I found three homes for sale, of similar age and size, within three miles of my home to persuade my insurance company to use as comparable homes. If they'd use the average sf/price of those for my value, then I'd be fine on my coverage.

I spent 2.5 hours at an insurer's office today. I had to provide before and after photos of the renovations/addition; inspection report (that they now want proof that some of the issues were repaired to modern code). They still don't want to insure more than $150/sf for a custom home, but will consider $200/sf with a much higher premium and a $5000 deductible. Still not yet approved by the underwriters as my contractor has to respond to the repairs in question from the report.

I've always had replacement cost insurance. I also have "code upgrade insurance", It makes no difference what your house is insured for per sq/ft. Unless your house gets stolen.

It's just crazy! I had no idea I'd have this much difficulty getting insurance after renovations when I purchased a 1939 house. It wasn't a wreck, by any means. If I sold it, I'm sure the buyer would get insurance for the amount paid because I had no problem getting coverage on my purchase price.

Have you had it reappraised?

In my area, virtually all home insurance is replacement cost coverage which is not based on market value. My homeowner's policy has replacement cost well over $600,000 (100% brick, tons of expensive doors/windows, beautiful original trim and tile, clay tile roof etc) which is double the market value. I requested the agent to upgrade the coverage to make sure that we wouldn't have a problem with getting a settlement to cover like quality materials. They had no problem with that request and the price is no more than another company quoted me for $475,000 replacement cost.

Where are you located that a custom house could be replaced for $150/sq ft? My house is insured as semi-custom at more like $300/sq ft

Check around with other companies and make sure that your house details are listed appropriately - plaster walls raise replacement value, exotic hardwood, more than basic oak. If you insure with a reputable company with guaranteed replacement, the burden is on them to rebuild your home for what it costs to do the work, even if they have goofed on the valuation.

Mike v- I asked one insurance company to come out and they had me send photos of before and after. I'm now on hold while my builder provides documentation to them that all the issues from the inspection when I bought the house--issues have been corrected.

Linda -- I'm having the most success with AAA underwriter's to find a company, but still they won't go over $150sf replacement! My previous company (custom home built in 2005) through AAA was Hartford.

I've gotten a quote from Amica with a higher premium, but still not enough coverage for my costs. Renovation is more expensive that a new build, especially matching the level of trim work from 1939,

I never knew old houses raised such red flags.

Update: a local insurance company, NC Farm Bureau, came through for me! They had insured this house when I bought it and it was vacant and they have my car insurance right now. After sending them comparable homes in the area, they are covering my costs. Took awhile, but they came through after all. Thanks for your comments.

Good news for you, plus you should get a discount for insuring both house and car through the same company

Yes, I get a discount because my cars, umbrella and home owners' are now with them. Didn't have to jump through as many hoops and the company is local. My stepson and his wife and other family members have used this company for many years.

Just to clarify, market value (i.e. appraised value, has nothing to do with dwelling value or replacement cost for insurance purposes). Replacement cost is what it would cost to rebuild the house and also factors in things like demolition costs and debris removal. In my area a customer can insure their home for whatever they want above the calculated replacement cost. It doesn't mean that they are guaranteed that amount of money if the house burns down. You can have 800k of insurance on a house but if it only costs $500k to replace it that's all you get.

(I've owned an insurance agency for 10 years.)

Yes....with my insurance company, the house replacement portion isn't the market value, which would include the land and outbuildings (different amount in the contract), loss of use and personal property.

My insurance company insured the house for my replacement costs now, but goes up to 25% above the insured value as the maximum replacement cost. That covers inflation going forward,

"My insurance company insured the house for my replacement costs now, but goes up to 25% above the insured value as the maximum replacement cost."

This is what was explained to me by USAA - the 25% above and beyond could be used to pay for 'personal property' If I consider millwork and fancy doorknobs personal property, it's my right.

I was also able to select that we had 'custom' bathrooms and kitchens instead of builder basic. That helped increase the value.

"If I consider millwork and fancy doorknobs personal property, it's my right."

That's interesting! My personal property is in addition to the house replacement. My personal property coverage is $120k less than the house replacement; then, there's loss of use for $98k.

No, what I mean is that we have a house replacement figure in the policy, and it would probably cover the cost of rebuilding, but not with all the trimmings. The rep explained that once that is depleted, I could use the 'personal property' part of the policy to upgrade anything that was missing. There's a big difference in getting quality wood windows vs. some standard builder issue, for example.