[Spring Hillian]

I believe that the problem is sinkhole coverage.

Guy across the street from me gave me his story : our policy was coming up for renewal.
We knew that unnamed insurance company is dropping policy holders as quick as they can, especially in a higher risk areas.

At any rate, he gets a sink hole inspector out there and guess what! "sinkhole activity in 3 places". It took over 30 trucks of stuff to fill in this "sinkhole activity".

The homeowner offered to settle the claim with the insurance company for $80k. They laughed. The sinkhole repair cost the insurance company $190k, plus, by law, they cant' cancel him for 5 years!.

What was the problem with the house you may ask. "nothing that you wouldnt find in any other 40 year old house".

This happens all day long in Timber Pines and other "prone areas".

Obviously, in a risky area, as FL is, especially with automobile related claims out the kazoo in the
more densely populated areas, insurance gets expensive. More people out there, more risk.
Higher premiums to offset risk.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

They are also the ones that complain incessantly about all the "hype." Some people like to borrow trouble and then complain.



Yep!



There weren't as many people in Florida 100 years ago and even 50 or 30 years ago. Add to that the uptick in storms, especially powerful ones.

Take a look at this pic again and check out the graph that shows the storms on a timeline.

All sizes | Hurricanes Since 1851 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!



Nope. Maybe in your specific area but sinkholes aren't an enormous problem in a lot of Florida. And the payout from a Charley or an Andrew is astronomical. The cost of doing business just isn't worth it.

Here's a secret. I'm a licensed agent for property and casualty in the state of Florida. I hold a license in 43 states, no small feat. I also work for an enormous, old insurance company.

[old_cold]

Wish somebody would tell Citizens that hurricanes aren't a big problem.
My renewal shows that 3/4 of the premium is hurricane coverage.

[jghorton]

Originally Posted by old_cold

Wish somebody would tell Citizens that hurricanes aren't a big problem.
My renewal shows that 3/4 of the premium is hurricane coverage.

It's not just the premium -- Check out your hurricane deductible -- You will discover that, at 2-5% of the total replaceable cost of the dwelling, you are virtually self-insured! Condo's really have a problem in this area since they have a much higher value, yet, only one roof, etc. It takes several hundred thousand dollars in many cases to get out of the deductible.


-----------
Additionally, the notion (above) that people complain about the hype and then complain about 'not knowing, if the hurricane hits' ... is unlikely to be coming from anyone in Florida who has watched the media circus over many years. We are not talking about reasonable, responsible reporting, but, about the 'blanket hysteria' that seems to grip broadcasters every time a 'tropical depression' appears somewhere in the Atlantic. There is MORE danger of contributing to a general sense of complacency in this type of 'over-reporting' ... than a real likelihood that people will be unprepared if a storm is reasonably and rationally reported. (Isaac was so over-exaggerated, one cannot help but, wonder if the liberal media didn't see this as an opportunity to "protect the public" by disrupting the RNC in Tampa.)

[90sman]

Most hurricanes are no big deal and usually nothing more than some rain and winds. But I do agree that the news media over-hypes even the more minor storms and they do this for ratings and money.

Just be prepared... put up your storm shutters, have ample food & water, batteries, etc. Ride out the storm, then clean up the mess and move on with life.

[vaughanwilliams]

Originally Posted by jghorton

(Isaac was so over-exaggerated, one cannot help but, wonder if the liberal media didn't see this as an opportunity to "protect the public" by disrupting the RNC in Tampa.)

Rush, is that you? I think you've finally gone over the edge.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Anything that gets ratings will be over-hyped and sensationalized on the news today.

Around 30-40 people died in Andrew. According to FDOT, about the same amount of people die in traffic accidents in a typical week in Florida. You probably drive every day, but experience a direct hit by a hurricane a few times in your life, if even that. But which news report gets the better ratings? You better believe there's not a single news agency that comes on the air every weak and reports that an Andrew's worth of people died on the road this past week. On the news, you'll only see the occasional big rig roll-over that shuts down the interstate for hours.

[hiknapster]

I believe that the news crews hype this stuff until people just tune it out and that is dangerous. However, there is more to a hurricane than deaths. There is the loss of property, the nightmare of trying to find a place to live and restore your life. That can affect thousands and thousands of people.

[La Dulcinea]

They are all hype until something happens. Then they will blame the government and media for not warning the public.

No one is forcing anyone to tune in to the weather channel 24/7 to watch Cantore melodramatic on site weather reports.

People need to be informed during ermergencies, don't like it? then change the channel.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by La Dulcinea

They are all hype until something happens. Then they will blame the government and media for not warning the public.

No one is forcing anyone to tune in to the weather channel 24/7 to watch Cantore melodramatic on site weather reports.

People need to be informed during ermergencies, don't like it? then change the channel.

Very true. We've become a nation of whiners and conspiracy theorists. No one is forcing you to watch The Weather Channel, Fox News or the so-called "liberal" media. Certain factions like to rile up the easily influenced and play to their greed and paranoia. Cowboy and girl up, for crying out loud. Get off the boobtube and take a walk. For a bunch of people that feel that government is meddling in their lives they sure don't seem to be able to take their lives in their own hands and stop playing victims.

"We are being hyped, wah, wah, wah."

Do you know how much hype I watched in the past week? None. And when I lived in Florida? None except for when a hurricane was extremely close and I needed up to the minute satellite pics. That meant August 12 and 13, 2004. Other than that, I watch the National Hurricane Center, read the data and draw my own conclusions.

[Spring Hillian]

Ask the people in New Orleans and other areas hit hard by Issac and see what they think about "hurricane hype".

What happened there could have happened in FL just as easily.