Insurance in FL? (Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale: mortgage, appraiser, homeowners insurance)

[Nancy Lynne]

What exactly is the situation with insurance in FL? Is it a requirement/law to have your property insured? Can those who live in FL give me some examples of cost of house/cost of insurance?

Is it flood insurance? hurricane insurance? home owners?

Thanks.

[alexander59]

If you have a mortgage you have to have insurance. If you own your home you don't, but its a little scary if you live in certain areas. I have a house worth about 215,000 average price and my insurance has gone from 730.00 in 2002, 1400.00 in 2004 and next year will be 2900.00. This house was built in 1956 and has never filed an insurance claim. I live in Tampa.

[morrischief]

If you buy a house built prior to 1978 and hold a mortgage you'll have citizens government twisted insurance! If you live in a coastal area, flood ins is a good idea, however some places inland don't require it. My house in St. Pete 160K taxes=$1700 and insurance=$1400 (Citizens would only accept me). Nice place to live though!!

[DoveDiva]

It would be in your best interest to insure your property here. The rates have gone up sharply, however. My mom lives in Miami, she owns a 1600 sq ft 3/2 ranch...her homeowners insurance was...1900 last year...it is now 5100 this year. And no, she does not have Citizens, and has never filed a claim. So yeah, it's insane.

[Muggy]

Nancy, what is so mind blowing about the insurance debacle is that there is no predictability or order to it whatsoever. I know two people who have waterfront properties and they have had relatively little increases. Meanwhile, some people with new construction townhomes, 5 miles from the beach, are paying through the nose after migrating to citizens insurance.

There is no simple answer.

[isitworthit]

Nancy: My homeowner's insurance was $799.00 with Liberty Mutual 6 years ago. Liberty Mutual just renewed my homeowner's insurance policy for $4,800.00. Our insurance rates have gone thru the roof down here. If your private insurance companies drop you or they totally leave the state, you will be forced to take Citizens Insurance which is backed by the State of Florida (and which the rest of us actually pay towards thru our private insurance companies who collect monies from us to pay to the State of Florida to help pay for the Florida backed Citizens Insurance Company). And to add to this insult, once you are with a private insurance company you are forced to stay with them and pay whatever they choose to charge you, as there are no other insurance companies writing policies for people who already have insurance policies. AND to double add to this insult, on top of your normal "deductible" of $500, $1000 or $2,500 or $5,000, there is a "windstorm deductible" of 2% of the covered amount (my windstorm deductible is approximately $6,600.00). I live in Pembroke Pines/Ft.Laud area and we are in a "flood zone" area, so we are forced to also purchase FLOOD INSURANCE which runs $350.00 per year. By the way, my house is worth (according to the Broward County Property Appraiser) $395,000.00.
SO, I WOULD RECOMMEND to everyone.....STAY AWAY FROM SOUTH FLORIDA UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD THESE REDICULOUS INSURANCE PREMIUMS. By the way, I have had one claim after all of the hurricanes last year and for the entire time I have lived in this house (20 years) and my insurance company wrote me a check for $2,500.00. We only stay here because we have young grandchildren and don't want to move out of the area until they are much older.

[chisoxfan]

Where would you be moving, Nancy Lynne? If you are moving to an inland area further north, it's unlikely you'd have to pay anywhere near what we pay in South Florida. Basically, any coastal area in the southern half of the state is getting clobbered. Rates of $5,000 a year (and up) are becoming increasingly common here in Fort Lauderdale.

The good news is that homeowners/windstorm insurance rates arguably have been the No. 1 campaign topic in elections this fall. The bad news is that many of the proposed solutions are either insipid or don't stand a chance of ever being implemented. Plus, nobody can agree on what direction to go in, which usually means that nothing will be done and the situation will get worse. I'm hoping against hope that something constructive happens. We're on the verge of a revolt down here and high insurance costs are starting to put a stranglehold on the economy.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by isitworthit

Nancy: My homeowner's insurance was $799.00 with Liberty Mutual 6 years ago. Liberty Mutual just renewed my homeowner's insurance policy for $4,800.00. Our insurance rates have gone thru the roof down here. If your private insurance companies drop you or they totally leave the state, you will be forced to take Citizens Insurance which is backed by the State of Florida (and which the rest of us actually pay towards thru our private insurance companies who collect monies from us to pay to the State of Florida to help pay for the Florida backed Citizens Insurance Company). And to add to this insult, once you are with a private insurance company you are forced to stay with them and pay whatever they choose to charge you, as there are no other insurance companies writing policies for people who already have insurance policies. AND to double add to this insult, on top of your normal "deductible" of $500, $1000 or $2,500 or $5,000, there is a "windstorm deductible" of 2% of the covered amount (my windstorm deductible is approximately $6,600.00). I live in Pembroke Pines/Ft.Laud area and we are in a "flood zone" area, so we are forced to also purchase FLOOD INSURANCE which runs $350.00 per year. By the way, my house is worth (according to the Broward County Property Appraiser) $395,000.00.
SO, I WOULD RECOMMEND to everyone.....STAY AWAY FROM SOUTH FLORIDA UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD THESE REDICULOUS INSURANCE PREMIUMS. By the way, I have had one claim after all of the hurricanes last year and for the entire time I have lived in this house (20 years) and my insurance company wrote me a check for $2,500.00. We only stay here because we have young grandchildren and don't want to move out of the area until they are much older.

When you say just renewed your policy you may have gotten just under the wire for the coming year. Mine renews in February with Liberty Mutual and they told me they will not be renewing the Windstorm portion of the policy.

You should check with your agent, you may be in for a surprise next year. I live in Broward near you by the way and can only assume you will be in the same boat as me your next renewal. I never thought Liberty Mutual would drop me. The agent called me a few weeks ago to tell me but coincidentally I just got the official letter from the company today. I have never had a claim by the way.

[isitworthit]

Thanks for the info.....but it figures! I am starting my search for new insurance so that hopefully I can have something else lined up for next year. I checked with Lloyds of London but they will only quote you IF your insurance company drops you!

[Muggy]

Nancy, take some time and read the comments at the bottom of this article (there are 20 pages of reader comments).
http://hurricane.tboblogs.com/index....urance_crisis/


Here is an exceprt:
It’s been 2 years since I bougt my house. At first, my insurance, through Citizens, was $700. per year. After a couple of increases for no reason what so ever, I now pay almost $5,000.00 a year