Manufactured Home Insurance Is A Specialized Field
While the quality and safety of manufacture housing has vastly improved in the past 40 years, many companies are still in the dark ages when it comes to manufactured home insurance. Despite strict standards established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the nature of the homes themselves make them considered a high risk for damage and fire, causing some insurance companies to either refuse to offer manufactured home insurance or charge exceptionally high rates for coverage.
For most owners of manufactured homes, it is no longer the norm for the homes to be hooked up to a car or truck and be moved frequently. Many are set on footers or over basements and secured to prevent damage from storms. It is advised that when buying manufactured home insurance it is through a company experienced with the product.
Most insurance companies require the home to be strapped down to prevent them from blowing away in heavy winds or being tipped over by storms. With the history of tornadoes damaging a manufactured home insurance may not be available in come geographic areas susceptible to these types of severe storms. Fire prevention methods and having the home secured to the ground can reduce the cost of manufactured home insurance.
Mobile Homes No Longer Treated As A Vehicle
For many insurance companies, the manufactured home falls into a category between a house and a vehicle. Removing the wheels from a trailer does not always remove the stigma associated with them and some companies also use a blue book price when offering manufactured home insurance, much like they do for cars. In most cases the value of a manufactured home depreciates over the years like a car, instead of increasing in value like a traditional house.
Some manufactured home insurance companies have different categories of insurance to differentiate those that are placed onto a footer or basement and those that are simple parked on a slab of concrete or on the ground. The placement of the mobile home and the amount of regular maintenance of the structure can easily project to the manufactured home insurance agent the potential for loss.
There are also manufactured home insurance companies that offer the coverage on a declining scale, which reduces the value of the home on an annual basis along with the amount of coverage for replacement or repair. The age of the home as well as its condition set the initial premium price and subsequent evaluations may be required to establish continued manufactured home insurance coverage.
