just meant to use the number as a hypothetical, my point being that if you are overcovered, it doesn't help (other than piece of mind).

Travelers is quoting me $450 for 90k of dwelling right now so I think I might be in line with what you have, it's just a question of how much dwelling coverage is appropriate. Thanks for your help!

The dwelling coverage is modestly different for coops and condos. In condos, what is owned by the condo vs unit owner may differ if you had to have a full rebuild. As I understand it, "contents" means everything you would take if you moved (except it also includes major appliances). "Dwelling" is everything else you would be responsible for if you had to rebuild your unit (after the coop/condo built the "common" areas). By any measure, in NYC that probably would need to start at $100 per foot, and go up from there.

If you have full replacement coverage, Chubb and Chartis usually tell you how much coverage you need to have, and if they are wrong it is their problem since they agree to cover the as new replacement cost. But this is not remotely cheap.