Not to be political, but a question about insurance rates

[driveamerican]

+1 super snake

[Heo]

WOOOOHHH almost $8500 in insurance   I pay about $35 for the galaxie $150 for the dayly Mercedes and wifes SL500 is about$250
and house about $300 so 700-800 total 
In north of Sweden that is i probably should have told

[HarleyJack17]

I am not sure why all the surprise. We should all have known this was, or is, coming. Home values up 35-50% in less than five years. A truck is now $70,000. Food, etc. double. Building materials...up 50%. Insurance is a business model, and they have to make money. When inflation hits, it hits them as well and that is passed on to the payers...i.e. us. Best advice I can give is shop it. I have had good luck with a broker. Also keep in mind that with insane inflation that means deductibles should rise equally. 500 is now 1,000 etc. With that, one would think it would keep the playing field somewhat level with simply increasing your deductible, but it won't.
Now if you want to be real upset...let us talk taxes! Their 20% is now a bigger dollar value simply based on rising cost. We are not going to see any help from that.
Like MStang said, the auto side is a racquet in itself.
I for one do not advocate for not having insurance. You may go on for years not needing it, but the one time you do need it for a major event it can really impact your livelihood.  Work it so it works for you but things are way to pricey if you do not have the money set aside to replace it. Just my .02 that is now .06 or is .0001....guess it depends.   

[Joe-JDC]

Insurance, taxes, new cars,??? How about plumbers and HVAC guys?  I had my water heater quit on me yesterday, and I went to Lowes to buy an new one and ask for a local plumber to give a quote to install it for me.  I got a call while still in the Lowes store for an appointment today and was told a guy would be here in 30-45 minutes, and two hours later another call for another 30-45 minutes.  Anyway, a young guy came in a company vehicle, looked at the water heater, checked the circuit breaker, and gave me a quote of $1600.00 labor for a 45 minute job.  Claimed it is the normal price to replace a water heater--an electric water heater.  Three pipes, no soldering, an electric cord, and done.  If the water pressure needed a pressure reducing valve, another $500.00.  OK, maybe I am getting older and cranky, but this is just plain robbery.   Am I losing touch with reality?  LOL  Being retired is beginning to not be fun.  Joe-JDC

[mike7570]

Joe, do it yourself, not hard. I think I have replaced 2 or 3 of them and only needed help getting a new 75gal tank up onto the raised platform in my garage. Took me maybe a few hours because I clean up and paint behind it before installation.

[jayb]

+1 on doing it yourself, I've done mine and it was pretty easy.  I think there are more and more companies out there who are doing stupid high estimates for household work, figuring that one in 10 or 20 customers will go for it and they can make a killing.  I had a plumbing company come out and offer to plastic coat the inside of my house drain line to the septic tank, which gets filled with roots every few years and needs to be augured out.  They came in with cameras, took a fancy video of the inside of the pipe, then hit me with a $14,000 estimate!  The line is only about 50 feet, and it costs about $150 every few years to keep it clean.  I don't know who would pay for something like that, but apparently there are people who will...

[Heo]

Speaking of insurance! Wifes sisters house burned down yesterday lets see what the insurance company is
willing to pay. In one hour it was only the chimney left of it, she was working in the garden went in for some
tools did not smell any smoke or someting suspisious. 10-15 minutes later they saw smoke pouring out of the
chimney 45 minutes later only the chimney was left. fire department arrived in 15 minutes from she saw the
smoke but to late to save anything

[Heo]

+1 on doing it yourself, I've done mine and it was pretty easy.  I think there are more and more companies out there who are doing stupid high estimates for household work, figuring that one in 10 or 20 customers will go for it and they can make a killing.  I had a plumbing company come out and offer to plastic coat the inside of my house drain line to the septic tank, which gets filled with roots every few years and needs to be augured out.  They came in with cameras, took a fancy video of the inside of the pipe, then hit me with a $14,000 estimate!  The line is only about 50 feet, and it costs about $150 every few years to keep it clean.  I don't know who would pay for something like that, but apparently there are people who will...

  Plumbers must be the royalties in USA! I just had Geotermal heating installed and they drove a 6 in steeltube through earth 200 feet, drilled through 800feet
bedrock, installed dual plastic tube those 1000 feet filled it with cooling media (Alcohol). At a cost of about $9,000

[WConley]

I'm sure you guys have heard this one:

A pipe burst in a doctor's house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did the plumber-things for an hour, and handed the doctor a bill for $600.
The doctor exclaimed, "This is ridiculous! I don't even make that much as a doctor!."
The plumber quietly answered, "Neither did I when I was a doctor."

[Joe-JDC]

I did it myself!  I installed a new expansion tank, new inline pressure reducer valve, new fittings, and tubing for $226.00 for a net savings of $1874.00.  When a 78 year old great-grandfather can replace a hot water heater successfully by himself for $226.00 plus $565.00 for a 50 gallon water heater, it should make any plumber ashamed to quote same $2100.00 labor.  JMO.  Joe-JDC

[mike7570]

Great job, one more comment. Did you replace it with an energy efficient water heater?
(Most of them are)  The city I lived in was offering rebates if you used a new energy efficient model and it cut my cost in half.

[GerryP]

....which gets filled with roots every few years and needs to be augured out....

There is a product called RootX.  This is a treatment for sewer pipes with root problems.  I did the auger thing a couple time, then used the RootX and the roots never came back.  https://rootx.com/

[driveamerican]

Just seen report California should expect 30-40% increase in insurance next year and electricity has passed rent in so cal  $1300 rent $1800 electricity. We have smud in Sacramento set stat at 80 for summer no shop lights in daylight we have a well with 5hp pump all major watering is set up so pump comes on and stays on water heater and cooking is propane lawn in pretty much dead $600 per month. Let me tell you Democrat super majority don't work!

[cleandan]

I replaced my water heater earlier this year....Here is what I found new to me.
In 2004 I replaced my homes water heater with a high end, professional grade unit, that was about as top of the line as one could get that year in terms of a plain, gas fired, water heater.

I did not need any special monitoring, electronic controls, or other devices that year so i purchased a good water heater.....and it lasted 20 years without an issue.

Yeah, I did regular flushing and other maintenance items as suggested by the manufacturer, but for the most part the water heater just heated water for 20 years straight....Good in my book.

This year that old water heater tank began to seep water....just a hint of moisture on the floor and after checking I found a slight crack in the main tank.....time for a new water heater I figured.

Guess what? The new rules, at least here in Minnesota, will not allow me to purchase that level of quality water heater without a professional plumbers license.
I tried, and tried, and eventually ws relegated to buying what the home stores have to offer.

Menards, Home Depot, LOWES do NOT carry the quality level of water heater I was replacing, but seeing as I don't have a professional plumbers license I could not go to other suppliers to purchase a high end water heater.

I purchased a nice water heater from LOWES, and it was on sale too.
$1,200 for the same basic parameters water heater I purchased in 2004 for $365, but the new version is nowhere near the quality.....I hope it lasts ten years.

I learned I have been restricted by new commerce laws concerning what I can purchase and install in my own home....for my own safety of course......

I learned I, effectively, can not purchase a high quality, well made, water heater because the stores simply do not carry those items any longer...The homes stores do not have the brand name or models I had before eventhough that brand name and model is still in existence and not rare in terms of what plumbers can attain.

I learned it now costs me 4x the price to get lesser products than just 20 years ago.

I learned the industry has become complacent with the idea that 10 years is considered a long time for a water heater to last.

I learned that expansion tanks are made to last 3-4 years.....just 3-4 years before they are expected to fail!!!!! and the industry is fine with replacement ever 2-3 years as the normal.

Yes, there are some critical things one must know and understand when installing a water heater....especially during initial install.
But the level of expertise required to replace and existing water heater is basic common sense and attention to details.

The water heater I replaced in 2004 was 12 year old unit with the cobbled result of a "professional" (all the tags, receipts, and paperwork were present from the company that did the work) install that required me to fix the gas piping system, exhaust venting system, water plumbing system as well as a few other items when I did my install of the new water heater in 2004.

All the work I redid, as a non-professional plumber, was far superior to anything I have seen in other homes, and was a HUGE improvement to both safety and usability in my own home.

This work/repair I performed in 2004 resulted in me having to do very little new work in 2024 with the recent water heater replacement, and the new unit is a different make and model than what was removed so i expected there to be some modification required......nope, pretty standard dimensions, making the removal and install pretty easy by my standards.

Now, with that in mind, I was quoted in the $2,000+ range to have a professional install the new water heater I just put in.....and the price of the water heater would be extra on top of that.

I was not aware plumbers were earning $300-$500 per hour these days.

As it was, I invested a total of about 20 hours between initial diagnosis of the failed water heater, research and subsequent failures to attain a new water heater due to the BS safety rules preventing me from purchasing what I had previously purchased, removal of the old unit, clean up of the surrounding area (a thing you will NOT get when the PRO does the install) and install of the new unit.....which included diagnosing and replacement of the gas valve under warranty because the brand new POS gas valve did not work right out of the box.

Had I paid to have a plumber do all of the work I did I would have likely had $4,000 into this water heater replacement.

Instead I purchased what I could and had it installed on one weeked afternoon.
Had the gas valve not been faulty I would have gone from shut off and removal of old to fire up and use of new on that Saturday.

My mechanical and electrical knowledge and abilities have been useful my whole life as I undertake these tasks that, to me anyway, make sense and seem relatively simple.

But with this new twist of "NO you can't for your own safety" becoming a real hurtle to my own self preservation and maintenance of my home, I have become a bit concerned how the future will play out in my ability to afford the things I have come to provide for me and my family.

$3,000-$5,000, expected every ten years for a water heater, furnace, A/C unit, along with all the other expenses normal life brings...and I'm not even talking about an extravagant lifestyle, seems untenable from my positon....and I am doing a bit better than average!!!!!!

[Falcon67]

Expect to replace your water heater every 7~10, that's just how it is.  The kind of water heater that lasted 24 years in our old house just doesn't seem to exist anymore.  And - be careful about crowing about DIY and saving tons of money on the local social page.  Lots of cities are requiring permits for this work, even DIY.  There is a lot of hack work and so much unpermitted work causes cities a lot of grief and expense, so you can hardly blame them.  I see it a lot here.  The city did streamline the permit process so they try to make it as easy as possible.

And yea, we had to go house insurance shopping this year.  The existing company - Hippo - went up and re-set the type of coverage.  Basically, the adjustment for deterioration would have made replacing our $10K+ roof all our expense after about 10 years.  Hail storm at year 11 - on you, buddy.  Not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent. I think State Farm wrote a decent policy and the only agent that responded to requests for quote is 400ish miles away, go figure. In Houston, where rates are way high thanks to repeated flooding and potential hurricane damage.  Here, all we have to fret about is giant hail and tornadoes. My wife, who is from New Mexico, gently reminds me that "they don't have those problems in Albuquerque..."    There may be another shop build in my future LOL.