Florida property insurance rates expected to jump 40% to 50% in June (Miami: credit, lawyers)

[wondermint2]

For those that respond to the Citizens offer letter if the takeout offer is greater than 20% of their Citizens premium they can elect to stay with Citizens. However for those that don't respond to the letter they can be forced to accept takeout offers of 100% or more than their Citizens policy.

Nearly 20K Citizens customers have hours to respond to letter — or face higher insurance premium

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insu...2e66cd16&ei=37

The deadline to respond to the offer letter is just hours away — the end of the day on Tuesday, October 10.

“You have until that point to respond either through the portal or to contact your agent and have them respond on your behalf,” Friedlander said.

“If you miss the deadline, you will automatically be transferred to the takeout company,” Friedlander said.

“Potentially you could be paying 100% or more than what you’re paying today, according to what we’ve been told,” Friedlander said.

[wondermint2]

Forced by insurance to replace roofs, Sarasota homeowners can expect higher tax bills, too

For full article:

https://news.yahoo.com/forced-insura...080022568.html

In Sarasota County, unlike other nearby jurisdictions, that new roof carries another cost: a higher tax bill. Other area counties' elected property appraisers consider replacing a roof with the same material to be a maintenance issue, but Sarasota County's Property Appraiser classifies it as a capital improvement that enhances the home's taxable value.

Sometimes that increased value is greater than 3% on homesteaded property, which one local attorney says "skirts the spirit" of the Florida Constitution that caps the annual increase in taxable value on homestead property at that level annually.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Forced by insurance to replace roofs, Sarasota homeowners can expect higher tax bills, too

For full article:

https://news.yahoo.com/forced-insura...080022568.html

In Sarasota County, unlike other nearby jurisdictions, that new roof carries another cost: a higher tax bill. Other area counties' elected property appraisers consider replacing a roof with the same material to be a maintenance issue, but Sarasota County's Property Appraiser classifies it as a capital improvement that enhances the home's taxable value.

Sometimes that increased value is greater than 3% on homesteaded property, which one local attorney says "skirts the spirit" of the Florida Constitution that caps the annual increase in taxable value on homestead property at that level annually.

This is an opinion piece by Sarasota County property appraiser Bill Furst

Let's clear up the confusion about Sarasota County property appraisals

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...8978b461&ei=28

A recent article in the Herald-Tribune regarding the connection between a new roof and property taxes and a subsequent, related letter to the editor have made it clear to me that some misconceptions need to be addressed.

I pride myself on being as fair and equitable as I can under the law. I am sworn to uphold the state Constitution and the laws of Florida. The relevant laws do not give a property appraiser discretion in doing the job; rather, the laws mandate what should and should not be done.

[wondermint2]

Florida insurance premiums might not go down, industry says

For full article:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florid...miums-falling/

Floridians suffering from sky-high homeowners insurance premiums might have to face a new reality that their premiums won’t go down in the foreseeable future.

Despite years of reforms by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature, insurance experts and analysts are now saying they don’t expect to see premiums falling any time soon.

“Unfortunately, in our opinion, we don’t see a path to lower rates right now,” said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, which is backed by insurance companies.

On Monday, analysts with Karen Clark & Co., a catastrophe modeling firm, issued a five-page report that concluded “it is unlikely these costs will go down.”

[wondermint2]

Insurance Executives Paid Millions in Compensation as Rates Skyrocket: CFA Findings

For full article:

https://www.insurancejournal.com/new.../11/743595.htm

A new report from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) says chief executives of insurance companies are “living high on the hog” as policyholders are forced to absorb increases in insurance rates.

The research from the association of nonprofit consumer organizations found that CEOs of the top 10 U.S. personal lines insurers were paid more than $250 million in salaries, bonuses, and other payments combined in 2021 and 2022.

“CEOs are living high on the hog while increasing insurance premiums for people living paycheck to paycheck,” said Michael DeLong, CFA’s research and advocacy associate. “Insurers are telling regulators that ordinary consumers have to pay much more for auto and home insurance because the companies are struggling with inflation and climate change, but they are quietly handing CEOs gigantic bonuses.

[wondermint2]

Sounds like a version of the good old 'bait & switch' technique.

Some Florida residents seeing lower insurance rates, but there may be a catch

For full article:

https://www.wptv.com/money/real-esta...theres-a-catch

A number of Citizens Insurance policyholders are beginning to see offers of lower rates with private insurers.

But these lower insurance rates come with a warning.

"Some of the offers coming in are a lot lower than what they're seeing with Citizens," Norberg said. "However, the caveat is that may not be the end game when they get their renewal."

Norberg explained that the assumptions letters and offers may not hold as other factors keep forcing insurance rates to climb.

"A lot of them are saying, 'Hey here's our rate today. This is what we're offering,'" Norberg said, "but, by the time they get to that renewal, they may have gotten a new rate increase or two rate increases in this marketplace, and that consumer then is hit with that new now rate."

[wondermint2]

Slide acquires all Farmers Insurance homeowner policies in Florida

For full article:

https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/sl...n-florida/amp/

Slide Insurance, which is based in Tampa, has acquired the renewal rights for all Farmers Insurance homeowners policies in Florida after the company announced it would no longer do business in the state.

Slide will now cover 86,000 customers who previously had homeowners insurance through Farmers, according to a news release. The acquisition does not include renters, auto or umbrella policies.

[wondermint2]

Well this article says the average Florida homeowners policy is $6000. So what are the reasons some pay 5 to 100 times that amount?

Some Floridians are seeing 6-figure home insurance prices

For full article:

https://www.newsnationnow.com/busine...urance-prices/

James Molinari, who owns a four-bedroom home in West Palm Beach, told the Wall Street Journal the new rate for his homeowners insurance came in around $121,000 — seven times more than the year before.

Molinari found a better price from another insurer for $33,000 but ultimately decided to put the home up for sale. Others in the community told WSJ they made a similar decision due to the cost of insurance.

Elsewhere in the state, Florida’s ultra-wealthy are paying upwards of $620,000 for homeowners insurance, Bloomberg reported last month.

The recent reports are just the latest example of Florida’s ongoing insurance problem, which has pushed average premiums in the state to the highest level in the nation.

Since 2019, the average annual home insurance premium for Floridians has tripled from $1,988 to $6,000 now.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

This is an opinion piece by Sarasota County property appraiser Bill Furst

Let's clear up the confusion about Sarasota County property appraisals

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...8978b461&ei=28

A recent article in the Herald-Tribune regarding the connection between a new roof and property taxes and a subsequent, related letter to the editor have made it clear to me that some misconceptions need to be addressed.

I pride myself on being as fair and equitable as I can under the law. I am sworn to uphold the state Constitution and the laws of Florida. The relevant laws do not give a property appraiser discretion in doing the job; rather, the laws mandate what should and should not be done.

This an opinion letter in response to the Bill Furst (Sarasota property appraiser) response to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune article about roof repairs increasing property taxes. Phew! and the blame game merry-go-round continues......

Sarasota County property appraiser's view on roof repairs doesn't hold water

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sa...8b8e2e07&ei=32

What Furst failed to acknowledge, however, is that he is apparently the only county property appraiser in the state to assert that repairing or replacing a leaking roof is “an addition or change to land or buildings which increases their value and is more than a repair or replacement” under Chapter 193, Section 1555(1)(b), 2023 Fla. Stats.

Furst’s position is contrary to the plain language of the law, and it is an outlier among his peers in other counties in the state. Sarasota County homeowners deserve to have their property assessor follow the law as applied by every other county appraiser in Florida.

[wondermint2]

Who is Slide? Why the Tampa-based home insurer is 'bullish' on Florida's market

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insu...0839ac82&ei=44

Right now, thousands of Citizens Property Insurance policyholders are getting offer letters to leave for the private market as the company aims to cut back on its growing number of policies and limit their risk exposure.

No company is planning to take more on than Slide.

“I’ve never heard of Slide Insurance company, who are these people, and are they going to be able to pay the claim if I have one,” said Jon Hamilton, who received an offer for coverage from the company this month.

It’s a fair question because it’s a fairly new company, headquartered in a Tampa corporate building.

“I formed Slide with the intent of growing our business in Florida at a time when other insurers were exiting,” Slide CEO Bruce Lucas said. “We've quickly grown to a top five homeowners’ insurance company in the state, headquartered in Tampa with over 200 employees.”