There are many reasons to own a mobile home. They’re inexpensive, at least when compared to traditional properties, and the thinner walls of these homes make them good choices for staying cool when faced with the balmy Mississippi summers. The fact that your mobile home can be delivered to a location of your choosing, and moved as you see fit, is the cherry on top.
But like with any other home, insurance is a must. Not only to protect the structure itself but to protect its contents and, ultimately, your investment into the property. That’s why you need mobile home insurance in Mississippi. And these are the factors that could affect the premiums you pay for that insurance, the understanding of which may help you choose an appropriate policy.
Factor 1 – The Amount of Dwelling Coverage You Require
Dwelling coverage is a catch-all term referring both to your mobile home and the many fixtures and fittings used to construct it. These include:
- All materials used to build the mobile home
- Any materials you may require to repair the home
- All attached structures
- Carpeting
- Fuel and water tanks or drums
- The steps leading into the home
If your home needs it, then it’s part of your dwelling coverage. Note the mention of “your home” there. Personal property doesn’t land under this umbrella unless it’s something you’ve personally bought to keep your mobile home running.
The common element that joins these structures, fixtures, and fittings, is the potential for damage to occur to them as a result of external forces. Heavy rainfall. Constant exposure to the sun. Vandalism. All are issues that could impact your home and, thus, your dwelling coverage costs.
Combine the value of your home with estimated repair costs for the essentials. That gives you an idea of how much dwelling coverage you need and, by extension, the premiums you’ll pay.
Factor 2 – Liability Protection (Assuming You Need It)
Recent estimates state that approximately 175,500 deaths occur each year as a result of preventable injuries, or other types of injuries, in homes each year. The likelihood is the number of injuries that don’t result in fatalities is far higher. While this indicates obvious needs for both life and health insurance on your part, it also brings up a scary thought – some of these injuries occur to people inside homes they don’t own.
Therein lies the potential need for liability insurance as part of your mobile home insurance.
Liability insurance covers you and, as importantly, your personal assets from claims made against you by those injured on your property. Think of it as the shield that guards everything you own, ensuring you’re not left bankrupt or destitute as a result of a personal injury claim. While most disregard it as unimportant, it covers you against the risk of one of the many injuries that occur within the home happening inside your mobile home.
General wisdom suggests your liability protection should be equal to your net worth, with premiums varying depending on that figure. As with dwelling coverage, the higher the value, the more you’re likely to pay.
Factor 3 – The Insurer You Select
No two insurers are equal. On the one hand, insurers compete against one another to win customers. You can use that fact to your advantage when sitting at the metaphorical negotiating table because competitiveness often leads to lower premiums. On the other hand, insurers have their own ways of calculating values. For instance, the figure one insurer comes up with for dwelling coverage, may vary widely from the figure another delivers.
This variance demonstrates the reason for gathering multiple quotes to ensure you get the best deal. A minimum of three quotes should give you an idea of the average rate you can expect to pay for your mobile home insurance. More quotes refine that estimate, allowing you to eliminate the insurers that charge too much, as well as those that quote so little that they’re likely not providing full coverage, from your list.
Factor 4 – Personal Property Coverage
Dwelling coverage protects your mobile home and everything that makes it run. If it’s not structural, or at least part of something essential to your home’s function, it’s not part of your dwelling. It’s personal property. This term typically covers everything you keep inside the home, such as your TV, furniture, and kitchen appliances. Collectively, these items have a combined value that you may lose should something happen to your mobile home.
Personal property coverage as part of your mobile home insurance protects those assets. But it comes at a cost, and again, that cost varies depending on the value of the items you own. Investopedia recommends an estimate of 50% of your mobile home’s value as personal property coverage. Of course, that is only an estimate, as the actual figure depends entirely on the value of the items you own.
Factor 5 – Your Location
Mississippi is no stranger to dangerous weather.
The spring months are especially concerning, with a terrible combination of thunderstorms, hail, and, in the worst cases, tornadoes battering certain areas of the state. Your insurer takes note if you live in one of these vulnerable areas, and your rates increase if you do. That makes sense, given that your mobile home faces increased risk and often has less protection against these elemental emergencies than other homes.
Add to this difficult weather the obvious crime factor.
If criminality is rife in your area, your insurance premiums increase, at least on the personal property coverage side. Again, it’s a game of risk management. Insurers protect themselves from taking on more risk by commanding more money upfront because of the increased likelihood that they’ll have to pay out.
Mobile Home Insurance Is Vital
Sadly, several factors that affect your mobile home insurance policy are outside of your control. Leaving is not always simple if you live in an at-risk area. Sometimes, you may have to absorb higher costs for the sake of protecting your home, everything in it, and yourself.
But it’s a price worth paying, given that you could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in property and asset value if the worst happens to your mobile home. Gathering plenty of quotes helps you to see which insurers offer the best coverage for the best rates. Use that tactic to get a better idea of how much you’re likely to pay.
