Fla. insurance crisis deepens as rates soar, companies fall (Tampa: real estate, rental)

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Insurance companies can't take continual losses, not even the mutuals that don't have shareholders to keep happy.

If rising insurance rates price people out of their homes, then they are living in the wrong place.

Explain.

if all of a sudden a fixed income who has been living with minimal issues for 10 years is hit with a $500 increase per month .... that's their own fault?

Did their wages suddenly jump $500 a month to compensate that?

[mojo101]

Go without insurance or MOVE

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

Explain.

if all of a sudden a fixed income who has been living with minimal issues for 10 years is hit with a $500 increase per month .... that's their own fault?

Did their wages suddenly jump $500 a month to compensate that?

Yes, it's their fault for picking a place to live that is subject to massive storms that destroy billions of dollars of property. You can't expect the insurance companies to subsidize the poor choices made by people - the end result of that is no insurance companies survive.

The choices here are to move or to go without insurance, and people living month to month on Social Security and no savings probably shouldn't go without insurance if they don't want to be homeless.

What is your suggestion on dealing with the issue?

[1insider]

Originally Posted by LKJ1988

Glad i go bare. Save so much money over the years.

I have a friend who enjoyed similar savings for years. His Sanibel house did not survive Ian.

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by 1insider

I have a friend who enjoyed similar savings for years. His Sanibel house did not survive Ian.

Did he save enough to rebuild the Sanibel house?

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Yes, it's their fault for picking a place to live that is subject to massive storms that destroy billions of dollars of property. You can't expect the insurance companies to subsidize the poor choices made by people - the end result of that is no insurance companies survive.

The choices here are to move or to go without insurance, and people living month to month on Social Security and no savings probably shouldn't go without insurance if they don't want to be homeless.

What is your suggestion on dealing with the issue?

Got it.

Only extremely wealthy people should live in SWFL. Thanks for clearing that up. Anyone who has lived here 20+ years needs to move.

Seems to be a popular viewpoint in this part of the forum this year.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

Got it.

Only extremely wealthy people should live in SWFL. Thanks for clearing that up. Anyone who has lived here 20+ years needs to move.

Seems to be a popular viewpoint in this part of the forum this year.

What's the alternative if you cannot afford insurance on your property? If you don't have a mortgage, you can stop paying for insurance, but people in that position are very unlikely to have enough savings to pay for a new home.

Are you suggesting that insurance companies should lose money, just so some people can stay in place? Or are you suggesting a means tested insurance program?

But seriously, if you can't afford to stay somewhere, the only real alternative is to move.

[1insider]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

Did he save enough to rebuild the Sanibel house?

Ha. I doubt it.

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by WRM20

What's the alternative if you cannot afford insurance on your property? If you don't have a mortgage, you can stop paying for insurance, but people in that position are very unlikely to have enough savings to pay for a new home.

Are you suggesting that insurance companies should lose money, just so some people can stay in place? Or are you suggesting a means tested insurance program?

But seriously, if you can't afford to stay somewhere, the only real alternative is to move.

I fully understand your POV. Loud and clear.

Maybe gut the insurance system and rebuild it? Or are those wealthy people going to bag their own groceries and mow their own lawns when everyone else leaves?

Here's another POV.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/blo.../07/661731.htm

In a recent Citizens report, Gilway also noted a “disturbing trend” in year-to-date litigation through June of 2021—the number of lawsuits against insurers, excluding Citizens, increased 51 percent year-over-year to 50,951 versus 33,800 in the first six months of 2020. The longer-term picture is disturbing—the same report reveals that the rise in Florida homeowners’-related lawsuits more than tripled from 27,416 in 2013 to 85,007 in 2020.

Unlike several Louisiana insurers that succumbed to losses from Hurricane Ida in 2021, Florida insurance failures and pullouts were not driven by natural catastrophe losses. The cause of the Florida woes is excessive litigation.

Although excessive litigation is the proximate cause of Florida’s property insurance issues, it’s not appropriate to blame the lawyers. The problem has arisen from the unintended consequences of a cluster of laws and state Supreme Court decisions that created loopholes enabling contractors, lawyers and homeowners to inflate the number and the value of claims payments. A comprehensive report by Guy Fraker on the dire condition of the Florida insurance concurs with this assessment, finding that “everybody’s just leveraging the rules of the game.”

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation 2020 annual report presents the striking statistic that “in 2019 Florida accounted for 76.45% of all homeowners’ suits opened against insurance companies in the U.S. despite only accounting for 8.16% of all homeowners’ claims opened by insurance companies in the U.S.”

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

Did he save enough to rebuild the Sanibel house?

Keep in mind, the land the home was on is likely more valuable than the home.

Also kep in mind, insurance companies pay as little as possible to rebuild, and unless you buy replacement value, you can lose big. Also, flood isn't covered by insurance companies, that is handled seperately, so if he lost his hme due to storm surge, regular homeowners wouldn't have covered that anyways. Then, there's his deductibles.

Homeowners insurance payouts are alost always a massive disappointment due to the fine print most homeowners dont read, and cannot understand.

Going bare isnt as bad as most think it is, so long as you have the cash to rebuild in the event of total loss. Or, he could just sell off the land as is, take his loss and move on.

To some people, losing a home is not a devastating financial travesty...more of a nuissance of having to deal with it all.