What moves a home insurance quote in Greenville, SC

A homeowners quote in the Upstate is mostly a quote on the roof, on the age and systems of the house, on the claims already filed at that address, and on how fast a fire department can get there. The South Carolina Department of Insurance's homeowner's insurance guide names three major factors behind the premium: the construction of the dwelling, the quality of the fire protection available in the area where you live, and the geographical area of the state you are in. Your own record, the deductible structure, the pool, the dog and the auto policy you might bundle move the number from there. A quote is priced on one specific house, which is why you cannot shop it until you are under contract on one.

We are a real estate team, not an insurance agent, and we do not quote coverage. What follows is the mechanism.

How much does the age of the roof change a homeowners insurance quote?

Roof age and roof material do more to a homeowners quote around Greenville than anything else about the house. Carriers ask when it was last replaced, what it is covered with, and what condition it is in now. The Department of Insurance's page on purchasing home insurance lists replacing the roof, alongside deadbolt locks and alarm systems, among the things insurers give lower prices for.

An old roof does not only raise the price. It changes what the policy pays. Some carriers write the house but settle a roof claim on actual cash value, which the Department's guide defines as payment limited to the depreciated value of each item at the time it is damaged. Others decline the house until the roof is replaced.

What do insurance companies look at when they price a homeowners policy in South Carolina?

The South Carolina Department of Insurance publishes the three things behind a homeowners premium: how the dwelling is built, the quality of the fire protection where it sits, and which part of the state it is in.

On fire protection, its guide says the Insurance Services Office "grades fire protection on a scale of 1 to 10, with Class 1 being the best," and that the grade depends on the municipality, the fire department's size, personnel, training and equipment, and the available water supply and pressure. That is the protection class, and it is why two houses a few miles apart in Greenville County can price differently. Distance to a working hydrant and to the station that would actually respond is what puts a house in one class rather than another.

On territory, the guide says South Carolina is split into inland, seacoast and beach by exposure to windstorm damage, and that the lowest rates are inland. The Upstate is inland.

The age of the house and what sits behind its walls fall under the Department's underwriting requirements, which include the condition and upkeep of the property. The application asks about the wiring, the plumbing and the electrical panel. Knob and tube wiring, polybutylene supply lines and certain older panel types stop an application rather than merely price it, and none of them show up in a listing photo.

Can an insurance company see claims the previous owner filed on the house?

A homeowners quote on an Upstate house pulls a claims report on the house, not only on you. C.L.U.E., the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange run by LexisNexis, holds seven years of home insurance and personal property claims, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's entry on the company. A water claim a previous owner filed three years ago is on the record for that address and in front of the underwriter when you apply, even if you have never owned a house.

You can see the report before an insurer does. The CFPB says consumers get one free copy a year on their own property. Asking a seller for the C.L.U.E. report is not standard practice in the Upstate, but on a house where the inspection turns up an old repair it is a fair thing to request.

Your own record counts too. The South Carolina Department of Insurance's guide lists your credit history, and previous claims and their reasons, among the things companies consider, and its cancellation tips include avoiding a poor credit history and avoiding small or frequent claims. Where state law permits a credit-based insurance score, it is one of the larger levers on the price, and the one you can do least about between now and closing.

Why does a homeowners policy have two deductibles?

A South Carolina homeowners policy carries more than one deductible: the all-perils deductible, and in most cases a separate wind and hail deductible that applies only to storm damage. The Department of Insurance's guide defines the term plainly: a deductible is how much you agree to pay out of your own pocket before your insurer begins to pay, and it appears on the declarations page.

The wind and hail deductible is commonly written as a share of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat amount, so it scales with the size of the house. The Upstate gets hail rather than hurricanes, and that is what the wind and hail number is covering on an Upstate policy. Read it before you sign, because it is the one that lands on you the day a hailstorm takes the roof.

Two other things move the quote and neither is about the building. A pool or a trampoline changes the liability picture, and carriers are not consistent: some decline, some charge for it, some want a fence or a net. Dogs are named directly in the Department's tips for avoiding cancellation, which warn that potentially dangerous animals, especially those with a history of attacks, can get a policy cancelled or non-renewed. Breed lists belong to the carrier rather than the state, and they differ.

Bundling is real and the state says so. The Department's purchasing page lists insuring your home and car with the same company first among the discounts insurers offer.

Can you shop homeowners insurance before you are under contract?

You cannot shop homeowners insurance in the Upstate until you are under contract on one specific house. The quote is priced on one address, its roof, its year built, its protection class and its claims record, so a number you got on a house you did not buy tells you almost nothing about the one you did. What you can do earlier is describe the house you are looking at and ask an agent what would make it hard to insure.

Then get the real quote the week of the inspection, not the week of closing. The lender needs a bound policy before the loan can close, and a carrier that will not write the house until the roof is replaced leaves you negotiating a roof and a closing date at the same time. In the inspection period that conversation is cheap. The week of closing it is expensive.

The South Carolina Department of Insurance's guide says rates vary considerably between companies and that homeowners should compare several, matching coverage amounts and deductibles. Its purchasing page adds that you are not required to buy from the company your lender recommends.

Our part is small and early. We get the address, the year built and the roof age to someone who can quote it, in time for the answer to change something. Our vendor list has the insurance contact we refer to.