If house is paid off, at what point does it make sense to self-insure? After the hurricanes in the 90s, I remember a father in law went that route. They had, at that time, a $500k house near the beach. Insurance was going to be $30k, he bailed. Not sure how long he stayed without insurance, but never had a claim in the 30yrs since. He died 5 yrs ago, but the wife is still there.