[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by prairigh

Been reading some of the posts about insurance in Florida and they talk about self insuring. What is that? Thanks.

That means "going naked". No coverage. You the homeowner have to have enough $ saved up (and not have a mortgage lender, who usually demands you get real insurance) to cover around $50,000 worth of damages when the hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, flood, etc come.

People are doing this these days because they cannot afford to pay for insurance. It is a rip-off, and most people cannot even GET insurance in the first place. When they get insurance, they have to pay like $3,000 - $20,000 year in insurance and most of us, hard working people, cannot do that.

So people choose to 'go naked' or 'self-insure'. That is a VERY BAD idea, IMHO, because most hurricanes in FL really mess up homes and if you get water intrusion, it will become mold, and mold will cause your home to be condemned. If you are self-insured or are naked, your $50,000 in savings will NOT save your $300,000 home.

[kaminl]

If you're not insured FEMA will pay you for the damages.

[daniellefort]

The last thing you want to do is rely on the Government to help you. You still have to apply for FEMA and they may not give you back enough to cover your loss.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

IMHO, because most hurricanes in FL really mess up homes

No they don't, they don't do much of anything in most cases. There are literally millions of homes in Florida. How many get destroyed by hurricanes? The percent is so absolutely unbelievably low, yet the insurance costs are so astronomically high, how do you explain this. I am not telling someone to do it just the odds are so hugely in their favor.

Do you honestly think it is a 40 to 1 bet come next November 1st your house won't still be standing? The odds are closer to several million to 1. There is something so wrong here you don't know what to think we are being swindled to such an extent and it is allowed because people have no choice, they owe money on their house.

[tallrick]

FEMA is useless. My parents sustained damage from the hurricanes and FEMA gave them nothing. Meanwhile other people got money for chainsaws, generators, etc and had plenty of money themself. With no insurance an insane neighbor sued them for hurricane damage. No help there except me who had to find and pay a lawyer to defend them. Hate to say it but a .22 would have solved the problem faster. I have tried to buy liability or fire coverage for them, but no company will do it, all or nothing they say. If anyone wants to sue me, I have some nice round presents for you.

[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by macguy

No they don't, they don't do much of anything in most cases. There are literally millions of homes in Florida. How many get destroyed by hurricanes? The percent is so absolutely unbelievably low, yet the insurance costs are so astronomically high, how do you explain this. I am not telling someone to do it just the odds are so hugely in their favor.

Do you honestly think it is a 40 to 1 bet come next November 1st your house won't still be standing? The odds are closer to several million to 1. There is something so wrong here you don't know what to think we are being swindled to such an extent and it is allowed because people with have no choice, they owe money on their house.

In the coastal areas, the hurricanes tear up a LOT of homes. The majority.

If you are in a atrailer or mobile home, I will bet $100 with you that it is a 99.9% change your home will be destroyed. These ARE homes, some people have to live in them.

Yes, in Central FL, it is not so bad, but you also get roof damage which = water intrusions which = MOLD, which = to losing your home a lot of the time. So YES, that is messing up the home, even if the actaul building is still standing. Can you live in a moldy house and be healthy? No. So it's lost, unless you can manage to get some mold clean-up crew to your place quickly enough and after a hurricane, these guys are booked for months. When mold is present, there is no time to waste.

FEMA is a joke. You have to be prepared yourself, have your own generator, supplies, etc or you will suffer inmensely. FEMA insurance only kicks in, in certain circumstances and a lot of the time, it does NOT kick in and you are not covered. Trust me the LAST words you ever want to hear are: "we are from the government and we are here to 'help you' ".

In any case... if you live in the coast, you are toast.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

In the coastal areas, the hurricanes tear up a LOT of homes. The majority.

If you are in a atrailer or mobile home, I will bet $100 with you that it is a 99.9% change your home will be destroyed. These ARE homes, some people have to live in them.

Yes, in Central FL, it is not so bad, but you also get roof damage which = water intrusions which = MOLD, which = to losing your home a lot of the time. So YES, that is messing up the home, even if the actaul building is still standing. Can you live in a moldy house and be healthy? No. So it's lost, unless you can manage to get some mold clean-up crew to your place quickly enough and after a hurricane, these guys are booked for months. When mold is present, there is no time to waste.

FEMA is a joke. You have to be prepared yourself, have your own generator, supplies, etc or you will suffer inmensely. FEMA insurance only kicks in, in certain circumstances and a lot of the time, it does NOT kick in and you are not covered. Trust me the LAST words you ever want to hear are: "we are from the government and we are here to 'help you' ".

In any case... if you live in the coast, you are toast.

And when has all this happened, a few times in the last hundred years. As we speak the odds are, somewhere someone's dead body is being pried out of an auto wreck. With this knowledge are you deciding to never get in a car again? Of course not, we all live our lives on the probability of what will happen to us. Be it fly in planes, drive cars or swim in the ocean and get eaten by something. Living in fear, what people like insurance companies pray on, is a sad way to live. By the way, my guess is the odds are greater you will be dead by the end of the day through some other happening, be it a car accident armed robbery what ever then your house ever will get knocked down. I hope you are not going to spend the rest of the day under your bed knowing that.

[daniellefort]

Just curious MACGUY, are you self insured? you seem very persistent on this is the way things should be done. Just don't want another NAH out there you know what i mean.... Great if you have enough money to do so but i don't think the majority of people living in FL can do this. I'll be first to admit i couldn't do it. heck i only pay just over $700 a year on insurance anyways.

[Sunshine State]

theres a lot of truth in what MacGuy is saying about fear, but after living here all my life, I believe Gulf waters are a bigger threat than Atlantic, and if you stay in your home during hurricanes youre the best bet you have, having never evacuated during one we learned the hard way, coz even tho there is not emergency rescue available, wots a life w/out a home youve busted it for years for right?? if the winds and rains dont toss you thru the air and kill you, the aftermath hell certainly will, FEMA is a total joke, and who enjoys watching the First Lady look down on the bile/stench to say shes seen enuff???.... we were able to salvage the carpet thru boarding up the sliding glass doors INSIDE coz we were in the house with the noisy generator blasting for three to five days, not saying this is always the answer to a Class 5 hurricane, but wots the difference in the long run if youre resigned to stay here?... these years we worry more about the termites than hurricanes, think its tuff selling a wrecked home?...try listing one that has those little critters, it wont happen if you cant prove it hasnt been maintained against those deadly lil crunchettes, and forget aluminium siding, thats just a cover up for termite alley....another annual fee ya gotta get used to....many home buyers are still too poor to own anything but a manufactured home, trailers and such...so that is why you see the devastation in such a great degree when it ends... insurance companies are the last thing that can help these people...coz by that time, their all broke too, but if we really wanna turn it all around, we shud reevaluate who we put in office to run this great dynasty, coz he is the one who is handing out everything we make not only in our lives, but our money as well...he can hover the planet while we watch it explode....

[macguy]

Originally Posted by daniellefort

Just curious MACGUY, are you self insured? you seem very persistent on this is the way things should be done. Just don't want another NAH out there you know what i mean.... Great if you have enough money to do so but i don't think the majority of people living in FL can do this. I'll be first to admit i couldn't do it. heck i only pay just over $700 a year on insurance anyways.

I can't go without some kind of liability insurance. My current home is sold and the next home weather I build or buy I have no interest in insuring against windstorm. I have no problem carrying a policy that is properly priced. If I was to continue to live in my current home the insurance is $7200 and will most likely go up. The windstorm portion of that is about $5000. No I would not carry that either.

I am looking into what I can get in the way of just liability insurance. It is seaming, at least in Broward county, you have to buy the package that the insurance companies offer that is a complete rip off. I feel since the last couple years people are so used to watching loops of selected pictures of hurricane Katrina they are becoming paralyzed with fear that doesn't really exist and the insurance companies exploit that. Fear is good business, just ask the drug companies.