Homeowners Insurance? (Miami: real estate market, to rent, relocation company) - Jacksonville - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

hlauburn · 03-27-2010, 11:27 AM

Can anyone give me an idea of what Homeowner's Insurance would run on a newer home, say in St Johns (JCP/Durbin Creek area), about $275,000? I know that there are a lot of factors that affect your premium, but I'm just trying to get a ballpark figure so we can know what to expect.

We lived near New Orleans during and after Katrina, and we saw our rates nearly double, and now that we live away from the coast, they're more reasonable. I'm just not sure what to expect in Jax.

Also, do people generally get "wind" coverage in addition to their regular HO insurance? We don't have that here - is it a FL thing? And also, is it a good idea to get flood insurance? Are there "flood zones" like in Louisiana?

Thanks!

Robyn55 · 03-27-2010, 12:48 PM

You'll be about 10-12 miles due east of the Atlantic ocean - so I'd recommend windstorm coverage (I went through Hurricane Andrew - where winds were over 100 mph almost 15 miles inland). Flood too (not only are you close to the St. Johns River - but various parts of the metro area flood when we get a ton of rain - not uncommon in the summer).

Flood insurance isn't a problem (you have the federal flood program). Windstorm insurance is a problem (the legislature is currently tackling the issue for the umpteenth time). Problem is state pool (Citizens) has too many insureds - and large firms have - for the most part - left the state. The small start-up companies that took the place of the large companies are undercapitalized and most have been losing money even though we haven't had any major storms for a while. I would check with some agents in your area to see what the story is. Whatever you do - I'd avoid the really small undercapitalized companies. Robyn

Magnolia Bloom · 03-27-2010, 01:30 PM

If you're working with Realtor, he/she can give you the name of a couple of agents that write HO. The agents could give you a ballpark figure of the cost for the policies.

hlauburn · 03-27-2010, 02:35 PM

Thank you both for the responses. So is "wind" something that's not normally included in a policy that you have to add on? In Louisiana, we didn't have special hurricane or wind coverage, just a normal homeowners policy plus flood, and everything was covered.

Unfortunately we don't have a realtor yet. Our relocation company is going to give us one, but in the meantime, I wanted to get some ballpark numbers so I could know what price range of homes we can start looking at. I found the St Johns county tax estimator, so I just need an idea of what insurance runs.

Thanks again!

Robyn55 · 03-27-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hlauburn

Thank you both for the responses. So is "wind" something that's not normally included in a policy that you have to add on? In Louisiana, we didn't have special hurricane or wind coverage, just a normal homeowners policy plus flood, and everything was covered.

Unfortunately we don't have a realtor yet. Our relocation company is going to give us one, but in the meantime, I wanted to get some ballpark numbers so I could know what price range of homes we can start looking at. I found the St Johns county tax estimator, so I just need an idea of what insurance runs.

Thanks again!

To give you a rough idea - I have a house valued at $400-500k - contents at about $150k - in St. Johns County. Homeowners' is $1700/year with $1400 worth of state-mandated "windstorm improvement" discounts (block construction - no gables - impact windows). I'm a long time State Farm customer - and one way it looks like the company (and others) will try to get on an even keel financially is to eliminate these discounts (there are several bills/regs that have been proposed). So I reckon I may well be paying more than $3k+ within the next couple of years. Maximum flood coverage (which you'll need) is about $450/year. Haven't had to look at this - but if I recall correctly from my reading - Citizens used to offer "windstorm only" when other companies wouldn't write it. Now it only offers "complete policies". So you'll probably have to find a company to write a "complete package" (except for flood).

One thing I can tell you. Most of Florida is FUBAR when it comes to property insurance (we are one big storm away from Citizens and a lot of private companies going broke). Also - our real estate market isn't so swell - and I don't think it will improve quickly (this is my third real estate bust in Florida - and it generally takes 5-10 years for things to get back to normal).

Unless your company is picking up all the freight - no matter what happens in terms of buying/selling a house - I suggest looking into renting a house. To get a feel for the area you think you like. And to get a feel for how long your relo will last (since you mentioned a relo agent - I assume you're a corporate transfer - please correct me if I'm wrong). The only house in trouble on our block of 30 houses is a corporate relo where the guy bought here at the top of the market - his company got into trouble and he lost his job - and now he is in deep doo-doo in terms of trying to find another tech job elsewhere in the country and trying to sell his house. Out here at the beaches - there are a lot of decent to nice to very nice houses to rent. Suspect that is true in other parts of the metro area as well. Robyn

hlauburn · 03-27-2010, 09:09 PM

Robyn- Thanks for the response. We aren't doing a transfer - my husband is starting a new job with a company that is paying for our relocation to Jax. Fortunately, they are taking care of just about every aspect of the move, but I don't think renting is going to be an option for us. My oldest is starting Kindergarten in the Fall, so we'd like to be settled in a school area by then, and in order to take full advantage of the relo package, we need to purchase ASAP.

I do feel like I'm going into this with limited knowledge of the area, but they will pay for several house hunting trips, so hopefully we can get a feel for everything then. My husband's work location in going to limit us somewhat, and schools are important.

Anyway, I'm way off topic, but thanks again for the help!

jcs2000 · 03-28-2010, 01:14 PM

I am in the process of finalizing a new home purchase after looking for almost 2 years. TowerHill quoted me $2500/yr; Amica sent my application to underwriting review. Minimum criteria for Amica is that the structure must be built after 2003. Of the two, I will go with Amica even if it is a bit higher, as they are very strong financially. Plan on at least $2000 at year.

PS. If schools are important, focus on St. Johns county--you cannot go wrong. The NE Florida real estate market is distorted and still in transition; while there are pockets of value, many properties remain overpriced.

Robyn55 · 03-28-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcs2000

I am in the process of finalizing a new home purchase after looking for almost 2 years. TowerHill quoted me $2500/yr; Amica sent my application to underwriting review. Minimum criteria for Amica is that the structure must be built after 2003. Of the two, I will go with Amica even if it is a bit higher, as they are very strong financially. Plan on at least $2000 at year.

PS. If schools are important, focus on St. Johns county--you cannot go wrong. The NE Florida real estate market is distorted and still in transition; while there are pockets of value, many properties remain overpriced.

Guess you don't have the Amica quote yet. Will it cover windstorm - and what deductible are you getting quoted? Could you post the quote when you get it? BTW - agree with you 100% about Tower Hill vs. Amica. Robyn

jcs2000 · 04-04-2010, 10:41 PM

I am awaiting the Amica quote. Chubb quoted me $3700 a year. This includes all hazards including wind plus hurricane with 2% deductible. Chubb is known to be high but generally agreeable in terms of paying. Also rated A+++ in terms of financial strength.

Robyn55 · 04-06-2010, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcs2000

I am awaiting the Amica quote. Chubb quoted me $3700 a year. This includes all hazards including wind plus hurricane with 2% deductible. Chubb is known to be high but generally agreeable in terms of paying. Also rated A+++ in terms of financial strength.

I had Chubb in Miami when Andrew hit. Good company. Paid my claims. Kept me until I moved - and then it dropped me like a hot potato. Robyn