My only suggestion is to review what the policy includes for contents and any outside structures. The insurance companies like to apply maximum percentage coverages of the home value to these. For example, I have a $1200 storage shed on my property they had insured for $32K. I have no doubts it would cost me no more than $3K to replace the shed and everything I have stored in it.

What I have found out is most companies will start you with great rates to get you to buy and then stick it to you at renewal time.

Yes, Texas has so much weather-related damage which will have to be shared by everyone with increased premiums. THIS YEAR was especially BAD.

Best advice is use someone you know personally.

You ain't considering anything on point and are on the wrong bunny trail. If written on a replacement cost form, a home should be insured for what it takes to, ahem, actually replace it. That dpoesn't have anythign to do with what it is worth, the value of the land nor anything to do with what you would like to rebuild if different from what you have. Plain & simple, you are insuring the house and it needs to be insured for that amount it would require to rebuild it in the unfortunate, albeit unlikely, event of a total loss.

So if the house is really worth 1.3 million, I need to get a Real Estate Agent involved to let me know the true value of the market in my area.

So if houses are selling at 1.3 million in my area, I need to figure out how much it would take to rebuild the land

Is what I am gathering from your reply

Or will my insurance agent do comps for the area? I do have lots of contacts in my subdivision and I do have a personal friend whom is a realtor I can get comps from

Maybe a contractor building similar homes. Avoid paying for an independent appraiser.

A realtor will know what a home in your area is selling for, not what it will cost to rebuild. What you would need is an independent appraiser.

If the insurance company offers guaranteed replacement cost, their replacement cost estimator is probably pretty accurate, they usually have tiers of economy, standard, custom, and luxury. as long as you choose the right level they're pretty accurate. Upgraded kitchens and baths can be problematic. If you have a luxury kitchen in a custom home you may need to do an adjustment.

This is very bad advise and I did not expect it to come from you.

What is the intrinsic value of hiring an independent appraiser?

Most every home insurance policy provides a minimim of 10% of the dwelling limit to apply to other non-commercial/non-farm structures on the premises - coud be a detached garage, mailbox, pool cabana, guest house, smoke house, storage, shop and/or whatever as long as it services the house. You can typically add to this 10%, but not reduce or otherwise delete it.

Home policies are intended to provide coverage to a broad array of insureds who have different needs and exposures. Several items need specific attention. There are limits on theft of jewelry and cash. In addition, fine arts, antiques, collectibles and other hard to replace items are difficult to insure unless specifically described on a schedule. Farm implements, tack, trailers and other equipment of this type may also require listing.

In this day's time where collection of infomation seems to be paramount, insurance companies have used it to their detriment. You'll see "good hands" agents sending out letters offering an insurance lmit taken from the local appraisal district. That there is a loser's limp and, belief mine, to the detriment of their prospects. I had one come to me with an offer of coverage at $450,000 when my rebuild cost was actually closer to $850,000 and that was several years ago. Appraisal district's attempt to determine what a property is worth based on very broad infomation like your square footage based on averages. If your house is "average", all may be fine.

Values listed by appraisal districts and values determined by real estate appraisers seldom are spot on in regards to pinpointing accurate replacement cost figures. Most everyone is using some sort of replacement cost calulator (MSB for one) and, belief mine, they have not been "keeping up" and/or the agent using them is not fuly utilizing the program sufficiently to obtain correct replacement cost numbers. I am fairly well connected with the local builders and do know who to trust. Obtaining information from them helps me and certainly is not used to disadvantage the people I work for.

Pro tip - if you purchased a tract home in a subdivision dominated or soley built by one builder, you may really need to look at insuring the place for more than you paid for it. Economies of scale come in to play and if there is a total loss, they ain't coming back for a one shot deal. Not when their system is designed to buld 8-10 at a time.

Although he keeps muddling issues with the value of his lot, it sounds like RR is actually being sensible here. My guess is he knows he is and has been under-insured and now whants to "lock in" his equity.

I found that 'Good Hands' people, would quote at economy replacement cost, even if you have a luxury home. I've been out of the business a while, but with what Hudbone said, they haven't changed.