Where can I find tiny house insurance?
More than anything, I feel like I was misled and given the runaround while trying to reach out to the names and companies I found on the internet. Between retired names, contacts and agents who were going to send me information or have someone contact me from a local agency, all fell through and my frustration grew stronger. One issue is you will pull up a list of insurance companies who are not in the business of insuring tiny homes that are on wheels. You will also find lots of blogs about tiny house insurance. Although this isn’t exactly what you might be looking for, I would highly recommend also reading some of these blogs. I think it is a necessary part of the research. It’s not just about coverage and numbers. Bloggers have done the work and the research and will help you identify good agents and companies, they will talk about their experiences and help point you in the direction of those people and companies. Don’t scroll by the blogs, click on them and read what they have to say and read more than one. I personally, found other blogs to be most helpful while doing my own research. However, being in the North Eastern part of the country I was also trying to find a local company to work with. That didn’t happen locally, and that’s okay.
During my initial Google search of “tiny home insurance” I did find www.insuremytinyhome.com, they were the first legitimate insurance company to appear on the search list. This agency is owned by Darrell Grenz Insurance Agency, located in Portland, OR. Initially, I was disappointed with the website and lack of information. Basically, it was one page and mostly a long submission form for a quote. I reached out to them right away and inquired to see if there was any information they would be willing to share with me. I did receive an email response within a few hours from Darrell Grenz, that said “he would love to share some info to benefit your readers”, and he wanted to schedule a phone conversation. I was really hoping he would send some information through email. Upon doing my own research, I found that Darrell Grenz had a lot of mixed reviews and just like any other product, I wanted to read consumer reviews before moving forward with trying to get a quote. I ultimately decided I did not want to pursue a quote from this agency.
The second company to appear was www.tinyhouseinsuranceinfo.com. This is MAC Insurance owned by Michael Carmona and located in Lake Oswego, OR. I found their website to be user-friendly and offered some information about them and the people who work/own them. It looks like a real deal tiny home insurance agency. I was pleased that Tiffany had responded to my emails with plenty of information to share. She explained that some insurers use RV policies for their tiny house insurance, and this type of insurance can cause gaps in coverage and some have had issues with getting claims paid in the past. This makes a lot of sense, and I didn’t even think of RV insurance while I was researching because my house will not be RV certified. However, some do want that certification so they can park their tiny homes in RV campgrounds where the certification is required to park there. From previous research, I have read that RVIA really doesn’t want to certify tiny homes as RVs, and I personally don’t think they should be. If you are living in your tiny home, it is not then a recreational vehicle, and RVIA has made that clear in their own words. A good example of this is Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses. They proudly do not RV certify their tiny homes and have posted a letter received by RVIA on their website regarding RVIA certifying tiny homes. If you are thinking about this type certification for your tiny home, you might want to look at Rocky Mountain Tiny Homes website and read the letter, as well as reach out to RVIA on your own and get answers to any questions you may have.
Tiffany at MAC was more than happy to send some sample coverages for tiny homes as well as a price for premiums that range from around $500-$1500 per year. Keep in mind that taxes will be different in each state also affecting premiums. These numbers represent a big gap, and that depends on how much you are insuring and what your needs are. A smaller house that is parked and not being moved will certainly cost less than a larger more costly tiny house or a house that is meant to be moved frequently. MAC offers a simple quote questionnaire you can submit for better on point pricing. I just submitted a mock questionnaire for what I potentially will have in my THOW and how I will use my tiny home. I’m waiting for the quote to come back.
One thing to note is coverage for moving your tiny home can be added to your policy for moving it one time or moving it all year long. This price will vary between companies, so I suggest getting prices for both. Tiffany sent me a map of the country that shows all the states they currently can write policies, as well as states they will be able to obtain licenses for writing policies. There were only a few states that were not yet accessible. PA was one they could write policies in, so that was great! After speaking to others who use MAC insurance, I got great feedback about personal experiences and have read good things about the company from other consumers and bloggers. I was very pleased with the communication and information I was given rather quickly via email. Customer service means a lot to me, and I felt like Tiffany was wonderful.
Another company that I was able to find was mystrategicinsurance.com, who is owned by Martin Burlingame. I didn’t speak personally to Martin but received responses from Andrea Paston, Personal Lines Specialist/Office Manager and from Ashley Dodge, Marketing Manager. I was sent a link to set up a time for a phone conversation with Martin if I wanted to do that but decided to maintain email communications. For me, email is great and you can fit it in throughout the day. Andrea did send me a complete sample 62 page DP2 policy, as well as some quotes. They too offer trip coverage, for whether you will be moving your THOW once or many times throughout the year. Their coverage runs anywhere between around $350-$1600 per year, which is rather close to MAC.
The pictures shows an average quote including contents up to $5000, theft coverage, $300,00 liability, and trip endorsement for a $75,000 dwelling limit. This quote comes in at $1155 for a year. Again, these are not exact numbers but estimations, your needs, and home cost will affect the pricing as well as the state you live in. Martin Burlingame Insurance also offers coverage in almost every state including PA.
I was really hoping to find a local agent in the area or on the East Coast but nothing yet. I reached out to our local State Farm Agency, and they do not offer any type of coverage on a dwelling that is not on a foundation. I was told by a Colorado Farmers agent that used to employ someone who wrote policies for tiny homes that he would have a local agent contact me, and never did.
Foremost is a manufactured home insurance agency and will offer coverage for a tiny home on a foundation, or if the THOW is RVIA certified, it will insure it under a travel trailer policy. I did not reach out to them for information, because their specialty is manufactured homes and RVs. This may be something for you to investigate if you are interested in getting the RVIA certification.
I hope you find this information useful. I spent several weeks trying to sift through the actual companies and agents who can write THOW policies and the others to get real information. One word of caution is that you get a legitimate tiny home policy that it doesn't fall short on the gaps from a different type of policy that would leave you without coverage when you really need it. Ask the right questions and understand what it is you need from your policy, and shop around. I listed some good options to consider, and would love to hear your feedback and experiences!
Coulda used this info last week. MAC wanted my blood type, it seemed that detailed. They got back to me several times with the questionaire, but no quote yet. Stay tuned.
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