Seriously, have you ever compared a manufactured home insurance policy with that of a “stick built” home insurance policy? The cost can be crazy. Why? Insurance rates are based on the expected losses, and in short the expected losses from a manufactured home are higher than a traditional home. Let’s look at a couple of examples.

Fire – So while, there is not more of a likelihood that your manufactured home policy catches on fire and the “stick built” home, the damage a fire would cause is much greater on a manufactured home. Remember, if there is significant damage to a manufactured home, you can’t tear down part of the home and rebuild that part, you are looking at replacing the entire home. So the expected losses increase.

Wind – Most companies that insure manufactured homes will ask if the home is “tied down.” This is a big difference between manufactured homes and stick built homes, the foundation. Because of the relative light weight of a manufactured home, it is more likely to sustain wind damage. Rather than the loss of a few shingles, you could lose the whole roof.

Also, with manufactured homes if there are “attached structures” like “Arizona Rooms,” awnings, carports, etc. these can cause significant damage to a manufactured home. Check out the study and Video American Modern did regarding the effects of High Winds on Manufactured Housing. In fact, there are several large insurance companies that will insure manufactured homes, unless you have an attached structure, once they find out you have one of these, you are no longer “eligible” for their program. Fortunately, we have several partners that offer coverage for manufactured homes with or without attached structures.

There are other examples, the point is the higher the possible losses, the higher the insurance costs. Fair or not, insurance is about the numbers.