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I am in the process of buying a home in Monmouth county. The distance to "nearest tidal water" is 2.8 miles, and elevation is 120 feet. Sure, there is hurricane risk (wind), but at 2.8 miles and 120 feet, surge risk is practically zero. I mean even in a CAT 4/5, no more than 50-60 feet of surge would be expected. This place's elevation is 120 feet.
Anyway, it appears that most of the major insurance companies (State Farm, Allstate, Liberty, Mercury, ....) are NOT writing any policies. Another insurance company that is writing the policies is limiting it to no more than 650K policy limit (but mortgage company would require full replacement cost).
If you are a homeowner in Monmouth county, and are closer than 5 miles to the coast, who are you insuring with? What about all those homeowners who have homes on Jersey shore near the beach? It seems like price is secondary, the first hurdle is to find a company that will write insurance ....
Many homes and businesses along the NJ coast are insured in the surplus lines market. Lloyd's of London is probably the most recognizable name to the general public, but there are hundreds of surplus lines companies out there writing this business.
My suggestion would be for you to contact a local independent insurance agent in the area. Any competent agent that writes homeowners policies should be familiar with the marketplace and have a number of options available to you.
Many homes and businesses along the NJ coast are insured in the surplus lines market. Lloyd's of London is probably the most recognizable name to the general public, but there are hundreds of surplus lines companies out there writing this business.
My suggestion would be for you to contact a local independent insurance agent in the area. Any competent agent that writes homeowners policies should be familiar with the marketplace and have a number of options available to you.
Thanks for the suggestion, I am actually working with an independent agent. The thing is, I am 3 miles from coast, and, more importantly, 120 feet elevation. So my expectation was that there should be plenty of choices in the regular market. But seems like not...
elevation isn't typically factored into Homeowners coverage since flood isn't a covered peril. A seperate flood insurance policy would be needed to cover that.
Maybe try talking to the neighbors where you are trying to buy the house? It might be a bit difficult given the cold weather wiht not many people outdoor but still worth a try. They might also tell you how good/bad their experience was dealing with their insurance, in case they had any damage during Sandy/Irene.
elevation isn't typically factored into Homeowners coverage since flood isn't a covered peril. A seperate flood insurance policy would be needed to cover that.
best of luck in your search.
There are (at least) two kinds of "flood loss" -- (a) riverine/rain induced flood, and (b) hurricane induced surge.
Item (a) is separate, and is to be insured under national flood insurance program (which is a whole another weird subsidy govt has... the rates are not actuarially sound, but due to political pressure, like farm bill, this just continues...) Anyway, the home I am in the process of buying does not require this insurance.
Item (b) is why many insurance companies are dropping HO policies near the coastline. By near, they are defining "5 miles" to the coastline, which is pretty large. More importantly, with an elevation of 100+ feet, surge loss is zero. (I know because I used to work at a company that creates models for hurricane loss estimation).
Maybe try talking to the neighbors where you are trying to buy the house? It might be a bit difficult given the cold weather wiht not many people outdoor but still worth a try. They might also tell you how good/bad their experience was dealing with their insurance, in case they had any damage during Sandy/Irene.
Thanks, that's a great idea.
Since the escrow is not yet closed, I was sort not trying to "start introducing myself to neighbors" ... on the other hand, insurance needs to be arranged before escrow close.
There are (at least) two kinds of "flood loss" -- (a) riverine/rain induced flood, and (b) hurricane induced surge.
Item (a) is separate, and is to be insured under national flood insurance program (which is a whole another weird subsidy govt has... the rates are not actuarially sound, but due to political pressure, like farm bill, this just continues...) Anyway, the home I am in the process of buying does not require this insurance.
Item (b) is why many insurance companies are dropping HO policies near the coastline. By near, they are defining "5 miles" to the coastline, which is pretty large. More importantly, with an elevation of 100+ feet, surge loss is zero. (I know because I used to work at a company that creates models for hurricane loss estimation).
A typical Homeowners policy (HO3 form or similar) does not cover storm surge. The peril of flood in the policy includes storm surge and is specifically excluded.
I agree with you that insurance companies when modeling risk due take storm surge into consideration. The simple explanation for why is that they know full well that if they are insuring a home subject to storm surge, they are more than likely going to wind up in court after a storm surge event, even if the specific intent of the policy is not to cover flood.
Try this. Go to the web site for the Andover Companies - www.andovercos.com. Go to the Agent Locator and put in your zip code. Call the nearby agencies, ask for a Personal Lines salesperson, and see if any of them can help you. Their coastal guidelines are somewhat less stringent than others.
Andover is not a Personal Automobile writer so you will not be able to get a discount for having the auto with them nor told that they won't take the home by itself. Their two subsidiaries are Cambridge Mutual and Merrimack Mutual, but it is all the same group.
You'll probably end up with a 2% windstorm deductible, which is now typical for the area. The bank has to be okay with that. $500,000 Coverage A will give you a $10,000 windstorm deductible, which is a lot of money to shell out of pocket. Their rates are competitive.
Talking to neighbors is likely to be a dead end because everyone's circumstances are different, and much has changed since Sandy.
Try this. Go to the web site for the Andover Companies - www.andovercos.com. Go to the Agent Locator and put in your zip code. Call the nearby agencies, ask for a Personal Lines salesperson, and see if any of them can help you. Their coastal guidelines are somewhat less stringent than others.
Andover is not a Personal Automobile writer so you will not be able to get a discount for having the auto with them nor told that they won't take the home by itself. Their two subsidiaries are Cambridge Mutual and Merrimack Mutual, but it is all the same group.
You'll probably end up with a 2% windstorm deductible, which is now typical for the area. The bank has to be okay with that. $500,000 Coverage A will give you a $10,000 windstorm deductible, which is a lot of money to shell out of pocket. Their rates are competitive.
Talking to neighbors is likely to be a dead end because everyone's circumstances are different, and much has changed since Sandy.
Thanks, I'll follow-up on this. In case you know more about this company, do you know if they at least also issue umbrella policies?
Thus far, my broker has found Farmer's Mutual, which can do HO3 and Umbrella. The auto will have to stay with Mercury or some other like that.
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