Property Insurance Estimation

[Matthew Jure]

Is there a rule of thumb to estimate property insurance on a multi family without going to a broker/agent? I'm in Cleveland, Ohio if it makes a difference. There has to be a way to some kind of ballpark estimate.

[P.J. Bremner]

@Matthew Jure

I have a duplex in Cleveland that I pay roughly $700 per year on, a Duplex in Lakewood that runs me around $900 per year and a Duplex in Shaker Heights that runs around $1,100 per year.  From what I can tell, the nicer the area, the more expensive the insurance.  I'm not sure exactly why, because my Lakewood property appraised about $180k this year and the Shaker property at $150k, but the insurance is a bit higher for Shaker.

I did recently switch my insurance, I was paying $900, $1,100 and $1,500 respectively with my previous company (even though they sound a lot higher, they were actually the cheapest of 4 different companies that I shopped who were all local in OH!  It's madness lol).  There really is no good way to estimate insurance costs unless you have a similar property already in that area.  I always run my numbers with a higher estimate to make sure, then get quotes from my insurance agent before I close on the property.

I hope that helps!