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- What Are Netting Escrows & How Does It Work?: The Best Guide - January 2, 2024
- The Secret About Prescriptive Easement: Top Guide 1 Must Know - December 4, 2023
- About Home Equity Loans In Texas And How Can One Obtain It - November 27, 2023
About Mobile Home Insurance?
Mobile home insurance insures your mobile and manufactured homes it covers the home, your personal property, and liability claims just like any standard homeowners insurance policy.
Though there is no law to ensure these homes, mortgage companies and mobile home communities may require coverage.
What Is a Mobile home Insurance?
Close to 17.5 million Americans live in mobile homes, or manufactured homes.
According to the American Housing Survey of 2017 (the latest survey), manufactured housing consists of 3% of all housing in urban areas and 15% of rural areas.
Generally, manufactured homes have two key characteristics:
They are built off-site in factories.
Instead of a slab, crawlspace, or basement, they sit on a movable chassis.
How is a mobile home different from a manufactured home?
While both the terms mobile and manufactured are used interchangeably, they are very different.
According to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), any factory-built home, constructed before June 15, 1976, is called a mobile home, and thorax built after that date are called ass manufactured homes.
Yet the insurance industry calls their product ”mobile home insurance.”
The federal construction regulations from 1976 have authorized the minimum construction and safety standards for mobile and manufactured homes.
Do you need manufactured or mobile home insurance?
The decision to insure your manufactured home is completely dependent on you unless the mortgage company or mobile home community requires coverage.
According to data from Homes Direct, a dealer of a manufactured and modular home, the average cost for a new manufactured home is approximately $83,000.
Looking at the cost, it is recommended that you get mobile home insurance that protects your home and belongings.
What does the mobile home insurance cover?
Just like the coverage offered by traditional homeowners insurance, the insurance for mobile and manufactured homes is similar.
And you can customize your mobile home insurance policy just like other homeowners’ policies, where you can adjust the coverage limits and add endorsements, which is another term for amendments or policy modifications.
According to The Insurance Information Institute (III) manufactured home policies typically include basic coverage for
Physical damage
This takes care of accidental damage to your home, belongings, and other structures, which could be attached deck or an outbuilding caused by fire, hail, wind, theft, vandalism, and falling objects.
The amount and degree of coverage differ from policy to policy, so a policy must be compared carefully.
Mobile home insurance, like regular homeowners insurance, doesn’t cover flooding.
You need to purchase separate flood insurance if you are in a flood zone. If you’re in a high-risk zone, consider adding coverage for natural disasters like earthquakes and wildfires.
Personal liability
Liability coverage protects you if a household member is responsible for damage to someone else’s property, or if someone is injured at your home.
The mobile home insurance does not cover injury or illness for anyone living in the home.
Medical expenses lost wages, and pain and suffering may be included in claims.
The III states that the insurance amount of your assets could be more than the standard manufactured home policy amount.
You can choose to buy additional liability insurance.
How much does mobile home insurance cost?
Just like traditional homeowners insurance policies, the mobile home insurance policies coverage depends on various factors, like:
- The value of your home
- The size, in square footage of the home
- The year it was built
- The total value of your personal belongings, including collectibles
- The home’s physical address, its location-depending on factors like severe weather, risk of floods and wildfires, crime rates, and your town’s response to these hazards the cost could vary)
- The material used for construction
- History of repair and renovation
- Existing claims on your home policy
- Do you rent or own the lot where the home is located
- The availability of safety devices like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and sprinklers in the home,
- The security features, like deadbolts, burglar alarms, security gates, and fireproof of the home.
Along with the home’s features, the mobile home insurance cost will also depend on the coverage limits and deductibles you choose.
If it is comprehensive coverage and lower deductibles then you will pay more, and you will pay less if it is for basic coverage and higher deductibles.
According to TrustedChoice.com, a group of independent insurance agents, you’ll pay anywhere between $300 and $1,000 towards mobile home insurance.
Try to find the combination of coverage and deductibles when you shop for insurance for your manufactured home, so it suits your budget and your insurance needs are met.
Conclusion
It’s always a good idea to protect your investment with an adequate insurance policy.
Because the premiums you will pay are probably a tiny fraction of the costs you might incur when you repair or replace your home on your own.
The mobile home insurance rates vary from company to company, so compare at least three quotes to be sure you get the required coverage at a price that you can afford.
