[pianogal]

I have a 3200 square foot house in Orlando and my insurance has gone from $700 (2005-2006) to $1800 (2007) to $1200 (2008).

Recently I have been getting unsolicited quotes in the mail from insurance companies. The latest quote I received was from People's Trust. Their brochure states they are an A rated company. The rate they quoted me was $593.00 - this includes a substantial reduction because my home was built to the new hurricane code.

I have not solicited for insurance, my premium isn't due until January. That rate seems almost too good to be true. Is anyone else getting these? Does anyone know anything about this company?

[DailyJournalist]

It depends on the company, many of the no-name companies will be cheaper but when a tragedy happens it becomes a chore for them to pay and it can be a very unpleasent experience.

[cmj_fla]

The rates have dropped drastically and I would suggest everyone go and shop around again if they got their policies in 04-07. If the home was built after 2001 and has a Hip roof (4-sided) then you will see premiums as low as the one you got.

[daniellefort]

Ours went up from $800 to $1600 and this year came down to $1300. after a knocking off some "crazy" coverage amounts that they were charging more than what we had, we were able to bring it down to $1000. Check your policies over carefully. They had our coverage for $67,000 worth of interior furnishings etc and the house is sitting empty for sale so we got rid of most of that which lowered our premium. we didn't even have $67,000 worth of stuff in there. I have no idea where they even got that figure to begin with.

[cmj_fla]

Daniellefort had a great suggestion..make sure you have the right coverages. Because of the drastic drop in home prices and cost of supplies/labor to rebuild your replacement value (or Coverage A) for your home may be higher than it needs to be.

Danielle..the personal property is usually 10% of the replacement cost of your home. So if your home was not worth 670,000 to rebuild then that coverage was too high.

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by cmj_fla

The rates have dropped drastically and I would suggest everyone go and shop around again if they got their policies in 04-07. If the home was built after 2001 and has a Hip roof (4-sided) then you will see premiums as low as the one you got.

Yes, we satisfy both of the requirements above. Great news! Now let's pray for NO hurricanes in Florida this year!

[sunrico90]

I'm pending an update from my insurance broker, had my wind inspection done and now have hurricane rated windows. I was told that the insurance will drop, currently $1,400.00, hoping to be under $1K...

[Jungle George]

I've gotten my insurance through an agency & it went from $800.00 on '03 to $2400.00 in '05 & now has dropped to $1300.00.

I saw a few companies with slightly lower rates, but my agent told me that they don't seem to have a "game plan" in effect in the event of another hurricane & are continually writing more business.

She said this raised a "red flag" to her about how they would actually pay out to all their policyholders in the event of another hurricane. The company I have now does have a "game plan" in effect for existing policyholders & is prepared to cover them in case.

This made sense to me after seeing what neighbors went through in '04 with their "little known" insurance companies.

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by cmj_fla

Danielle..the personal property is usually 10% of the replacement cost of your home. So if your home was not worth 670,000 to rebuild then that coverage was too high.

Well that's a great example because our house was only appraised at $117,000 with the bank but the insurance appraised at $132,000. They had $67,000 covered for personal property based on their appraisal.

[TriMT7]

One of the best things you can do for your insurance premium AND your home, is to get storm shutters for every window. Doing that will drop your premium price like a rock.