Manufactured & mobile homes
Mobile Home Insurance in Louisiana
Mobile and manufactured homes are not insured on the same policy form as a site-built house, and the differences are the ones that decide a claim — how the home is valued, how wind is treated, and what happens when it is moved. Here is what a Louisiana policy actually covers.
Mobile and manufactured homes are insured on a different policy form from site-built houses, most commonly an HO-7 mobile homeowners policy. It covers the home itself, attached structures like carports and decks, personal property, loss of use, and personal liability. Two differences matter most in Louisiana. First, many mobile home policies settle claims at actual cash value, meaning depreciation is subtracted, rather than replacement cost — replacement cost is usually available but has to be asked for. Second, wind is the dominant risk: manufactured homes are more exposed to hurricane and severe-storm damage than site-built homes, so anchoring and tie-downs affect both eligibility and price. Flood is never included and always requires a separate policy.
- Written on a different form (commonly HO-7), not a standard homeowners policy.
- Many policies default to actual cash value — ask for replacement cost explicitly.
- Wind exposure is the dominant risk; tie-downs affect eligibility and rate.
- Flood is always separate, with a 30-day waiting period.
The Root Agency provides mobile and manufactured home insurance across Louisiana — licensed statewide from our Baton Rouge office.
Start here
Why it is not a standard homeowners policy
A manufactured home is built in a factory to a federal construction code and transported to its site. That difference in construction and mobility is why insurers use a separate policy form for it, and why a standard homeowners quote is not a valid comparison.
What the policy covers
The home structure itself, attached structures such as carports, decks, steps and skirting, your personal property inside, loss of use if the home becomes uninhabitable, and personal liability if someone is injured on your property. In broad shape it mirrors a homeowners policy.
What is genuinely different
Valuation is frequently actual cash value rather than replacement cost, wind and hail may carry their own deductible, eligibility often depends on the home's age and its anchoring, and coverage for moving the home is a separate consideration that a site-built policy never needs.
If you own the land as well as the home, that is worth flagging when you get quoted — ownership of the lot changes both the eligibility picture and how the liability side is written.
The costly default
Actual cash value vs. replacement cost
This is the single most consequential choice on a mobile home policy, and it is often made by default rather than by decision.
- Actual cash value (ACV)
- Pays what the home is worth today — replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear. Cheaper in premium. After a total loss it can leave a substantial gap between the settlement and what a comparable home actually costs to buy.
- Replacement cost
- Pays to replace the home with one of like kind and quality, without deducting depreciation. Costs more in premium, and is the difference between being made whole and being partially reimbursed. Usually available on request; frequently not the default.
- Stated value
- An agreed figure written into the policy up front. Sometimes used for older homes that will not qualify for replacement cost. Better than an unclear ACV settlement, provided the number is realistic.
Manufactured homes depreciate differently from site-built houses, so the gap between ACV and replacement cost tends to widen with age. It is worth knowing which basis your current policy uses before a claim rather than after. If you are not sure, it will be stated on your declarations page — send it to us and we will read it with you.
Not sure whether your policy pays ACV or replacement cost?
The dominant risk
Wind, anchoring, and hurricane deductibles
In Louisiana, wind is the risk that shapes a mobile home policy. Manufactured homes are more vulnerable to hurricane and severe-storm damage than site-built houses, and insurers price and underwrite accordingly.
Anchoring is not only a safety requirement — properly documented tie-downs affect whether a carrier will write the policy at all, and at what price.
Expect a separate named-storm or hurricane deductible, set as a percentage of your coverage amount rather than a flat dollar figure. On a home insured for $80,000, a 5% deductible is $4,000 out of pocket before the policy responds. Ask for that number in dollars, not as a percentage — it is the figure that actually matters after a storm.
The gap people miss
Flood is never included
No mobile home policy covers flood, exactly as no homeowners policy does. Flood requires a separate policy, available through the NFIP or a private flood carrier, and it carries a 30-day waiting period — so it cannot be arranged once a storm is in the forecast.
This matters more for manufactured homes than most owners expect. Elevation, the condition of the skirting, and how utilities enter the home all affect what floodwater does, and the 2016 floods demonstrated across Louisiana that homes well outside mapped high-risk zones still take water. Roughly one in five NFIP claims nationally comes from outside those zones.
We write both NFIP and private flood options — see Louisiana flood insurance. If you also keep a vehicle at the property, note that flood damage to a car is covered by comprehensive on the auto policy, not by either the home or the flood policy.
Cover the home and the flood gap in one conversation.
Ways to save
Lowering a Louisiana mobile home premium
The levers here differ slightly from a site-built home, because underwriting weights construction and anchoring more heavily.
- Document your tie-downs and anchoring properly — it affects eligibility as well as price
- Keep the roof in good condition and keep records of any replacement
- Bundle with auto — usually the largest single discount, see bundling home and auto
- Add wind-mitigation features where practical, such as storm shutters
- Set the deductible at a level you could genuinely pay tomorrow
- Review annually — valuation basis and coverage amounts drift out of date quickly
What we would not recommend is lowering the premium by moving from replacement cost to actual cash value. It reads as a saving every month and stops being one the first time you file a total-loss claim.
Mobile Home FAQ
Common Louisiana mobile home insurance questions
Get a Louisiana mobile home insurance quote
Send us your current declarations page and we will tell you plainly whether it settles at actual cash value or replacement cost, what your named-storm deductible costs in dollars, and whether the flood gap is covered. No obligation.