Question for Florida Home Owners

[Tina]

We are in the planning stages to move out of the Washington DC area and are looking at different parts of the country that interest us. One of those places is Florida. We are trying to gather information on unusual expenses that we may occur. Can anyone tell us about home owners insurance in Florida? Do you pay excessive premiums due to hurricanes? Is hurricane coverage a separate policy or rider to general home owners insurance?

 

[Aidensmom]

Home owners insurance is fairly expensive in FL. Hurricane insurance is usually part of your general policy, but has a separate (higher) deductible. Flood insurance is also required in many areas.

 

[Southern4sure]

We did not have to get flood insurance....whew! It really depends on where your home is located. We are about a block from a 38 acre lake.

I feel we really got a great rate on homeowners ins.... less than $1200. a yr. We had quotes ranging from $1147 - $3600 a year. Most were the same coverage but different ins. companies. The hurricane ded is higher than our reg deductible.

 

[LindaG4458]

Just because you aren't required to carry flood insurance doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't have it. We are not in a flood plain but carry it anyway for peace of mind. Others in our complex did not. They were flooded out in the last hurricanes (Runoff from a neighboring road caused 1.5 feet of water in the units after both storms. One owner had started repairs which were ruined in the second flood.) and were not covered. I pay my $400 per year with a smile. If water comes in from the bottom (regardless of source) it is flood insurance; water from the top is homeowner's insurance.

 

[lillygator]

We have homeowner's with a seperate hurricane ded...we have flood insurance and some areas require a wind policy as well....in Sarasota there is a difference if you are in city limits versus county limits. Real estate taxes are very high here and are continually going up....

 

[ducklite]

In Clermont where I live, taxes are lower than for comparable properties in NJ, as are HO insurance premiums.

Anne

 

[Talking Hands]

We are in the planning stages to move out of the Washington DC area and are looking at different parts of the country that interest us. One of those places is Florida. We are trying to gather information on unusual expenses that we may occur. Can anyone tell us about home owners insurance in Florida? Do you pay excessive premiums due to hurricanes? Is hurricane coverage a separate policy or rider to general home owners insurance?

Whether or not your windstorm coverage is a part of the general homeowners policy will depend on where you live. You will need up to 3 different policies. General homeowners, windstorm and flood. It is costly. Right now we have one policy but we are in an area that doesn't need flood and are far enough inland that windstorm is included. The policies are expensive.

 

[Feralpeg]

Our homeowners insurance is reasonable (under $1100) a year. We are insured by a company out of California. I did buy a separate flood insurance policy. It was $250 a year.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

The prices depend on where you live.

 

[Tina]

Oh boy. Thanks everyone. It sounds like we really need to research if we decide on Florida depending on which city we live in. All of your comments have been very helpful.

 

[PneumaticTransit]

Never believe your real estate agent about cost of taxes, especially for new homes. My taxes cost 3x more than what I was told.

And pay for an inspection before buying a house. With all the hurricane damage, and con-artists who swooped in afterward to "fix" it. There is also the chance of mold, termites, etc...

Also, pay attention to traffic at different times of the day. I live in rural Kissimmee, during the day you hardly see any cars. However, in the morning between 7:30 - 9:00 and afternoon between 3:00 - 6:30 the 2 lane road is clogged with cars. In my county, they only receive money to improve roads AFTER a house is built. So there are currently 900 homes to be built this year on the same 10 mile stretch of road, but no money to widen the road or install traffic lights.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You will mow your lawn--A LOT!!!

Flood insurance--just like everywhere else is dependent upon the flood plain. I can walk to the beach---my home could get wiped out by a monster surge...but I don't have to carry flood insurance (though it would be wise to). Homes way far inland do have to carry flood insurance and this is in the same county (very narrow county).

Other expenses---hurricane preparedness supplies.

 

[Tina]

Also, pay attention to traffic at different times of the day. I live in rural Kissimmee, during the day you hardly see any cars. However, in the morning between 7:30 - 9:00 and afternoon between 3:00 - 6:30 the 2 lane road is clogged with cars. In my county, they only receive money to improve roads AFTER a house is built. So there are currently 900 homes to be built this year on the same 10 mile stretch of road, but no money to widen the road or install traffic lights.

Don't you worry about that. I live in Northern Virginia. ANYTHING would be an improvement. We don't have money for roads PERIOD. That's our biggest reason for wanting to leave. The traffic just leaves me in tears on a regular basis.

 

[Poohnatic]

Tina, I lived in Frederick MD and commuted into Loudoun County every day, and the commute is similar. However, this is the first place I've ever lived where I can leave work at 10pm (I'm in retail managment) and it take LONGER to get home than if I'd left at 6-thanks to all the lovely construction we've had. And due to the construction, my car warranty has paid for replacing two tires!

Homeowner's insurance in Maryland was about 2/3's what we're paying here. We don't have flood, hurricane is part of the insurance. The most expensive part of our premium was the $400 mold rider to completely build a new house. We did this because friends of ours lost their house to mold with all the hurricanes last year. Nope, the roof didn't open, their first floor got about 3" of water in it from all the rain. We are with State Farm, and my agent told me if I lived 3 miles west (other side of I75), they wouldn't write me an auto or homeowner's policy!

Yes, mowing the lawn is a year round thing-and two to three times a week right now.

You'll be pleasantly surprised with the housing market. The prices are skyrocketing here, but you'll spend much less for more house.

Good luck with your decision. We're happy we moved here!

Suzanne

 

[Aidensmom]

We are with State Farm, and my agent told me if I lived 3 miles west (other side of I75), they wouldn't write me an auto or homeowner's policy!

That's where I live, just on the other side of I-75! And yes, it is very hard to get insurance, even though we are still no where near the coast. We have Progressive for auto insurance, it is not as hard to find, but have a much lesser known company for homeowners. Most of the big names will not even quote us.

 

[floridaminnie]

Interesting about leaving on the WEst....I live just outside of Tampa and have no prob with auto or home. Moving and renting this week and had no prob with renters insurance either.

 

[AuburnJen92]

One thing that I didn't see mentioned that you will have to think about...When there is a hurricane or tropical storm within 500 miles of the coast of FL, the insurance companies (most of them) will cease to write new policies until the threat is over. (I had to postpone my closing years ago because of this.) I haven't seen my new rate for the coming year (begins in Sept.), but I know with a 23K claim from the two direct hits, it is going to hurt this teacher! Anyway, just be careful of the deductible. Most are 2-3% of the value of your home, but I have seen deductibles for wind as high as 35%. My mother had to get an equity loan to repair her house because she lives on the water and that astronomical deductible was hers. Don't be discouraged, I moved away from FL for 9 years and just had to come back. It is just something about smelling the salt air. You can't leave for long. Besides, you have to be close enough to Disney to go once a month!

 

[Poohnatic]

Interesting about leaving on the WEst....I live just outside of Tampa and have no prob with auto or home. Moving and renting this week and had no prob with renters insurance either.

I think it depends on the insurance company and where you live. There's apparently a zone between i75 and i275, south of i4 that the majors won't insure. Strange thing, IMO, it that that isn't too bad a flood zone. Maybe the Hillsborough River is an issue in the hurricanes, but I thought it held up far better than sections of the Courtney Campbell by the airport!

When I was looking at switching auto and homeowner's to a group MetLife plan through my employer, they asked very specific questions as to where I was in Hillsborough-zip code, was I east or west of I 75, north or south of I4, what the nearest intersection and school was. Ultimately decided not to go with them, even without the mold coverage, they wanted about 15% more-and this was with a group rate!

Suzanne