[TheLonelyGoatherd]

Originally Posted by sware2cod

Citizen's isn't bad.

I was reading such bad reviews about them not paying claims. But they really may be the only hope for them getting insurance.
I think a lot of the issue with insurance policies is people not realizing something isn't covered. It either wasn't told to them or they just didn't read the policy. My inlaws do not want us involved and said they'd do it on their own. But I really think they are going to need help in making sure they don't end up with some swiss cheese policy that covers hardly anything. So Citizens might be decent and maybe the issue is more the misunderstanding of thinking something is covered more than the claims that they had coverage and Citizens just denied them. I don't know.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

I was reading such bad reviews about them not paying claims. But they really may be the only hope for them getting insurance.
I think a lot of the issue with insurance policies is people not realizing something isn't covered. It either wasn't told to them or they just didn't read the policy. My inlaws do not want us involved and said they'd do it on their own. But I really think they are going to need help in making sure they don't end up with some swiss cheese policy that covers hardly anything. So Citizens might be decent and maybe the issue is more the misunderstanding of thinking something is covered more than the claims that they had coverage and Citizens just denied them. I don't know.

Please remember, this is Florida. Trying to get homeowner's here is a whole 'nuther animal. We have a small 1950's rancher in good condition a couple blocks from the bay and pay over $2,000 for the basic HOI and another $1,100 or flood. This is with HUGE deductibles, and the polices don't cover much.

From your post, I am doubting they will get insurance at all, if anything is available it's probably Citizen's and you won't have a choice. Again, repairs will probably have to be made. People from other states just don't understand the insurance situation here.

[SanyBelle]

How long has the insurance been lapsed?

I didn't pay my car insurance bill in Nov 2018 because I moved and the post office mail forwarding had already expired and I didn't get the bill, the late notices or the cancellation notices. I pay 98% of my bills online, so I didn't realize I hadn't paid this bill. My car insurance is paid twice a year, in November and May. In February I went to renew my driver's licence and found out that I didn't have any car insurance. I was able to get it reinstated by paying the entire bill from Nov-Feb and by swearing that nothing had happened to the car and I wouldn't be putting in an insurance claim.

I'm don't know if this is similar and could work with your parents? Maybe if the lapse hasn't been too long? Good luck!

Edited to add that it's also difficult to buy insurance during hurricane season.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

I know. Huge mistake on their part. We were trying to get them to just sell. Any house in their neighborhood that sells is razed and rebuilt. But they refuse to move.
We just never knew they'd let the policy lapse. But we are at the point where the roles are reversing between the parents and the kids and we are going to have to start asking questions like this.

Why insure? If the house's only value is lot value then save your (their) money on insuring the structure.

I was looking at an older home and if I was able to buy it cash (no mortgage) I wouldn't have insured it for a penny since it was a teardown (the reason for buying it in the first place)

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

Edited to add that it's also difficult to buy insurance during hurricane season.

This is NOT true.

It is difficult to buy only when a named storm is approaching.....

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

Why insure? If the house's only value is lot value then save your (their) money on insuring the structure.

I was looking at an older home and if I was able to buy it cash (no mortgage) I wouldn't have insured it for a penny since it was a teardown (the reason for buying it in the first place)

You should at least have liability in case somebody gets hurt on your property and tries to sue you.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

You should at least have liability in case somebody gets hurt on your property and tries to sue you.

yes liability would be good to have but if the structure is a teardown then no need to insure the structure.

If the people have no assets except the house and it is homesteaded then they might not need liability either since social security nor the home could be lost in a lawsuit.

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

Thank you all for your help!

That is a good point about a house being a teardown. Theirs definitely would be. But what about personal belongings? Can you get a policy for just the inside of your house? Kind of like renter's insurance but for a homeowner? Maybe they can just insure their belongings?

It's been lapsed for a couple of years. They said they were getting other insurance but they never did. They get angry at us trying to intervene. But the thing is, if they lose their house, we are the only people who will be able to help them. So we do have a right to intervene in my opinion. We don't have near enough money to replace all of their things and find them a place to live. It would bankrupt us. What do people do with no insurance? I guess FEMA rebuilds the house? It's all very frustrating.

[ByeByeLW]

I had ASI on my old house then had to have windstorm with Citizens. ASI was easy to deal with; it was an old house that needed many repairs but the ceiling and floor were gorgeous. The house was less than a mile from the ocean so that affected the policy and is why I had to have the Citizens additional policy.

ASI really just wanted an update from fuses to breakers. That was their main concern. Once that was done they wrote the policy.

I currently have Southern Oak as I had the option to switch from Citizens and my agent encouraged the change. Hopefully I’ll never have to know how good they are.

My current house is a mid-century modern but it was totally updated so I didn’t have a problem with insurance.

[Enigma777]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

We are looking to get homeowner's insurance for my inlaws who are seniors. They had a policy for the past 30 years. They let it lapse. Then they told us they had a new policy. But they don't.

So we are now looking to get them a homeowner's insurance policy. I was told that Citizens would be the only place that can help them but the reviews are awful! People said they weren't paying out claims?

their house was built in the 1950s I believe. It's not in good shape to be honest. It is located in Tampa. Does anyone have any suggestions?

If we knew they were going to let the other policy lapse, we would have taken over payments for them. Now I'm afraid they are stuck in a house that can't be insured.

There is one more thing about Tampa. Sinkholes. You will not be able to get sinkhole coverage if there is one within a few miles. Some will just not cover it at all. I once got coverage with a company. Two weeks later they dropped us because there they claimed there was a sinkhole within 2 miles. There wasn't and there isn't. There were no sinkholes within 60 miles.

But---they said they then said they would cover us without sinkhole coverage for the same premium amount. It was definitely a bait and switch scheme because they did not want to provide sinkhole coverage. I knew a couple who had the exact same thing happen with a different company. I asked for evidence and they emailed me a blurry geographical map made by a company in Massachusetts. Could not even read it. I found coverage elsewhere.

I always felt like Florida homeowners insurance was extortion. It did not matter if you had claims ever. If you lived east of I-75, insurance was higher and they claimed it was because we were near the water--like 15 miles away! Car insurance isn't much better.

My father had a wood frame house in the country and was not near a water hydrant or fire station. They charged him a fortune for insurance.