JUMP LIKELY IN RESIDENCE RATES

Rapidly rising construction costs prices, home remodeling and increasingly expensive natural disasters are expected to push the cost of homeowners insurance up by eight percent in 2004, according to a report by the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). The projected increase represents a modest change from the estimated 7 percent increase in 2003, noted the I.I.I. The average cost for home insurance nationwide for 2004 is projected to be $615, an increase of $46 for the average homeowner over this year. Part of the jump in rates stems from the fact that consumers are taking advantage of low interest rates to buy larger homes or expanding their existing ones. Rapidly rising home prices are also prime factor in rising homeowners insurance costs. Since 1995, the median price of an existing home has risen by nearly $60,000. New home prices are rising at a significant pace.