I was curious as to whether any of you were self insured or if you have ever considered it?

What does it take to become self insured?

How do you go about it?

Is it worth it?

Is there a certain dollar amount required?

I thought long and hard about it. Then I ran as fast as I could into a metal fence post. When I fell -- I fell -- into the roadway and an 18 wheeler ran over me followed by a steam roller.

It takes a lobotomy.

who would risk the loss of everything you have? Even with millions in coverage it's still a risk you could lose it.

How would you prove it? simple unzip the top of your skull and show the cop there's nothing in there.

When California no longer allowed for NON owner occupied properties that were more than one unit to acquire worker comp insurance with their fire policy, I became self insured for my contracting and landlording business.

The State required $250,000 cash asset.

When the City and State found out I had no underwriter or large insurance company to protect me, they wanted me to put the money with the State of California.

Then I got fined because the State didn't have my $250,000. I then produced my State Bonds held in trust with my broker for "Insurance Needs", to the tune of over $250,000. That wasn't good enough, they wanted my money.

Under the law I met the burden of being self insured. Like year ago if you have $30,000, you didn't need auto insurance.... They State changes their minds all of the time for no good reason.

So I had to have a document showing insurance. So I went to my insurance agent and they pooled a few hundred contractors and formed a self insured group, with a re-insurance company that would pay out for claims over $25,000..... This kept our rates down....

As Ken said, it really means no insurance. Can you afford to lose a building to fire, a lawsuit for a slip and fall, etc? If you have the means, it maybe worth it to save some money with a high deductible insurance. Basically, covering a disaster but not the "little" stuff.

I am with Linda on this one, insurance is one of those items you don't want to use so use it for a complete loss.

I'd never consider self-insuring due to liability risks and total catastrophe risks. A self-insured landlord in DFW got destroyed by a hail storm when he had to re-roof 50 houses all at once.

We lowered all of our deductibles. Sounds counter-intuitive until you learn that if you are hit by a named storm (ALL storms are named these days, even minor snowstorms) your deductibles double.

We lost 7 roofs in one hurricane. Luckily insurance helped with SOME of that but we still had to come up with mucho dinero for the deductibles. Imagine if I had to cover the full losses?

Thank you all for your replies and words of wisdom.

It appears unanimous that it is a very bad idea.

Do you have an independent agent that represents multiple insurance companies, or an agent with one company. An independent agent can shop a lot of companies to find the one that best suits your situation. Not all the properties have to be with the same company either.

If your agent can shop at other companies, ask them to do that. If you don't have one, find one and see what they come up with. I specifically ask mine to shop the companies every 2 - 3 years to be sure I have the better rates. I won't change for $100 a year saving, but I have had them find $200-$300 per year that makes it worth switching. Also ask them about anything that gets you a discount.. generator, fire company across the street, sprinklers, etc. I have found discounts I would not have thought of.

Thank you LindaJ.

On my HO I have a single agent at a mutual company.

I have been told before by another insurance company that I could not insure my rental separate from my HO. With the mutual company I am with, I can set the insured amount but I can not do that with other insurance companies. I have the cheapest rates that I have ever been able to get but I do not insure them for replacement cost.

On my auto I use an agency that can get quotes from several companies.

I agree that comparison shopping is a good idea. For the last several times I have not found anyone that can beat my current rates.

Linda,

6man,

I seriously consider it every year when I see how much we paid out. I could pay cash for a house each year for what we pay for ins.

In 43 years with many properties I have not rec'd back nearly as much as I paid out.

***But I do this for peace of mind.***

I consider it a basic cost of doing business.

53 roofs when a hailstorm spent 3 minutes passing over out city. 5 fires.

had a fire 2? weeks ago. The $75K house will receive a $78K ins check.

Fires and such don't scare me. It's the liability exposure that scares me. One slip N fall, someone dies in s fire (had that happen!), etc. You know, the stuff they advertise on late night tv and the sides of buses - Pure gold for hungry attys.

BRAD

Carol, I am in Albany county. Bryant Asset.

They can usually get information from our Town's online assessment website for initial shopping. Switching insurance carriers usually means someone comes out and takes pictures of the building and sometimes they recommend issues be taken care of. Those issues have been little things that were either on my list (broken window in an outbuilding) or little things that didn't take much effort. Some things I did not do, it wasn't like they come back to inspect. But all of that is after I chose to switch. Which is why switching for $100 savings is not worth it to me.

I switched one house this spring, and if anyone did come out, with the virus, they didn't do much. I have never had anyone want to look at the inside. My houses are 1850s.

Above and beyond insurance covering our properties, we carry umbrella coverage. Therefore, we have all insured by the same company. Even tho our agency has several carriers they can check with.

We self-insured one place for a couple of years. It was fully paid off, had a roof that was going to fail soon, and a host of other issues. Basically, I needed to tear it down before the city condemned it, but wanted to squeeze a couple more years from it.

We still carried liability on it though.

When the furnace failed and we found termites, we helped the tenant move out and bulldozed it. Probably when self-insured on it for 2 years?

Insuring a vacant lot for liability as part of my general liability was only $2 per year. :)

We just finished building a duplex on that lot, having left it vacant for about 6 years. In fact, I just need to fill in the rest of the hole around the mailbox, then I can close the permit. It is in a neighborhood that is transitioning.

DeeAnn, I have an umbrella policy, currently with my home owner/vehicle/one rental company. The other rentals are with another company. But I have carried the umbrella with a completely different company than any of my other policies. I would think there are still companies that would provide the umbrella only, if you have their minimum liability covered in the actual property insurance. It may not be cost effective, buy you only know if you shop or get your agent to shop.

Visit a REAL Insurance BROKER with LLOYDS of London connection

Self Insure for the 1st 250,000 or whatever level you statistically are comfortable with

A real actuary can run the numbers for you

You may not find coverage until you go to $1,000,000