Florida homeowner's insurance?

[MovingtotheCove]

Has anyone had any experience with Security First, St. Johns, UPC, Cypress or Tower Hill as homeowner's insurance carriers in Florida? We are considering quotes from all and wondering about experience, quality of service, etc. Thanks for any input.

 

[73ss454]

I currently have Cypress and have had Tower Hill. I think it's one in the same to tell you the truth. I haven't had any claims and they keep raising the premium each year. Also taking away coverage that was included the year before. I don't think they are any better or worse than any of the insurance carriers in Florida, they all suck.

It is windy out today so I would think there will be an increase this year also.

 

[jimnjana]

We have frontline. We used to have USAA at our other home, but when we moved USAA dropped us... Our premium with Fontline is alot less than we were anticipating given home value relative to our previous coverage.

 

[earlybirdpalmbeach]

We have frontline homeowners insurance also. They gave us a good rate and I like their customer service. They also write where a lot of other carriers do not. I first quoted my home with them at quote.flhi.com .. you can try that to get an idea.

 

[imoldernu]

No advice... just an observation...
Our older mobile home insurance prices have risen to the point that we now self insure. With no serious hurricane damage to Central Florida in the 22 years we've lived there part time, the price for our mobile home insurance went from about $350 in 1999 to $1500 last year... this in the face of the selling price value of the home dropping by 75%. From 2006 to 2009, all four insurance companies that we used stopped insuring mobile homes.
Spending 20% of the home value for insurance is just too much. By comparison, the insurance for our Illinois home is less than 3/10ths of 1% of the value.

Florida is a goofy state... One day of windy weather will raise rates another 5%, and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will be happy to accede to any Insurance Company's request for rate increases.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Into our second year with Tower Hill. Got this through an independent agency who recommended a wind mitigation survey and a general contractor to perform the survey. I was told it would cost about $100 and would probably save me $400 maximum. It did and so the survey was worth while and is good for three years. Home is 2025 sq ft, not in a flood zone, has a tile roof which is gabled on three sides. My premium is $1770 per year. Could go up this year, I don't know yet.

 

[Amethyst]

We have Universal Property & Casualty on a small condo. We own it free & clear, but the condo assn will not allow owners to self-insure. Our premium has quadrupled in the past 4 years. No wonder nobody wants to buy Florida property!

Amethyst