Homeowner's Insurance -Questions Forum

[yippie]

Yippie, Citizens won't insure it either? I thought they were required to insure properties that nobody else would.

What a mess. Wish I knew how to help.

Yes, it is a mess. The property is considered damaged. No one will insure a damaged structure. Especially when it is vacant.

 

[InsuranceGuru]

Hey Yippie,

The bank should be able to obtain insurance for you, although the premium is guaranteed to be significantly more than your Nationwide policy. When was the mold issue first recognized? And, it has been confirmed to be a result of contractor error?

 

[InsuranceGuru]

A question for the Insurance Guru -- is there any advise you can give people looking to buy a home in the area regarding the cost of insurance on various properties? The cost of insuring a house is almost as important as the cost of the house itself, but I feel like we can only make wild guesses about what that number would be. It makes it almost impossible to compare houses, because really the cost of owning a home is the price of the house + the price of insuring the house, and we can only know one of those numbers.

Hi Rapunzel,

The major factors that determine the insurability of a home are the age, type of construction, distance to water, elevation, and general security.

If you could provide a few details on the houses I would be able to provide some rough estimates for you. My contact info can be found in the first post, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

 

[InsuranceGuru]

Why do they differentiate between primary & secondary? Do they figure if it's primary there will be better maintenance and storm prep?

I know I'd rather take shelter in a 70s block house that has survived many a storm than an untested wood frame house built during the recent frenzy.

The major differentiantion for secondary residences is who is occupying the dwelling (or in many secondary home cases, who isn't). No insurance company really wants to insure a vacant property. The risk of a claim on a vacant property is significantly higher as the time to respond can be delayed if no one is around to witness the damage. Therefore, some companies choose not to insure them. Although, you can see if moving other policies to the insurer (i.e. collections, umbrella, yacht, auto) might entice them to try and assist you.

The specifications of the home may also prevent the insurer from taking your insurance on. If your primary was built in 1999 but the secondary was built in 1978, the Ins Co figures that the quality of construction of the 1978 home is mediocre (even though it may have survived 10 storms) due to the changes in Florida's construction codes over the years.

 

[yippie]

Hey Yippie,

The bank should be able to obtain insurance for you, although the premium is guaranteed to be significantly more than your Nationwide policy. When was the mold issue first recognized? And, it has been confirmed to be a result of contractor error?

The bank can get insurance on the mortgage, but not the structure. It insures them, but if the house blew down, they would come looking for me.

The mold issue was first recognized after hurricane Dennis, July 2005. It was reported to the builder then.

The house is in litigation. Nationwide will not pay a claim, they do not cover contractors errors. Since the house is now in court, everyone is denying everything and trying to blame, for example a new roof that was put on the house 4 months after I reported the mold. It's just a nightmare.

 

[scooterbug44]

The major differentiantion for secondary residences is who is occupying the dwelling (or in many secondary home cases, who isn't). No insurance company really wants to insure a vacant property. The risk of a claim on a vacant property is significantly higher as the time to respond can be delayed if no one is around to witness the damage. Therefore, some companies choose not to insure them. Although, you can see if moving other policies to the insurer (i.e. collections, umbrella, yacht, auto) might entice them to try and assist you.

Could you skirt this by having a full-time "caretaker" who sublets?

 

[InsuranceGuru]

Could you skirt this by having a full-time "caretaker" who sublets?

It changes the situation around a little. The house is now considered "occupied" and most importantly not designated as "vacant". Although, the property is not "owner occuped" which has a different rating that companies are more inclined to write Having a full-time occupant could change the rating around enough to make the difference in your insurer's ability to write the policy.

Extra security measures in place at the home (back-up generator; superior construction; hurricane doors windows, etc.) can also help your cause so be sure to inform the agent.

 

[InsuranceGuru]

Current State of Affairs in FL Home Insurance

Please find the following articles regarding the state of affairs of homeowner's insurance in Florida:

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/01/07/daily36.html

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080109/SS04/801090375/1075

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-insure0708jan07,0,1787810.story

This one I am sure a couple of you can relate to:

http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?a=top_lh&neID=200801061180.3.165_7f000000001f346d

 

[drsvelte]

We were notified last week that State Farm will no longer insure our home in Sandestin. We were told that we will be picked up by Citizen's and the premium will be about the same. Anyone else insure with State Farm?

 

[InsuranceGuru]

Recent Articles on Homeonwer's Insurance in Florida

Below, please find a couple articles which detail the ongoing legislative hearing involving ALLSTATE and a few other insurance carriers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/us/05hurricane.html?ref=business

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/CAPITOLNEWS/802050327/1010

The article below gives some information on how to improve the ability of your home to withstand hurricanes:

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jan/31/30my-safe-florida-home-forum-shows-you-how-to-a/