Cancelling Plans

[phdphay]

As of when we built our house, the well-known companies like Allstate stopped selling insurance for homes as close to the beach as ours is. So you're forced to insure with no-name companies that you've never even heard of. It's that or nothing, and you just pray after every storm that they don't go bankrupt like ours did last November. Because then you have to scurry around to find more insurance (which takes hours to even get an insurance agent on the phone), you lose your premium payments to the bankrupt company, and you have to write a big fat check for a year's premiums to the new company before you even know if the coverage will be the same because everyone is too busy talking to frantic customers looking for insurance.

 

[Smiling JOe]

As of when we built our house, the well-known companies like Allstate stopped selling insurance for homes as close to the beach as ours is. So you're forced to insure with no-name companies that you've never even heard of. It's that or nothing, and you just pray after every storm that they don't go bankrupt like ours did last November. Because then you have to scurry around to find more insurance (which takes hours to even get an insurance agent on the phone), you lose your premium payments to the bankrupt company, and you have to write a big fat check for a year's premiums to the new company before you even know if the coverage will be the same because everyone is too busy talking to frantic customers looking for insurance.

FYI- Those big three insurance companies did not have the policies anyway. All of them had underwriters for the policies.

 

[phdphay]

FYI- Those big three insurance companies did not have the policies anyway. All of them had underwriters for the policies.

Really? No one ever told me that. Thanks for the info. BTW we're now insured by Fly By Night's Insurance and Lawn Maintenance Company. I think they operate out of a van down by the river (love that SNL skit). LOL.

 

[dusty]

Who insures the houses in Watercolor and Watersound? Does JOE bring any help on this issue? What about other developers like at Alys beach or Draper Lake? Can you use their insurer? I am surprised there is still so much building going on if it is that hard to get insurance.

 

[TooFarTampa]

Who insures the houses in Watercolor and Watersound? Does JOE bring any help on this issue? What about other developers like at Alys beach or Draper Lake? Can you use their insurer? I am surprised there is still so much building going on if it is that hard to get insurance.

Draper Lake/Alys Beach aren't even open yet, but I betcha Alys will have an easier time. I've read it will be the first hurricane-fortified community in the county.

We are in Seacrest Beach North and are "uninsurable," I guess, which means we go into the wind pool. The state's wind insurer, Citizens Property, writes our wind policy. Flood is cheap ($300/no flood zone) and hazard insurance was about $900. We recently renewed and those premiums stayed the same. Our premium for Citizens wind coverage doubled, from $2100 to $4200. Makes sense because we actually had a claim last year from Ivan. And yes, all the damages were covered ... eventually. (Other than, of course, our 2 percent hurricane deductible.)

Is it true that just about every new home is in the wind pool now? I hear the premiums went up 80 to 100 percent across the board.

 

[Travel2Much]

...Is it true that just about every new home is in the wind pool now? I hear the premiums went up 80 to 100 percent across the board.

No, or at least not yet. I am about a 1/2 mile west of you in Seacrest and am not in the wind pool, on north side of 30A, new construction, which means I can get private insurance. I actually had only nominal difficulty securing insurance, but since I am used to this knew the drill from 15 years in hurricane states. The premiums were high, but not drop-dead when you hear it high. That was after Ivan. Who knows after this?

Dusty, I don't think developers work that way, but who knows because St. Joe has cozy relationships with everyone. A Watercolorist might fill you in. One of the reasons I thumbs-downed Watercolor when shopping was that insuring a house like that to the cost of reconstruction (for the doomday scenario) given building costs there, coupled with high property taxes, coupled with their always-increasing association fees simply said "no" to me. Other reasons, but that was a big one.

 

[Beachlover2]

We are in Seacrest Beach North and are "uninsurable," I guess, which means we go into the wind pool. The state's wind insurer, Citizens Property, writes our wind policy. Flood is cheap ($300/no flood zone) and hazard insurance was about $900. We recently renewed and those premiums stayed the same. Our premium for Citizens wind coverage doubled, from $2100 to $4200. Makes sense because we actually had a claim last year from Ivan. And yes, all the damages were covered ... eventually. (Other than, of course, our 2 percent hurricane deductible.)

I have heard rumors that Citizens in in trouble and we got a non-renewable notice from them and our insurance doesn't even expire until December. We haven't even filed a claim with them. The insurance situation is only going to get worse unfortunately.

 

[TooFarTampa]

I have heard rumors that Citizens in in trouble and we got a non-renewable notice from them and our insurance doesn't even expire until December. We haven't even filed a claim with them. The insurance situation is only going to get worse unfortunately.

Great. Makes me really want to pay the full premium in advance!!

Isn't it illegal for Citizens to drop you? I just don't understand how they can non-renew you. It must mean you will be able to secure insurance elsewhere. Right? :shock:

 

[ktmeadows]

To luvthebeach:
Okay. This is just too cruel! You shouldn't personally attack someone on a message board whose circumstances you don't know. You can't understand how I was a little flipped out when someone complained about losing a week's vacation when we were facing a major financial loss from which at our age we might not totally recover? You can't understand how I was a little upset when I saw my husband with a sawed-open chest picking up 50-pound pieces of plywood when people were sunning next door? I haven't enumerated a fraction of what has happened in my life recently because it's nobody's business. Trust me, I don't take owning a place at this gorgeous paradise for granted. I thank God every day for my blessings, despite the bad things that have happened. I always say that you can't appreciate the good if you don't have something bad come your way.

You owe me an apology. And Kurt, you really need to remove posts that include personal attacks by name against individuals who post.

To Phdphay
I believe you are being overly sensitive and angry at the very folks who provide you with the rental income to allow you to have a place that many folks would give their eye teeth for. Many of us who are lucky enough to have places here in South Walton depend on the very people you disrespected in your initial message; apparently you depend on them as well, or you wouldn't be renting out your property. I believe in treating everyone with equal respect, whether they are locals or visitors to the area. How do you know that those "vacationers" who you were irritated at for sunning themselves while you were boarding up your home weren't themselves recovering from a serious illness, etc.?

The comment that made me feel the need to reply was the thing you said about having had to go hungry so you could have the education/college degree to earn enough money to have a place near the beach. The insituation was that if our "guests" were as educated as you, they would be able to afford a place down here instead of having to rent. I thank God that I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to graduate from a wonderful university and enjoy a wonderful job. However, many of those who rent your property I'm sure are as educated, or more educated, than you or I. They just choose to visit rather than own. Education has nothing to do with having the ability to be a homeowner down here or anywhere else. And when I see vacationers enjoying themselves on the beach or by the pool, it makes me happy that I've decided to open my home to them.

By the way, we hired a service to board up our home. You may want to have a company or two in the back of your mind in case there is a next time (hopefully there won't be!) We are all growing weary of the storms, but we're here to stay! And we're more than happy to rent our place to others when we're not down here enjoying it ourselves!

That's all I'm going to say about this. This forum is a wonderful opportunity to meet new folks and discuss our beautiful areas, share ideas, etc. I just hate to see anyone disrespected.

 

[phdphay]

To Phdphay
I believe you are being overly sensitive and angry at the very folks who provide you with the rental income to allow you to have a place that many folks would give their eye teeth for. Many of us who are lucky enough to have places here in South Walton depend on the very people you disrespected in your initial message; apparently you depend on them as well, or you wouldn't be renting out your property. I believe in treating everyone with equal respect, whether they are locals or visitors to the area. How do you know that those "vacationers" who you were irritated at for sunning themselves while you were boarding up your home weren't themselves recovering from a serious illness, etc.?

The comment that made me feel the need to reply was the thing you said about having had to go hungry so you could have the education/college degree to earn enough money to have a place near the beach. The insituation was that if our "guests" were as educated as you, they would be able to afford a place down here instead of having to rent. I thank God that I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to graduate from a wonderful university and enjoy a wonderful job. However, many of those who rent your property I'm sure are as educated, or more educated, than you or I. They just choose to visit rather than own. Education has nothing to do with having the ability to be a homeowner down here or anywhere else. And when I see vacationers enjoying themselves on the beach or by the pool, it makes me happy that I've decided to open my home to them.

By the way, we hired a service to board up our home. You may want to have a company or two in the back of your mind in case there is a next time (hopefully there won't be!) We are all growing weary of the storms, but we're here to stay! And we're more than happy to rent our place to others when we're not down here enjoying it ourselves!

That's all I'm going to say about this. This forum is a wonderful opportunity to meet new folks and discuss our beautiful areas, share ideas, etc. I just hate to see anyone disrespected.

Have a nice day.