What’s the cost of homeowner's insurance in Belize?

The good thing about home insurance here in Belize is that it covers everything. It covers fire, earthquake and hurricane. It also covers you if an airplane crashes into your house. The insurance policies here in Belize are cheaper than the policies in the US.
 
For the $250,000 condominium that I bought, the insurance premium is $579 Belizean a year or US $290 per year and that’s just content insurance. A liability and catastrophic insurance premium for a commercial unit...

The good thing about home insurance here in Belize is that it covers everything. It covers fire, earthquake and hurricane. It also covers you if an airplane crashes into your house. The insurance policies here in Belize are cheaper than the policies in the US.
 
For the $250,000 condominium that I bought, the insurance premium is $579 Belizean a year or US $290 per year and that’s just content insurance. A liability and catastrophic insurance premium for a commercial unit is $4,000 per year. So let us say for a $500,000 home, the premium would be very roughly close to $6,000 a year, which would cover a lot of things such as fire, lightning, hurricane, windstorm, hailstorm, earthquake, tornado, volcano eruption or tidal wave, riots, strikes, explosions, damage from aircraft, flood, and burst pipes.

Homeowners insurance in Belize is NOT like homeowners insurance in the USA. Although it covers all perils, there is a minimum 10% exclusion plus a deductible of varying amount, depending on your choice and budget. What this means is that nothing short of a fairly catastrophic loss will be covered! Since most expats own their homes outright with no mortgage, it's common to self-insure rather than spend thousands of dollars for a policy that may well never pay off in the event of a claim....

Homeowners insurance in Belize is NOT like homeowners insurance in the USA. Although it covers all perils, there is a minimum 10% exclusion plus a deductible of varying amount, depending on your choice and budget. What this means is that nothing short of a fairly catastrophic loss will be covered! Since most expats own their homes outright with no mortgage, it's common to self-insure rather than spend thousands of dollars for a policy that may well never pay off in the event of a claim.

 

I haven't been able to verify if the following also applies in Belize, but in Jamaica, another game the insurance companies play is to require that you insure for 100% of value - their valuation, not yours. In the event of a claim, if they decide you're underinsured, they refuse to pay. There are no independent guidelines to establish value, such as $/square foot or replacement cost. The value is determined by the insurer's appraiser. Not surprisingly, in Jamaica you're *never* 100% insured if you have a claim:-( So just a heads up to read the policy thoroughly then insist that the agent put in writing what it actually covers.

Homeowner's insurance is available in Belize and there are several reputable insurance agencies that offer it.

 

One of the main concerns many expats have is coverage caused by tropical storms and hurricanes.  This "all peril" insurance is available and is priced based upon location and building style and materials.  For a well-built concrete house near the coast, a premium of US$1,000 per $100,000 in coverage is typical.

 

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Homeowner's insurance is available in Belize and there are several reputable insurance agencies that offer it.

 

One of the main concerns many expats have is coverage caused by tropical storms and hurricanes.  This "all peril" insurance is available and is priced based upon location and building style and materials.  For a well-built concrete house near the coast, a premium of US$1,000 per $100,000 in coverage is typical.

 

Contents riders are available as well.

 

As with all insurance policies, one should read the policy carefully to understand the coverage, exclusions and limits of the policy.

Usually, there are no homeowner association fees here in Belize unless you belong to a particular subdivision. There are homeowner’s associations in Northern Belize that may charge US $25 per month, and that includes maintaining the grounds (usually you have community pool), the guard gate, etc. It’s not very much to pay each month, but most people tend to not go into those kinds of situations because they’re leaving the States to kind of get away from things like...

Usually, there are no homeowner association fees here in Belize unless you belong to a particular subdivision. There are homeowner’s associations in Northern Belize that may charge US $25 per month, and that includes maintaining the grounds (usually you have community pool), the guard gate, etc. It’s not very much to pay each month, but most people tend to not go into those kinds of situations because they’re leaving the States to kind of get away from things like homeowner’s insurance. So you don’t have to worry about that.
 
The cost for homeowner’s insurance varies based on how big your home is. My estimate is that it may cost around US $350 per year for to protect against hurricanes, fire, and other damages.  Most people don’t buy homeowners’ insurance either because they have built their home to withstand a hurricane. Most people that I know personally don’t have homeowners, insurance.

 

(Hurricane shutters on the garage of a home along a lagoon in Corozal, Belize, pictured.)