[msmandal]

I got my renewal for my home owner's insurance today and it's more than last year...no surprise there, but I am an hour away from the closest beach so why should I have to pay a fee for Citizen's? I did not choose to live near the beach for the reason of hurricanes. I do not see why we should have to pay into it if we are not using it. How is that fair?

[sunrico90]

A number of factors are applied to the final premium that we all have to pay. I live in Northwest Florida (Navarre), close to the water not by choice but the location of my employer and my homeowners insurance was cancelled twice and this November I MUST get another company.

Go to the following link for Florida Insurance Council website, lots of info.

http://www.flains.org/public/pr_050706.html-ssi (broken link)


My biggest concern is that we continue to build on the beach and mother nature is always going to reclaim the beach. All of the homes are over the 1 million dollar value and this drives most of the premium for all of us. We have friends with 50 to 70 percent increases. Basically you can't afford your morgage. A topic that we must consider during the next elections.

[Prichard]

I was born and raised in Florida, and would never live on the Beach. I love the beach, like to surf and windsurf, but won't live there for several reasons.

First, the beaches are way too overbuilt. I think highrise condos are UGLY, and even the view you get of the sea doesn't make up for the skyline of ugly condos. Second, as a college student, I couldn't wait for the day that I could afford a house and not have to share a wall with jerky neighbors. Why, WHY, would I pay extra just to get what I didn't want, but could only afford, when I was a college student?

Second, there are no pretty trees at on the beach - it's more like living in a desert, and I hate the desert!

Third, everything rusts at the beach. Any nail, *****, piece of hardware, hinge, concrete reinforcing, and car part will have rust on it. Even stainless steel rusts on the beach! Aluminum corrodes. Wood weathers terribly. It is a very harsh environment on non-organic objects.

Fourth, it's very humid on the beach, even more so than inland. The only good thing is that it's also about 10 degrees F cooler at the beach, which compensates for the higher humidity.

Fifth, cost.
Sixth, Insurance, or lack thereof.
Seventh, taxes
Eight, hurricane threat - evacuations.

Give me at least a couple acres of green, lush land with lots of trees and an average sized house, and I'm happy.

[sunrico90]

Info on Citizen's Insurance, see link for further info.

What is Citizens?

Citizens Property Insurance is the state’s homeowners insurance safety net. It was created by the Legislature in 2002 to offer property coverage to Floridians without private insurance options.

Without Citizens:

More than 800,000 Floridians would have nowhere to turn for property insurance.

Hundreds of thousands of Floridians would have no way to recover or rebuild after a hurricane.

Many Floridians would be unable to buy or sell property.

Many Floridians would be unable to obtain mortgages, refinancing, business or other property loans.

Fewer businesses would invest in the Sunshine State.

Florida’s economy would be severely affected.

How does Citizens decide how much premium to charge?

The basis for Citizens’ rates is mandated by Florida law. The law requires Citizens rates to be non-competitive with any standard insurance company, and based on risk. Citizens may not set its own rate structure.

Citizens must submit rates for approval to the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation.

What happens if I am dropped by my private insurance company?

The good news is that Florida has provided a safety, Citizens, when residents cannot find coverage in the private insurance market.

http://www.citizensfla.com/

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by msmandal

I got my renewal for my home owner's insurance today and it's more than last year...no surprise there, but I am an hour away from the closest beach so why should I have to pay a fee for Citizen's? I did not choose to live near the beach for the reason of hurricanes. I do not see why we should have to pay into it if we are not using it. How is that fair?

Hurricanes come inland too. We got several hurricanes in the last couple years. If you dont want insurance, you can cancel it if you arent paying a morgage. Other options are moving out of Florida. My parents pay insurance but will cancel if it keeps going up. They may even move out!

[msmandal]

i also live in florida so i know all about hurricanes but i feel it should be the state's surplus and taxes going towards citizens not our extra money helping out even more so they can get out of debt what they should have already been saving up all the years with no hurricanes. same goes for the other insurance companies out there. they seem to still be making profits off of us although they say they are losing in fl. hmmmm......