Insurance woes ...

[mickeyfan2]

what i meant was that with the real estate market bubble about to burst that even replacement values will go down.

Not necessarily. The replacement cost is driven by the cost of building materials. The last few hurricane seasons have building materials at a premium right now.

 

[christineann]

My homeowners policy is over $4200 plus over $1200 for flood insurance. The homeowners policy also includes a premium for earthquake insurance. My hurricane deductible is $15,000, so I would be better off if my house were totally destroyed than if I had moderate damage. I certainly don't have that kind of cash. I've been in my home for 23 years. Would I consider doing without any of this coverage? NO WAY. That's part of living on the coast.

 

[zalansky]

We are in Tampa in an older home built in 1963, 1800 square feet. When we moved in 4 years ago, we were paying $900 a year for Homeowners Insurance. Two years ago after the bad hurricanes, the carrier pulled out of the state. So we renewed elsewhere for $2050 a year. Just got our renewal - $3800 a year.

We never made any claims. This is across the board. There are only 2 companies writing new policies in our county...so they have us right where they want us.

 

[disneygrrl]

We are in Tampa in an older home built in 1963, 1800 square feet. When we moved in 4 years ago, we were paying $900 a year for Homeowners Insurance. Two years ago after the bad hurricanes, the carrier pulled out of the state. So we renewed elsewhere for $2050 a year. Just got our renewal - $3800 a year.

We never made any claims. This is across the board. There are only 2 companies writing new policies in our county...so they have us right where they want us.

We're experiencing the same terrible problems here!

 

[lulu71]

Yep, I am paying $3600/year for a house I can't even use! I don't want to drop or reduce to liability only because when it is finished being rebuilt, I don't want to not be able to find insurance. And since we bought a temporary house, I am also paying insurance on it. So we are talking about $500/month just on homeowners insurance for the two houses, one which is meeting the wrecking ball any day.

 

[Ms Marigny]

I am waiting for my insurance renewal letter in the mail any day now (or cancellation, whichever it may be...), and I am TERRIFIED of what the amount might be.... I was paying about $1900 a year before, so who knows where it may jump up to now. I did file a claim after Katrina and the amount they actually paid me for my damage was a total joke, but after months of fighting with them I was happy to get anything at all, so I just let it go and paid the difference for what they didn't cover with my own savings. These outrageous prices (and ridiculous payouts for claims) are definitely discouraging the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.

 

[RitaZ.]

We got our renewal notice about a month ago and I almost fell over when I saw the amount: $4K+. I was talking to a neighbor today and the subject came up. She told me that she cried when her bill came in, it was for over $5K and her hurricane deductible is over $22K. Her husband passed away almost 2 years ago and she is doing it all on her own now.

I talked to another neighbor about my new insurance premium. Now, get this... her mortgage is paid off and her insurance premiums are nowhere near ours. She doesn't have to have insurance on her home and the insurance company knows this. Do you think they want to lose her business?

My SIL is in Central FL and got a new roof out of one of the hurricanes. I had one claim during Wilma (only one in 9 yrs. with the same company) and got a check for $500+, not even close to cover our damages. Again, my SIL's rates are not even close to ours. How does that make sense?

 

[annegal]

Theser rates ya'll are quoting are freakin me out!

I live in central LA & had one roof claim from a hurricane 3 years ago. 2200 square foot house & I pay $1100 a year.

I read an article in the Baton Rouge paper about New Orleans recovery & many people-who were potential new homeowners-have decided to keep renting simply because the insurance rates were through the roof!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

what i meant was that with the real estate market bubble about to burst that even replacement values will go down.

But with an onslaught of repairs---repair costs will increase.

Price gouging is illegal..but as materials become scarce and workloads become full---over the next several months prices will go up and that is not illegal.

So depsite a crashing market. If 1000s of homes need shingles..housing costs in a crashing market are irrelevant to the costs of shingles and the new high demand on them.

Our screen on our pool that was completed prior to the 2004 hurricanes (actually only 2 weeks before Frances hit)...cost us only $6000 (we had some porch demolition and support work as part of that screen construction). By the end of the season---those not already under contract for repairs....if they lost their screen....well it was already doubling up the costs prior to the hurricanes.


As for our insurance--I don't know what we pay..but the 8 years we have been in our home....every year we are deficient on escrow b/c the new numbers come in higher than the preceding year. One year we got a bill--and we couldn't figure out why we were double charged. A phone call later--we were informed that our premium doubled. EEK!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I talked to another neighbor about my new insurance premium. Now, get this... her mortgage is paid off and her insurance premiums are nowhere near ours. She doesn't have to have insurance on her home and the insurance company knows this. Do you think they want to lose her business?

I have to respond to this. We have no mortgage on our house. We live on a barrier island in FL, and our insurer is State Farm. The reason that our insurance is lower than our neighbors' isn't because State Farm doesn't want to lose our business. It's because WE decide what insurance and how much insurance to carry. No bank tells us what we HAVE to carry.

As of our next renewal, we're not carrying windstorm at all anymore. Again, we own the house outright so we have that choice. We also have very high deductables that we could not elect if we had a mortgage. I'd venture to guess that your mortgage-free neighbor is in the same boat we're in...either her deductables are much higher than yours, or her coverage is less (or a combo of both).

 

[RitaZ.]

I have to respond to this. We have no mortgage on our house. We live on a barrier island in FL, and our insurer is State Farm. The reason that our insurance is lower than our neighbors' isn't because State Farm doesn't want to lose our business. It's because WE decide what insurance and how much insurance to carry. No bank tells us what we HAVE to carry.

As of our next renewal, we're not carrying windstorm at all anymore. Again, we own the house outright so we have that choice. We also have very high deductables that we could not elect if we had a mortgage. I'd venture to guess that your mortgage-free neighbor is in the same boat we're in...either her deductables are much higher than yours, or her coverage is less (or a combo of both).

I understand what you're saying. Coincidentally, my neighbor is also insured through State Farm. I don't have State Farm, as they stopped writing policies after Andrew in 1992. Actually, her home is insured for a greater amount than ours. I don't know what her deductible is though. Her explanation as to why her premium is lower than ours is that all their vehicles, plus her husband's company trucks (they own a pest control business) are all insured through State Farm. Therefore, they get a discount on their homeowner's premium.

Here is another "interesting" insurance story... This happened to a friend of DH's and his wife. They noticed that some of the tile in their bathroom shower were "soft", actually the Durock behind it. Her sister suggested that she contact their insurance company (State Farm) to see if the damage was covered by their policy. The damage was considered normal wear and tear, so it wasn't covered by their policy. They decided to wait to get the bathroom fixed. Fast forward to this June when State Farm called them about 3 weeks before their policy was to expire/renewed. State Farm wanted to know if they had fixed the bathroom problem, they said that they hadn't. Now, remember that the damage wasn't covered under their policy. State Farm told them that if the tile wasn't fixed, their policy would be cancelled. DH's friend had to tear down the walls, find a plumber and a contractor to do the rest of the work.

We only have insurance because we have to. I don't know what our new deductible will be, I'll find out when the declaration papers come in the next week or so. I could have asked when I called, but I was upset enough. Who cares anyway? It's not like we have a choice.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I understand what you're saying. Coincidentally, my neighbor is also insured through State Farm. I don't have State Farm, as they stopped writing policies after Andrew in 1992. Actually, her home is insured for a greater amount than ours. I don't know what her deductible is though. Her explanation as to why her premium is lower than ours is that all their vehicles, plus her husband's company trucks (they own a pest control business) are all insured through State Farm. Therefore, they get a discount on their homeowner's premium.

Here is another "interesting" insurance story... This happened to a friend of DH's and his wife. They noticed that some of the tile in their bathroom shower were "soft", actually the Durock behind it. Her sister suggested that she contact their insurance company (State Farm) to see if the damage was covered by their policy. The damage was considered normal wear and tear, so it wasn't covered by their policy. They decided to wait to get the bathroom fixed. Fast forward to this June when State Farm called them about 3 weeks before their policy was to expire/renewed. State Farm wanted to know if they had fixed the bathroom problem, they said that they hadn't. Now, remember that the damage wasn't covered under their policy. State Farm told them that if the tile wasn't fixed, their policy would be cancelled. DH's friend had to tear down the walls, find a plumber and a contrator to do the rest of the work.

We only have insurance because we have to. I don't know what our new deductible will be, I'll find out when the declaration papers come in the next week or so. I could have asked when I called, but I was upset enough. Who cares anyway? It's not like we have a choice.

Homeowners' insurance is all but useless IMHO. We will continue to carry liability (the true reason for having insurance IMHO), fire, theft and of course flood (because it's cheap), but no more windstorm for us. It's just a big waste of $$. It's unlikely that we'd ever exceed our deductable, and even if we did, from all accounts we'd have to fight State Farm tooth and nail to ever see a cent from them. No thanks...I'll save that premium money and make repairs myself if need be.

You sound so down about not having a choice regarding insurance I think that you may have more choices that you believe that you have, though. I read a S. FL insurance blog online, and it looks like more and more homeowners are getting permission (from their mortgage holders) to drop windstorm completely. You could always check with your mortgage company to see if they would be amenable. If not, it might make sense to refinance with a company that would be amenable, since the $$ you'd save on wasted insurance premiums would probably beat any hike in your interest rate.

If you can afford to pay your mortgage off outright, that would be an option also. I understand that that is not a realistic option for most people, so finding a lender who will let you go w/o windstorm might be your next best option.

I can't wait until we have a string of hurricane-free years and these loser insurers want back into FL. By then, nobody in their right mind is going to want to buy any more insurance than they are required by their lender to carry.

 

[RitaZ.]

I read a S. FL insurance blog online, and it looks like more and more homeowners are getting permission (from their mortgage holders) to drop windstorm completely.

You could always check with your mortgage company to see if they would be amenable. If not, it might make sense to refinance with a company that would be amenable, since the $$ you'd save on wasted insurance premiums would probably beat any hike in your interest rate.

If you can afford to pay your mortgage off outright, that would be an option also. I understand that that is not a realistic option for most people, so finding a lender who will let you go w/o windstorm might be your next best option.

I can't wait until we have a string of hurricane-free years and these loser insurers want back into FL. By then, nobody in their right mind is going to want to buy any more insurance than they are required by their lender to carry.

Is that right?

Thanks for the info. I'm certainly going to look into it.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Is that right?

Thanks for the info. I'm certainly going to look into it.

Here is the link to the insurance blog:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/insurance/index.html

Of course, now I can't find the entry that talked about the south FL residents who were getting permission to drop windstorm, but I'm almost positive that it was in this blog somewhere.

It certainly doesn't hurt to investigate this option. If one lender says no, another might say yes.