[lulu]

God forbid somebody puts in a claim...it's like begging them to fix something that you already paid for?? The insurance industry didn't get in that field to part with any money that was given to them for years & years.... I truly hope that Ins. regulations change...it's truly sad to me to even see & hear of elder Floridians moving to other states at this stage in life, when they should be in their golden years & have enough worries as it is. I think of the Louisiana people all the time & I hope to God they don't end up w/the insurance nightmare. Now business' are being cancelled, down here too. One condo owner came out in the news the other day that the condo sent them a special assessment bill of $5000 per unit due to insurance hikes & they were expecting another one?? I hope somebody in power does something cause it can't go on like this.

[Jammie]

Lulu, I absolutely can't believe the premiums that you would be faced with paying. I agree that you're doing the right thing in keeping your $$ and just paying for slight damage yourself. I live in the upper midwest and premiums have risen a bit for insurance. They say it's because of the Fla. hurricanes and the N.O. hurricane. One would think that it could be distributed more fairly then it is though.

[lulu]

No, it's not distributed fairly. Even if Miami weren't to face a hurricane ever again..it wouldn't matter. The Ins. crooks figure they'll have to shell out more since it's more densely populated - it's the "What if's??"....syndrome. Guess who pays more for the last years hurricanes further up in the state that we didn't get...??? S. FL will end up paying much more than my friend for example whom suffered through two of them & did put in two claims & with a private ins. nonetheless...yes they still can get private ins. His premiums aren't nearly close to what we are forced to pay, just for the simple fact that I live in S. FL which has more people. I'm not saying that the people whom are victims of natural disasters should pay all of it as they have enough worries (believe me I suffered Andrew & wish nothing negative on anybody). This is Florida, it's hurricane belt...no one can predict or know where this nature's marvel well end up at, or how many times it will hit a certain area. Yeah...like you said, "One would think that it could be distributed more fairly..." What can one do ????

[may]

I just read an article in Kiplingers magazine about homeowners insurance that said insurance companies were dropping coverage for homeowners up the whole east coast up to NY. They think it's just a matter of time before "a big one" hits up there. I just looked up 'insurance' in the dictionary. "Insurance is a contract guaranteeing protection against loss". Somewhere along the line the insurance companies seem to have forgotten their purpose BUT they're still taking our money and cherry picking who they'll insure. I was hoping that our Governor would step in and do something big to help us in FL, but I realize it's not an election year!

[bamboosmom]

I saw on the weather channel that a storm can and will hit the NY area. It is just a matter of time. Something has to be done about the insurance industry for the whole country. Its just like the gas prices. If we don't start to do something, we will all have a serious problem and that's not just in Florida.

[lulu]

I agree 100% with May....that our Governor should do something, but I'll probably croak first before that happens. Almost everyday something about ins. comes up in our local paper. It's even been proven that Citizens shouldn't be higher anymore cause they don't have anybody to compete with at least down here, which is the main reason why they are the highest - cause by law they cannot compete w/private insurers - but where are the private ins.companies that I can choose from? I can't find one. Our two state representatives that have been involved in this have gotten nowhere.
I also agree with bamboosmom...that I fear it's not going to stop with just Florida. It's going to be any state that has the the slighest remote possibility of these ins. guys to have to part with their money - and all I hear are doomsday predictions from T.V....like Callifornia is going to be ripped apart one day & go under, Fl might have 6-8 hurricanes, N.Y. etc. etc. The more they do this the more these Ins. people will have justification to hike their rates. You know...all my life here, and I've never ever seen anything like this - it's out of hand.

I sure don't know what's going on but with home ins., health ins, car ins., gas prices it's all getting out of hand. I don't smoke & I'm not condoning smoking, but I was told back in the late 80's by somebody in the industry that the reason smoking is not allowed in buildings, workplaces,malls, movies anymore is not so much for our health. Why am I talking about smoking well..the 'what if's' again, because Ins. companies wouldn't insure buildings for the possibility of a fire starting. For some reason, I do believe this more, nowadays, the way they are acting. Silly me...and I thought it was for our health.

[robivi3]

My wonderment is, why are people still asking about moving here and people return with yap about "great neighborhood, good schools". You have to be psychotic to want to move here, or ignorant of what is going on!

Going without insurance here is dangerous because of liabilities.

[Jewels36]

Some people, like myself, are relocating to Florida because our spouses' employer is requiring us to. I would prefer to stay right where I am, or even to move to a different part of Florida but that is not an option.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by lulu

We're not getting home insurance anymore, thanks in part to having our mortgage paid off. It's ridiculous & cruel to what they are doing to Floridians - hopefully, this will not happen to other states, too. I'd hate to see the day if we ever needed to file a claim. Even my neighbor last year lost some roof tiles, two outside lights, & some other minor things but he didn't put in a claim for fear that even the state ins. would cancel him or something - and even if they wouldn't, the deductible was so high that it would have not covered his damages, anyhow. So, he fixed the damages with his own two hands - he literally got on the roof w/new roof tiles & this new foam glue from a red can (looks like cool whip in can) at home depot and did a marvelous job. So, we figure that by next year our insurance will be like close to $15,000 to $17,000 and we keep the money saved up & if our roof decides to fly, fly away...well, I'm sure we'd be able to handle it much better than this marvelous Citizens State Insurance, which is the highest of them all, nonetheless....we are definitely taking the risk. To think that the Insurance Industry had higher than average profits nationwide, why would they want Florida?? God forbid they help fix our homes & lose any money. And we've thought about it....it's our money to begin with and they won't part with it?? So, thanks anyway but I'll keep it in an ultra safe place - in my bank.

I am thinking of doing the same thing and dropping my insurence. Are you still carring liability and fire? I called my company Liberty Mutual and they said I had to take the wind storm, they would not give me a policy for just liability and fire. I know Liberty Mutual is a good company and I would hate to leave them after so many years. Any adivice? I am in Fort Lauderdale by the way.

[may]

Jewels36 - We moved here from NJ 18 yrs ago and have never looked back. My problem is that as I age I'm finding that I don't want to live in a place where I have to fear the weather. The past 2 years of hurricanes have been the worst in all the years we've been here. And the media's job this year seems to be to scare the living daylights out of us. I understand that they are telling us that it's our responsibility to be prepared for the first 72 hours after the storm, BUT that requires much planning and spending. Water, non-perishable food, batteries galore, blue tarp (for the roof), first aid supplies, flashlights, generator, and on and on. My daughter and her family just moved from FL to GA because of the insurance rates here. She and her husband have 5 small children. Can you imagine the water and food she would have to stock?! Forget parking in the garage...it's going to be filled with hurricane supplies!