Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
 [Register]
Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-11-2013, 05:16 AM
 
Location: State of Waiting
633 posts, read 1,011,951 times
Reputation: 1592

Advertisements

Good Morning,
Researching Tampa Bay area - still... and wondering, does every homeowner in Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk and surrounding counties have Sinkhole (Catastrophic ground movement, etc., ) Insurance? I am thinking it can get pretty expensive.

I am considering beginning a job search there in January... but we are still a little unsure of actually pulling up stakes and moving because of this Sinkhole thing. I keep seeing new ones online - there was one in November, etc. Of course I spoke with a realtor that I am in contact with, and received a standard "pat" answer - which was NO you don't need that insurance, and NO she had never seen a sinkhole in Hillsborough or Polk County. Haaaa Interesting, and of course now I really need to do my own research. I've read the online stats, the list of prone counties, and all that... and I see that Polk is "less prone" than Hillsborough or Pasco.

Am I over reacting to the possibility of buying a home under which a massive sinkhole appears at some point?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-11-2013, 05:26 AM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,607,604 times
Reputation: 4369
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leaving4Ca View Post
Good Morning,
Researching Tampa Bay area - still... and wondering, does every homeowner in Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk and surrounding counties have Sinkhole (Catastrophic ground movement, etc., ) Insurance? I am thinking it can get pretty expensive.

I am considering beginning a job search there in January... but we are still a little unsure of actually pulling up stakes and moving because of this Sinkhole thing. I keep seeing new ones online - there was one in November, etc. Of course I spoke with a realtor that I am in contact with, and received a standard "pat" answer - which was NO you don't need that insurance, and NO she had never seen a sinkhole in Hillsborough or Polk County. Haaaa Interesting, and of course now I really need to do my own research. I've read the online stats, the list of prone counties, and all that... and I see that Polk is "less prone" than Hillsborough or Pasco.

Am I over reacting to the possibility of buying a home under which a massive sinkhole appears at some point?
No.

But know that there is NO WAY to predict when or where the next one will happen. Just like earthquakes. Do you have quake ins in CA?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Spring Hill, Florida
3,177 posts, read 6,819,414 times
Reputation: 3592
Catastrophic ground collapse coverage is a standard part of my homeowners insurance policy. Optional sinkhole coverage to cover minor cracks and such is available for extra cost. I don't know anyone who has the optional coverage. I believe the law is was changed a few years ago to specify that homeowners insurance must cover catastrophic ground collapse and made the supplemental coverage optional.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 08:28 AM
 
Location: East Tennessee
3,928 posts, read 11,596,703 times
Reputation: 5259
Catastrophic ground collapse is a required coverage for all authorized insurers. As HWTechGuy said, comprehensive is optional. I live in Hillsborough County and though I've never personally seen a sinkhole, I have comprehensive coverage just in case. It's not easy to get and it adds about $300 per year to my premium. Here's a link to the official information from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation --> Sinkhole Page
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
693 posts, read 1,137,762 times
Reputation: 617
From my research, if you are concerned about true sinkhole coverage then catastrophic is sufficient. The sinkhole policy which covers most any settling is expensive and is pointless as anywhere else in the country this typical settling is not covered.

I also want to comment that in reality the majority of sinkhole claims you read about are/were fraudulent.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 12:17 PM
 
Location: State of Waiting
633 posts, read 1,011,951 times
Reputation: 1592
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhotoProIP View Post
No.

But know that there is NO WAY to predict when or where the next one will happen. Just like earthquakes. Do you have quake ins in CA?
Sigh.... my ID here is LEAVING 4CA. We were going to move there are one point. Note that I do not live in CA!!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 12:20 PM
 
Location: State of Waiting
633 posts, read 1,011,951 times
Reputation: 1592
Sinkhole opens up in Florida, swallows portions of 2 homes | Fox News

Does not look fraudulent to me...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 12:25 PM
 
27,213 posts, read 46,724,071 times
Reputation: 15662
I have sinkhole coverage on all the properties I own even though I don't need to get it since I don't have a mortgage, but it feels better since you never know...

If you buy with a mortgage you ma not have a choice, if you buy cash it is up to you what to decide.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 02:32 PM
 
Location: Spring Hill Florida
12,135 posts, read 16,119,427 times
Reputation: 6086
$300 - not bad - Up here they want $1k.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TampaKaren View Post
Catastrophic ground collapse is a required coverage for all authorized insurers. As HWTechGuy said, comprehensive is optional. I live in Hillsborough County and though I've never personally seen a sinkhole, I have comprehensive coverage just in case. It's not easy to get and it adds about $300 per year to my premium. Here's a link to the official information from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation --> Sinkhole Page
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2013, 02:34 PM
 
Location: Spring Hill Florida
12,135 posts, read 16,119,427 times
Reputation: 6086
That one wasn't fraudulent, but there are 100's of "sinkhole homes" around here. Nothing that the owners are fixing though they paid off the mortgages, bought new cars.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Leaving4Ca View Post
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top