Nice surprise on homeowner's insurance quote (sales, homeowners insurance, homes)

[dlhanson]

We are buying in Hillsborough County -- Sun City Center. After hearing the stories about high homeowner's insurance, I was surprised that our homeowner's insurance is only $266 per year higher than in upstate South Carolina ($966 versus $700/year).

I am not thrilled the quote is from Citizen's though as I wanted to avoid government insurance so I am still looking. We had a $5000 deductible in South Carolina for all perils, 5% hurricane and $2500 for all other perils in Florida, both with $300k liability. Home in Florida is 500 sq ft smaller and sales price is $24,000 less so the comparison is not entirely the same. (A wind mitigation survey brought the quote down from $1350 to the $966 so the survey was well worth the $75 cost.)

[CDusr]

Good to hear. My understanding is coastal areas are way worse, but heck just about all of FL is a coast. There are supposedly companies writing policies, but finding them can be difficult. In other words getting multiple quotes and shopping around is the way to go, but not as easy as it sounds. I have even seen subscription services for this purpose.

Kinda weird there aren't more current comparison places for places like FL. Seems like they don't want the information out there maybe, because you know the data is somewhere. Although actual rate comparisons for insurance of any kind isn't near as transparent as it should be. Hard to say how likely citizen's is to go up tho. I haven't seen good "real" data comparing rate info on private companies vs citizen. Maybe long term customers can speak to this somewhat.

Curious how old was the home if you don't mind?

[newyorker24]

Wind mitigation inspections are a must! Mine saved me around $600 a year.

[dlhanson]

Home was built in 1989. One of the reasons for lower insurance costs may be that the home has a 7 year old aluminum tile roof.

So far I have checked with USAA, Armed Forces Insurance, and Farm Bureau Insurance but none of them are writing new policies in our area. The Farm Bureau guy wrote that he could get me a quote with another company.

[CDusr]

FB is generally well priced. They might be a good lead if they are willing to get you another quote. Does seem the roof is a big deal. On "older" homes especially. That is why I was curious about the yr. Just the pits that information is so hard to come by.

[deebin]

Anyone familiar with Cypress Insurance? Opinions?

[kbrkr]

Can someone explain what "Wind Mitigation Survey" is?

[newyorker24]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

Can someone explain what "Wind Mitigation Survey" is?

Here's a link:

Save On Your Homeowners Insurance with a Wind Mitigation Inspection!


It cost me $70 and took them about half an hour.

[SunshineandBlueSkies]

Hi,

Now I got the wind mitigation and roof inspection- as recommended. It costs $125.

Then I go and call Citizens and they give me a lousy "$116" discount because of the wind mitigation. Really?

I pay $125 to save $116?

I know this adds up in the long run.... I thought the discount would be more? where's this big savings everyone is talking about? 1976 Block Home 900 sq ft - new roof ect. $1235 how does that sound? about a $100 bucks a month?

And does one get discounts if they have insurance for a period of time? I have had car insurance, but no home....

Thanks for the advice

[chi_tino]

I just received a very pleasant surprise from Citizens this morning. The premiums for my good-sized waterfront home dropped almost 20%, rather than increasing like everyone else's.

They lowered the amount of coverage for personal property (which went from an outrageous number to a high number), which is just fine by me, but the drop in premiums was huge. I haven't had a wind mitigation survey because I'm pretty sure my premiums would go UP after they took a look at it.

I was expecting my policy to go from about $4k a year to $5k, but it dropped to near $3k. My FEMA flood policy is still grossly, grossly underpriced and I have no complaints about that.