Insuring Your Manufactured Home

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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When trying to insure a manufactured house you will usually need a different approach from that applied when getting coverage for a typical construction house. The main cause behind this is that conventional and manufactured homes are two different property types each with its own special features and peculiarities. So before you start researching your options on insuring your house it's very important to understand what type it belongs to and start from there in order to choose an adequate insurance policy. Here's what you should take into consideration:

Manufactured home in essence

The main thing you have to understand when trying to insure a manufactured home is that insurance companies classify factory build and mobile home constructions differently from conventional constructions. As defined by FEMA, a manufactured house should meet the requirements of a typical construction and is required to be either elevated from the ground or have a solid foundation. Recreational mobile houses do not fall into the category of manufactured homes and require a different type of insurance to be purchased.

Reasons ...
... for getting a special policy

the purpose of getting a special policy is making sure that your house is covered adequately. Home insurance for mobile or manufactured homes is usually more expensive than for conventional houses. This is due to the lesser sturdiness and stability, which lead to more damage in situations of natural and other disasters. Besides, the structure of such houses is usually rather complex, requiring specialists for the repair and that certainly adds up to the cost of having such a house insured properly.

What the policy should carry

When insuring a manufactured home the overall requirements for a policy should be the same as with conventional homes. You have to make sure that the entire construction is covered to the extent where it will be rebuilt from scratch were it destroyed by a calamity such as fire or lightning. The home insurance policy should also cover your personal belongings that are contained in the house, but you will have to keep an inventory of that in order to make sure that everything will be paid for if necessary. There should also be a personal liability portion that would protect you from in case someone other than your family gets injured while on your property. If you live in an area with high flood or earthquake risk make sure to include respective coverage into the policy because most companies do not include these features in standard policies. If you want a little cut in premiums make sure to improve the safety of your house by installing a fire alarm, special locks, doors, video and security systems that would prevent burglary, fire and other risks.

Shopping for insurance

The optimal way for shopping home insurance these days is of course going online. There are plenty of sites where you can get accurate quotes from numerous companies, compare them and choose the optimal policy for your house. Just make sure to shop around a bit because in the end you may get really great rates if you manage to find a good offer.