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Anybody had experiences with Citizen's claims or Universal Property & Casualty?
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Anybody had experiences with Citizen's claims or Universal Property & Casualty?
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Homeowner's Insurance
- Thread starter Beach Bound
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Something to remember about these well known insurance companies. State Farm supposedly screwed many homeowners in Mississippi after Katrina, by refusing to pay. Just because a company is large and well known, with good finances, doesn't mean much. Why? Because they also have more policy holders. While that may work well for regular hazards such as the occasional fire or tree going through the roof, when a natural disaster such as a hurricane strikes, or heaven forbid, multiple hurricane strikes throughout the entire state in a given year, they will have tremendous payout to make, and suddenly, they may not look so good financially, and bankruptcy could also be in play, just to keep them afloat.
On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, these small companies may offer low rates, but may not be there to pay out if a major natural disaster strikes.
The best insurance is to build a solid house with 140mph rated windows and doors, hip roof with light slope and little overhang, cement-fiber siding, building above flood area, and not on a sand dune overlooking the beach below. I know it isn't the type of insurance you can buy, but it building to withstand disasters, is taking insurance.
On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, these small companies may offer low rates, but may not be there to pay out if a major natural disaster strikes.
The best insurance is to build a solid house with 140mph rated windows and doors, hip roof with light slope and little overhang, cement-fiber siding, building above flood area, and not on a sand dune overlooking the beach below. I know it isn't the type of insurance you can buy, but it building to withstand disasters, is taking insurance.
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Well SJ, my home is already built so I'm dealing with what I have and so far the 2 companies mentioned seem to be the choices that are on the radar of the agents with whom I have spoken. Just wondering if anybody has had claims with either. I have taken note of TFT's previous experience w/Citizens.
And my opinion of State Farm after Katrina certainly changed.
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Well SJ, my home is already built so I'm dealing with what I have and so far the 2 companies mentioned seem to be the choices that are on the radar of the agents with whom I have spoken. Just wondering if anybody has had claims with either. I have taken note of TFT's previous experience w/Citizens.
And my opinion of State Farm after Katrina certainly changed.
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I understand. I would hope that most of even these smaller companies will be able to pay on hazard, such as a particular property being damaged. However, if most of their policy holders are concentrated and have a major catastrophe such as a big hurricane hit, Lord help us all.
rita i just went threw the process you are going threw. i'm a former ins agent and very diligent in my analysis of co's. i have had state farm in my state for 30 years and feel secure with them. when buying in fla i was shocked at the choices of no name very small co's of which many have been in business for 2-4 years(many came in after the big hurricaines). i got around 20 quotes and analysed each co. most of the co's you mention like universal only have 20-40k total policyholders which is miniscule.I CALLED THE STATE INS DEPT AND THEY TOLD ME ALL LICENSED CARRIES ARE BACK STOPPED UP TO 300K PER CLAIM. maybe somebody can verify this as no agent i talked to knew much about this. many of the smaller carriers had by far the cheapest rates. if your home was built before 2003 good luck as the rates are 2-3 times higher as thats when the new hurricaine building codes came in.after much research i went with citizens for wind and asi who's a good size co with 300k policyholders for wind. total it was around 1k more but my first year owning i wanted some piece of mind. but now with rates skying in 2010 i'll have to shop around again.as the previous poster said its all a huge gamble as very very few of these co's have been hurricaine tested.it looks like owners will ahve to be shopping yearly for ins. what a pain
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rita most states back the insurance co's that write business in there state for policies like life and annuities. so if a company goes under the state takes them over and covers the claims till they find a co to buy the policies. BUT THE COVERAGE IS LIMITED TO 100-300KK PER POLICY. i was very concerned about the small size of most of the co's writing in fla so i called the ins dept to see what would happend if one of these co's went bankrupt if hit with huge hurricaine claims. the lady told me they would cover up to 300k per policy if an an insurer went under.i grilled many agents and they knew almost nothing about it which shocked me.i'm pretty confident the state has to backstop these co's BUT I'D LIKE SOME CONFIRMATION FROM ANY AGENTS OR KNOWLEGABLE PEOPLE ON THIS BOARD.but again even if these small co's backstopped and they go under with claims it could take years to get paid by the state.this reminds me of the hot potatoe game i played for 10 years with health ins coverage for my family . rate increases of 20-40% every year and i'd have to raise deductibles and shop every other year. a pain in the but.
seems Citizens Insurance would like to have Southern Oaks assume our policy if we accept the transfer. Anyone know anything about Southern Oaks Insurance?
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