[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by meriboo

All insurance is not the same… Like everything you get what you pay for. You can pay for basic insurance or yes, you pay for additional, such as tearing down and removing the debris, loss of use, replacement of items at current value, etc., etc. as a survivor of hurricane Michael… I have learned a lot about insurance. All those little extras that help if you’re hit by a hurricane… Cost. But well worth it. Remember you get what you pay for.

Majority of the polices in Florida and other states are the same form HO 0003

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

a/k/a fraud.

Bet that 99.9999% of those roof claims, there was not any leakages after the "storm" caused the damages to the roof.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Wow! If the insurance pays 71% to the attorneys and the underwriters, only 29% is going to homeowners - the people whose homes were damaged or destroyed. I don't know what it is in other states but that seems like they are paying the wrong people. I thought most lawyers get about 1/3 of damages. If Florida could get it where they are paying 60% to homeowners and 20% to lawyers (1/3 of the 60%), that would leave insurance companies with the remaining 20% - which I would assume would make writing insurance profitable.

Attorneys in most cases do not get 1/3. Under the old Florida law, if an insurance company denies a claim and if the attorney proves that the insurance company should have paid the claim, attorney gets his legal fees paid, insurance company pays the claim including interest and insurance company pays their own attorney. Lose, lose situation for the insurance company

[Blueblaze]

It's got nothing to do with hurricane risk to The Villages. There is none. How do I know?

I'm from Houston. I went through THREE hurricanes that were level 5 when they hit, in a house (Cypress, TX) that was the same distance from the coast as The Villages. The eye of one of them came directly over my home. The house I lived in was a frame house with brick veneer with no hurricane or windstorm rating whatsoever -- unlike your home here in The Villages, which is rated for 110 mph. You probably even live in a concrete block house that could easily withstand 200 mph.

What was the worst damage I had from 3 level 5 hurricanes, from 80 miles away? One of them blew down about 20 feet of an old privacy fence that needed to be replaced anyway. That's it.

That fact is, by the time even a large hurricane makes it over 80 miles of land, it's barely a "1". If I know these facts, you can be sure that your insurance company does, too. And by the way, how many hurricanes did The Villages experience in that same time period? One little level 2? Give me a break! I had a little tropical storm dump 36 inches of rain on me the year before I moved to Florida! And my insurance was HALF what I pay in The Villages!

We have insane insurance rates and no national options because if you're like me, half the people you know have scammed a roof out of their insurance company. Insurers are forced to write these idiotic "full replacement value" policies. It is literally an invitation to fraud. And we live in a state where people like us who have ZERO hurricane risk are forced to subsidize the vast majority of the population that stupidly lives within 10 miles of the beach.

Nothing will change until:
1. "Full replacement value" is outlawed
2. Prior scammers are forced to pay higher premiums
3. Insurers are forced to charge according to the actual risk and not allowed to use low risk to subsidize high risk.

The insurance market in Florida is one big scam. Nothing will change until that is fixed.

[MrLonzo]

Originally Posted by Kelevision

This is an interesting article that might help explain…… No direct hits occurred in Florida over the past three hurricane seasons (2019-2021). Florida, however, is the site of 79 percent of all homeowners insurance lawsuits over claims filed nationwide while Florida’s insurers receive only 9 percent of all U.S. homeowners insurance claims, according to the Florida governor’s Office. To illustrate how lawsuits have weighed on insurer operating costs, JD Supra, citing the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), reported $51 billion was paid out by Florida insurers over a 10-year period and 71 percent of the $51 billion went to attorneys’ fees and public adjusters. The 2020 and 2021 cumulative net underwriting losses for Florida’s homeowners insurers totaled more than $1 billion each year.

Entire link Florida's insurance crisis worsens as Farmers pulls out. What to know

I've searched endlessly online but can't seem to find what is the most relevant data for making informed decisions about purchasing homeowners insurance at the Villages, what deductible to get, etc. And that data would include home insurance claims broken down by Florida county. It's obvious that coastal cities are more vulnerable than inland cities. For example, what is the average number of claims/10,000 houses in Sumter, Lake and Marion Counties vs. some of the coastal counties? And what is the average payout per claim? Of the recent most destructive hurricanes, what is the average claim here at the Villages vs. Florida in general? I'm not sure they want us to know that information because we're likely subsidizing other areas.

[Shimpy]

Originally Posted by bobmarc

USAA if you are a vet. They have been very good to me.

They told me they are not taking on new customers in this area.

[Pballer]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

It's got nothing to do with hurricane risk to The Villages. There is none. How do I know?

I'm from Houston. I went through THREE hurricanes that were level 5 when they hit, in a house (Cypress, TX) that was the same distance from the coast as The Villages. The eye of one of them came directly over my home. The house I lived in was a frame house with brick veneer with no hurricane or windstorm rating whatsoever -- unlike your home here in The Villages, which is rated for 110 mph. You probably even live in a concrete block house that could easily withstand 200 mph.

What was the worst damage I had from 3 level 5 hurricanes, from 80 miles away? One of them blew down about 20 feet of an old privacy fence that needed to be replaced anyway. That's it.

That fact is, by the time even a large hurricane makes it over 80 miles of land, it's barely a "1". If I know these facts, you can be sure that your insurance company does, too. And by the way, how many hurricanes did The Villages experience in that same time period? One little level 2? Give me a break! I had a little tropical storm dump 36 inches of rain on me the year before I moved to Florida! And my insurance was HALF what I pay in The Villages!

We have insane insurance rates and no national options because if you're like me, half the people you know have scammed a roof out of their insurance company. Insurers are forced to write these idiotic "full replacement value" policies. It is literally an invitation to fraud. And we live in a state where people like us who have ZERO hurricane risk are forced to subsidize the vast majority of the population that stupidly lives within 10 miles of the beach.

Nothing will change until:
1. "Full replacement value" is outlawed
2. Prior scammers are forced to pay higher premiums
3. Insurers are forced to charge according to the actual risk and not allowed to use low risk to subsidize high risk.

The insurance market in Florida is one big scam. Nothing will change until that is fixed.

The Villages is much less than 80 miles from the west coast. If you are so sure that there is 0 risk, why don't you drop your hurricane coverage and save money?

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by Flyers999

This company has been advertising heavily on the radio (I listen to sports talk in the mornings on the Audicy app) where they are advertising affordable insurance specifically in Florida. Click the link and it takes 40 seconds to get a quote.

I just got a quote for 1,602.99/ yr but I recently renewed my old insurance for $2300 which has flooding and sink holes. I would have to chase my old ins. company down for the refund which I don't want to do.

Build-Your-Own Home Insurance | OpenHouse Home Insurance

Just for fun I went to that site and they came up with a rate about $200 higher than my recent 7/1 renewal from travelers (in about 10 seconds). Thing is, like many other of these quotes they give you absolutely no idea what coverages you are or are not getting. No way to compare "apples to apples". Of course they want to immediately call you to sell you and I am sure then you will get the exact coverages plus all the options they will provide. Point is, just tossing out what one pays for insurance without what coverages they have and were quoted is totally meaningless. Like saying "I just bought a Chevy for $15,000." Means nothing.

Yearly when I check rates I make sure I get at minimum exactly the same coverage I currently have. Otherwise these tossed out online prices are useless. KIN is another one. They don't tell you their "default" coverage quoted online (at least as of last year) includes a DEPRECIATED VALUE for your existing roof, not full replacement value. A 15yr old roof would probably be depreciated by 80%. I'll bet 90% of those who get a price from KIN or even got coverage from them are not aware of that. It's a low-ball unless of course it is OK with the insurance buyer and they are aware of it. That may have changed recently but when I last looked it hadn't AND they were $100 MORE than my existing FULL coverage..

[Blueblaze]

Originally Posted by Pballer

The Villages is much less than 80 miles from the west coast. If you are so sure that there is 0 risk, why don't you drop your hurricane coverage and save money?

50 miles as the crow flies to Crystal River. So maybe if you take a direct hit from the eye of the storm that was a level 5 when it hit Crystal River, you'll see level 2 winds (96-110) when it hits your 110mph rated house -- but only if the eyewall hits you. And what are the odds that a 10 mile eye wall actually hits your house? About the same as a tornado hitting a house in Kansas (only with a lot less damage). It could happen. Probably won't.

Drop my insurance? Very tempted. It's something I consider on every insurance hike (100% this year!). I'm far more worried about liability, though, than fires or hurricanes. Know any companies that will sell standalone liability insurance on a house? Me neither.

[Pballer]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

50 miles as the crow flies to Crystal River. So maybe if you take a direct hit from the eye of the storm that was a level 5 when it hit Crystal River, you'll see level 2 winds (96-110) when it hits your 110mph rated house -- but only if the eyewall hits you. And what are the odds that a 10 mile eye wall actually hits your house? About the same as a tornado hitting a house in Kansas (only with a lot less damage). It could happen. Probably won't.

Drop my insurance? Very tempted. It's something I consider on every insurance hike (100% this year!). I'm far more worried about liability, though, than fires or hurricanes. Know any companies that will sell standalone liability insurance on a house? Me neither.

Hurricanes, even category 1s, spawn tornados far from the center. If one of the tornados hits your house during a hurricane and you don't have hurricane coverage, you are out of luck.

[MrLonzo]

Originally Posted by MX rider

Call HH Insurance in St Pete. They were good to us. House built in 09 with original roof.
Get Instant Quotes on Florida Insurance | HH Insurance

I did go to the HH website and got a quote. You can get a more basic policy for lower premium. I'm wondering how responsive they would be in the event of a problem -- any experience with claims?

[rogerk]

Originally Posted by shaw8700@outlook.com

There is a video going on YouTube that shows the afterwards of a hurricane. They say that homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover everything, including the tear down/throw away of the house. Is this true? Seems to me you could buy insurance for this.

IMHO, it is almost always better to deal with an agent rather than get stuck with missing some detail or a wrinkle unique to the market here. Think about liability, lightning damage, not to mention mold due to the failure of your AC while you’re on vacation for two weeks … the list goes on. It is not just a new roof due to wind damage.

[MX rider]

Originally Posted by MrLonzo

I did go to the HH website and got a quote. You can get a more basic policy for lower premium. I'm wondering how responsive they would be in the event of a problem -- any experience with claims?

No claims. I've also never had a homeowners insurance claim here in Indiana. But every time I've called with a question I've talked to a person or got a return call the same day.

[Flyers999]

Originally Posted by kkingston57

Bet that 99.9999% of those roof claims, there was not any leakages after the "storm" caused the damages to the roof.

Then why did my insurance co. make me get a new roof if my roof was still functioning perfectly?

[Blueblaze]

Originally Posted by Pballer

Hurricanes, even category 1s, spawn tornados far from the center. If one of the tornados hits your house during a hurricane and you don't have hurricane coverage, you are out of luck.

True of course. So you're saying that my house in Florida has maybe as much tornado risk as my house in Houston, but probably not near as much as my house in Oklahoma (which actually had the roof removed by a tornado while I owned it).

Now, explain to me why my insurance on my much larger, non-wind-rated homes in Texas and Oklahoma was a fraction of what it is on my current concrete block fortress in Florida.