Homeowners Insurance for Mobile Homes | Are You Covered?

The growing popularity of mobile and manufactured homes has seen over seven million Americans live in this ‘alternative’ style housing. Owning a mobile home allows homeowners to avoid the increasing costs of rent and mortgages and still enjoy a spacious enough place to call home.

Young couples and retirees alike who are looking to cut costs are finding manufactured homes to be much more affordable and conducive to their lifestyles. Also, for those looking for a cheaper vacation place, manufactured homes are quickly becoming a great option.

When it comes to protecting your home or vacation pad, insurance is the best bet. Mobile home owners are not always required to have insurance, but proof of coverage is necessary to get a mortgage. Often times, to be able to live in a mobile home community or park, insurance is required.

Find out below what types of mobile home insurance you may need, what it protects against, and other important details to get you sorted into your new or existing place.

Different Types of Coverage

There are two types of coverage available for manufactured home insurance policies, which is physical damage and personal liability.

Personal Liability

Liability in a mobile home insurance policy aims to protect the policyholder in the event someone is harmed on their property. Personal liability policies will cover injuries of others which occur on the property, but do not cover those of the policyholder or damage caused to the property.

It can cover the following types of expenses:

• Lost wages
• Medical bills
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering

Manufactured home insurance generally has a set amount of personal liability coverage. It may be valuable for you to look into purchasing extra coverage if you are concerned about the above scenarios occurring.

Physical Damage

To protect your home and belongings, physical damage coverage is needed. The different options available vary in what events are covered. Remember to look into the policy to be sure coverage is provided for specific areas of concern.

Cost and recommended coverage

The average cost of insurance for a manufactured home usually costs around $1,000 a year. The recommended minimum level of coverage is around $300,000 for stand-alone liability.

What it does and doesn’t cover

Generally, you are covered for unexpected events such as:

• Theft
• Fire
• Windstorms
• Tornado
• Vandalism
• Wind
• Hail
• Falling objects

Depending on your insurance company, you might also be covered for:

• Landslides
• Explosions
• Wild animals
• Food spoilage
• Credit card and check forgery
• Debris removal

Coverage for flood or earthquake is not included in mobile homes policies, so be aware you will have to purchase the coverage separately.

Before buying coverage, do research into the area you live in and look into what the most common natural disasters are. In doing so, you will have a better idea of what coverage is most worth it for your particular situation to pay more for.

There are a few other things you may consider getting coverage for as well. Policies such as these, like flood and earthquake insurance, require you to pay an extra premium. Extra coverage you may consider for your manufactured home could be:

• Identity theft protection
• Builder’s risk to protect your home from damages between the time your loan closes and you occupy the home
• Coverage when your home is in transit
• Replacement cost coverage to insure your home for the full amount it would take to buy a new home
• Scheduled personal property, also known as riders, for items you want extra protection for like jewelry, furs, or antiques. Your insurance may also refer to this as a floater policy.

Where to start looking for insurance quotes

Instant comparable quotes is a convenient place to start your search for mobile home insurance. There are many homeowners insurance companies that offer this type of coverage and can vary based on location and other factors. You can easily compare homeowner’s quotes using sites like QuoteWizard to find a policy for you.