An insurance company based in San Francisco will be releasing a new form of coverage to homeowners in Ohio that will protect them against the risk of tumbling housing values and which will be the first of its kind in that state.
Case-Shiller Home Price Index calculations will be used by Home Value Insurance Company to help to determine the policyholder’s payouts should the house be sold for a lower amount than its insured value.
The insurer was founded in 2009 and is operated under the leadership of Scott Ryles, an investment banker who is now CEO and chairman. It has now established an Ohio office in Columbus, where it meets with insurance agents in the area. Ohio homeowners will be able to purchase policies for Home Value Protection through independent insurance agents.
According to Ryles, the company, which is privately owned, chose Ohio due to the general demographics in that state, and its high homeownership percentage. He also stated that the insurer intends to bring these policies into other states, as well.
Last week, the Ohio Association of Realtors announced that single-family home sales within the state had increased once again in August, making it two straight months of increases, though the prices continued to slide.
There were over 10,000 houses sold in August, which was an increase of 22 percent over August 2010. The average home price dropped to $138,304, which was a decrease of 1.6 percent from a year earlier. Until then, since the start of 2011, the prices have been down by over 3 percent, at $134,310.
