I bought my Aztec with 225 total time, no multi rating. I had my private and instrument single, with about 80 hours of complex. The first year insurance was pretty high, but it went down about 30-40% by the second year (of course, by then I had a couple hundred hours in type). Having 700 hours or so by the time you are looking at a twin should be no problem. You probably will want to start out with one of the standard starter twins: Aztec, 310, or Baron all work well. If you want to step right into something cabin class and/or pressurized, it'll be more difficult, but probably still not impossible. The harder part may be to find an instructor who has significant enough twin time to actually not only be able to meet your insurance company's requirements, but be competent enough in OEI (one-engine inoperative) situations to teach you properly.
The people who have contempt for twins I find also have no experience with them, and thus really have no business saying any of what they do (edit: This comment isn't directed at anyone on this forum). All of the "The second engine only takes you to the scene of the crash" folks I've met are people who may not even have their multi rating or, if they do, are flying around in a Seminole or some other airplane with single engine performance that is at best pitiful. They also don't have the proficiency to likely have a successful landing in case of an engine out.
That said, twins do require an increased level of proficiency, simply because you need to be ready to handle an engine-out situation when it does occur. I recommend that people who are new to twins avoid singles entirely during their initial transition, and even after that, probably want to keep the majority of their flying in twins to maintain proficiency. It is also important to understand what the limitations are for your aircraft. Don't take off on a hot day with a full load and expect to be able to maintain a high altitude if an engine fails (naturally aspirated).
As I recall, you live in Ohio and probably keep your flying to east of the Rockies. Given that, it's pretty easy to get reasonable performance with a naturally aspirated twin that will give you good single-engine performance while maintaining IFR altitudes. If you plan to fly west of Denver, it gets significantly more difficult. An Aztec, 310, or Baron, would all work just fine. Keep in mind: Every time a pilot Vmc rolls after an engine out, there's an NTSB report. Every time a pilot lands safely after an engine out, there is no report. You never hear about the people who didn't crash because they had a spare engine.
To me, the benefits of the twin extend beyond the second engine. It also comes down to the second alternator, second vacuum pump, greater stability, better performance in dealing with weather, typically greater cargo capacity. Many twins can be had with de-ice equipment (which few singles have, and even if they do they don't have the performance to deal with ice particularly well), and it's easier to find them with radar.
For me, the added capabilities and options are very much worth it. Your mission may be different, though, so that is also worth consideration.
