Courtesy Victoria ZangaraIn the past, acquiring or keeping homeowners’ insurance didn’t present much of a problem. There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesHomeowners who have a mortgage are not able to go without homeowners insurance as their mortgage servicer will require an escrow account for insurance. Some 6 million homeowners chose to forgo homeowners insurance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America. They have lived in their home for 19 years and had a policy with Foremost Insurance, paying about $1,910 a year.

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