Big jump in Homeowners insurance

[harley]

After much research I've come down to three options for renewing (or not) my SW FL homeowner's insurance:

(1) self-insure

The most interesting option. Could be brilliant or incredibly dumb in retrospect. Selecting this could make hurricane season very exciting.

When we first bought our place (2013) for $165K, I considered self insuring. Then again a couple years later when the first insurance company dumped us (and everyone else in our zip code). But the recent run up in both home costs and construction costs have made that pretty much a non-option. And having gone through 2 significant hurricanes in 5 years (plus a bunch of minor ones), I wouldn't recommend going without insurance. Although, based on what a lot of our friends are dealing with after Ian, having insurance isn't the same as being able to collect on the policy.

 

[socca]

... Although, based on what a lot of our friends are dealing with after Ian, having insurance isn't the same as being able to collect on the policy.

Yeah, that's the issue with Mom & Pop Insurance Co. If the company has institutionalized the denial of valid claims, or aggressively reduces the payout for such claims to pennies-on-the-dollar, then I'm effectively self-insured (in fact, it could be argued that I'm worse than self-insured since a lawsuit might be the only way to get a decent settlement. Who wants more lawyers in their life? ).

BTW: there are a surprising number of roofs in the vicinity with blue tarps despite my visual inspection after Ian indicating no visible roof damage on any nearby home. Are these homeowners fraudulently trying to get a new roof at insurance company expense? Are these homeowners currently in a legal battle with their insurer? Don't know.

 

[Luvdogs]

We should be getting our new homeowners bill, renewal or non-renewal any day. We have had no claims in 30++ years but the last 5+ years our insurance has been cancelled each time.

So we have to change and they are all companies we have never heard of and get terrible reviews. But as someone earlier said, people with good outcomes don't post reviews.

We're in central FL so it's not going to be good. Last year our agent said anything under 5K is a "deal." And we don't have a fancy house.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I live in Nevada and my home owner’s insurance only went up 60/year.

 

[aja8888]

I live in Nevada and my home owner’s insurance only went up 60/year.

No hurricanes in Nevada! But don't you live in a condo complex with HOA coverage for re-roofing?

 

[COcheesehead]

I live in Nevada and my home owner’s insurance only went up 60/year.

Yep, Colorado here. Went up $35 total.

 

[Masquernom]

We have home and auto with AAA here in Kentucky. Bought house in 2016 for $363,000. I guess coverage is now somewhere in the upper $400,000 range or low $500,000 range. In 2020 home insurance cost us $1,230 per year. In 2021 AAA changed underwriters. 2021 cost was only $850. In 2022 cost went up to $950.

 

[harley]

BTW: there are a surprising number of roofs in the vicinity with blue tarps despite my visual inspection after Ian indicating no visible roof damage on any nearby home. Are these homeowners fraudulently trying to get a new roof at insurance company expense? Are these homeowners currently in a legal battle with their insurer? Don't know.

Not sure about Ian, but after Irma a lot of communities arranged for new roofs all around, even if they didn't get damaged. We had a couple houses in our HOA that took damage during Irma, so when they needed replacements, we (and everybody else except one guy) made a group deal for new roofs. It wasn't an insurance claim/scam. All the houses were built in the 80s, so it was time for new roofs anyway. That may be part of the reason for all the blue tarps.

 

[Buckeye]

We are in central Florida so severe damage from hurricanes are much less likely compared to the coastal areas. Our homeowner's insurance went up from $1,260 to $2,293. That is about an 82% increase. No claims and Progressive/ASI insurer.

I'm in Central FL and I'm with Tower Hill through USAA. I went from $1734 to $2688 (no claims) but got it back down to $2020 by raising my deductible to $5000 from $2500, getting credit for my whole-house water flow (w/auto shutoff) monitoring system from Phyn ($260 credit, I think), and reducing the coverage to 10% of the home value for things that didn't get damaged that might need to be brought up to code during a repair. Also, Tower Hill just converted to an Exchange so 10% of my premium was my contribution to the Exchange kitty. That dropped when the total policy premium dropped. Also, we have lower than max personal property coverage.

 

[socca]

... we ... made a group deal for new roofs. ... That may be part of the reason for all the blue tarps.

Doesn't apply here. The houses with tarps are VERY scattered. My point was that I'm surprised that there are any houses with tarps at all considering no visible damage to any roof.

 

[bigcmagor]

After much research I've come down to three options for renewing (or not) my SW FL homeowner's insurance:

(1) self-insure

The most interesting option. Could be brilliant or incredibly dumb in retrospect. Selecting this could make hurricane season very exciting.

(2) Citizens

The premium is substantially higher than what I paid last year (UPC), but I'm getting more coverage (reducing coverage isn't an option according to the agent). As a non-profit perhaps Citizens would be more likely to honor an honest claim (don't know ).

(3) Mom & Pop

The premium is roughly the same as last year but the coverage is substantially lower (e.g. roof is actual cost value rather than replacement value). The online reviews (a biased sample) are extremely negative (folks with a good experience don't post).

Decisions, decisions ...

We've self insured for ten years in Florida. When we made the decision, the house would have sold for $50k more than the land value so I figured that was what we were risking, plus the cost of demolition. Irma and Ian both caused havoc for us but it was more anxiety than actual losses. Most of what was damaged would not have been covered by insurance and we wouldn't have reached the deductible in either storm. We have been attentive to storm proofing the home to the extent possible, to include rip rap on the sea wall (both neighbors lost theirs during Irma), impact resistant windows, a new roof before it was completely worn out, 250mph rated garage door, etc. I'll admit that I question the wisdom of the decision each time something spins up offshore, but so far it's worked out.

 

[socca]

We've self insured for ten years in Florida. ... Most of what was damaged would not have been covered by insurance and we wouldn't have reached the deductible in either storm. ... I'll admit that I question the wisdom of the decision each time something spins up offshore, but so far it's worked out.

Thanks for this data point. I always carry the max deductible for both hurricane and "all other perils" insurance. The probability of a payout seems rather small (assuming that I'm dealing with an insurer that actually honors claims ).

 

[Buckeye]

Couple thoughts on the increases:
1) Most homeowners policies have replacement coverage for the dwelling. With the big increases in materials and labor costs, that is a big factor in the increases in replacement cost calculation. This has nothing to do with weather. Blame inflation for this one.
2) With all of the recent big claim storms, the insurance company reserves are being depleted. So increases are not only to cover upcoming claims, but also to build up those reserves. So this is kind of weather related, but after the fact. Were rates lower in the past than they should have been to maintain sufficient reserves for claims? Doesn't really matter at this point, the insurance companies need to ensure they have sufficient reserves that they can cover upcoming claims and also not go bankrupt. So we all pay more.

2023-2024 Homeowners Policy
Hurricane Premium: $683
Non-Hurricane Premium: $1336

2022-2023 (after changes in deductible, water monitoring system, etc.)
Hurricane Premium: $420
Non-Hurricane Premium: $1314

63% increase in hurricane premium and no change in non-hurricane premium.

Original quote for 2023-2024 policy
Hurricane Premium: $801
Non-Hurricane Premium: $1887

Would have been 91% increase in the hurricane premium and 41% in the non-hurricane.

 

[HF63]

The major companies continue to have those silly commercials on TV which you'll know we pay w/ higher premiums. I wonder how much money they'll save if they just turn off the silliness.


I went w/ an insurance broker.

 

[Sunset]

Doesn't apply here. The houses with tarps are VERY scattered. My point was that I'm surprised that there are any houses with tarps at all considering no visible damage to any roof.

Probably the roofing company scam against the insurance company that seems to happen in FL a lot.

 

[Teacher Terry]

No hurricanes in Nevada! But don't you live in a condo complex with HOA coverage for re-roofing?

Yes the homeowner’s insurance only needs to cover from the walls in because it’s a 3 story building. So a roof is not my individual responsibility.

 

[athena53]

We've self insured for ten years in Florida. When we made the decision, the house would have sold for $50k more than the land value so I figured that was what we were risking, plus the cost of demolition. <snip> I'll admit that I question the wisdom of the decision each time something spins up offshore, but so far it's worked out.

My parents lived in N. Myrtle Beach about a mile from the ocean but on the ocean side of the Intracoastal Waterway. They made the same decision for the same reason- the land was worth more than the house and they had the resources to go elsewhere if it washed away. Dad sold it at a nice price after Mom died so it worked well for them.

I just got my bill- almost no change, which was a pleasant surprise. I'm in the Kansas City area where tornadoes are the biggest risk.

 

[Chuckanut]

Home owner insurance up 20%.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Southern Nevada: Homeowner insurance on single family home, $1432 in Jan 2022, $1415 in Jan 2023. Same coverage with same insurance company, i.e. Travelers.

 

[statsman]

Our homeowner's policy comes due in the next couple of months, and if the current mailers from the various insurance companies are any indication, we may be seeing a sizable spike in the premiums. These flyers usually have suggested premiums that are in the ballpark of what we obtain. What we have been seeing this past week in the "offers" is rather shocking. Central Texas.

 

[Gumby]

Just got my renewal. Up 15% this year.

 

[jazz4cash]

Our homeowner's policy comes due in the next couple of months, and if the current mailers from the various insurance companies are any indication, we may be seeing a sizable spike in the premiums. These flyers usually have suggested premiums that are in the ballpark of what we obtain. What we have been seeing this past week in the "offers" is rather shocking. Central Texas.

I did a deep dive based on the mailers we got last year. Many of the estimates were not even in the ballpark and the savings were not worth the effort to switch. We stayed with current insurer that put a new roof on for us in 2020.

 

[socca]

After much research I've come down to three options for renewing (or not) my SW FL homeowner's insurance:

(1) self-insure
...
(2) Citizens
...
(3) Mom & Pop
...
Decisions, decisions ...

I went with Citizens. The premium is about 10% higher than last year's (UPC) but the coverage is substantially higher, too. If Citizens wasn't an option it would be a toss-up between self-insure and Mom & Pop.

Citizens has the option to levy a special assessment on all policyholders if it runs out of money after a major disaster. Considering the very reasonable premium, this is fine with me. Another oddity coming in a few years is the requirement for all policyholders to have flood insurance. I'm not going to worry about that now.

 

[Karloff]

We are in SE FL.

Brand new-construction house (less than 2 years old), everything built up to the latest Miami-Dade code, impact windows throughout, concrete-block, no claims, about as far away from the beach as you can possibly get in our county, no-flood area, etc., etc. In other words, as good as it can get, all things considered. Even then, we are paying about $2400/year.


The situation will only get worse in FL. For this and many other reasons. I personally hate what the state has become. We hope to get out of here in a few years. In the meantime, I will continue insuring as long as I can afford it.

Having said this, the house is paid for, so I have considered self-insuring if the above rate were to double.

 

[jazz4cash]

DC suburbs.
92% jump.
OUCH.