Is there any source or reasoning to this? Are we just filling the catastrophe fund that we are then magically never eligible for?
who's best homeowners ins for 30-a?
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Is there any source or reasoning to this? Are we just filling the catastrophe fund that we are then magically never eligible for?
Hike Citizens Property Insurance Corp.?s premiums, Florida panel urges
(Copyright ? 2009 Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Julie Patel. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ? Jan. 7, 2009 ? A state panel on Tuesday recommended boosting Citizens Property Insurance Corp.?s annual premiums by a statewide average of up to 10 percent a year starting in 2010.
The Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Mission Review Task Force, formed in 2008 by the Legislature to explore how to return state-backed Citizens to an insurer of last resort for Florida property owners, made the first of its recommendations. It will meet again Jan. 22 to make more suggestions to submit to Gov. Charlie Crist and House and Senate leaders by Jan. 31.
The Legislature froze rates for Citizens, Florida?s largest property insurer with nearly 1.1 million policies, in 2007 and 2008. The task force suggested increasing rates for individual Citizens policyholders by no more than 20 percent a year starting next year. The rate increase will encourage policyholders to switch to private insurers and allow Citizens to build its reserves amid concerns of whether the state can borrow enough money to pay claims if a major hurricane strikes Florida.
All automobile and property insurance policyholders of any insurer statewide already are paying an annual fee of 1.4 percent of their annual premiums a year until 2017 to cover a shortfall Citizens incurred in 2005. The task force, comprising insurance industry executives, consumer advocates and state leaders appointed by Crist and other state officials, considered repealing a rule allowing homeowners to be eligible for a Citizens policy if the only other coverage they can find costs more than 15 percent above what Citizens charges.
Meanwhile, the rate increase caps are intended to protect Citizens policyholders from the dramatic increases backed by insurance industry representatives and some legislators.
?That?ll keep rates from going through the roof,? said Chip Merlin, an attorney who represents insurance policyholders and who was appointed to the committee by Crist.
Task force members briefly debated whether Citizens should be an insurer of last resort, but decided the Legislature is responsible for settling that fundamental issue.
Few proposals sparked as much debate as one that would force Citizens policyholders to switch to a private insurer that offers the same coverage for the same price. Former State Sen. Locke Burt, who helped form Fort Lauderdale-based Security First Insurance Co. in 2005 and Royal Palm Insurance Co. in 2006, said he supports consumer choice, but the move is probably needed if Citizens is to become a last-ditch property insurer again.
Some task force members aid they were concerned that private insurers may change policy terms at some point after taking Citizens policies.
For example, former Citizens policyholder Robert Brookens told the Sun Sentinel that he switched to Liberty Mutual in November and was told recently that the insurance premium for his mobile home is expected to increase this summer to about $2,000 ? roughly $400 more than what Citizens charged him. Brookens, a forklift driver who lives west of Jacksonville, said the latest increase comes after his premium more than doubled after the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes.
Burt said homeowners who leave Citizens always could apply for coverage again if their premiums go up by more than 15 percent.
The panel approved a controversial recommendation: prohibiting Citizens from insuring new homes and condominiums near the coast.
Coastal developers are ?not constitutionally entitled? to have state-backed insurance, said Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Belinda Miller, a task force member.
Merlin, who cast one of two dissenting votes on the recommendation, said he?s concerned about private insurers agreeing to coverage for a new development but then dropping the policy when it?s already in the works or completed. ?You?re picking on people close to coastal areas,? he said.
Copyright ? 2009 Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Julie Patel. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
It depends on the company. You may or may not have to get a separate wind policy from Citizens, depending on where the property is and what policies you can find, so be sure to ask if the quote for homeowner's includes wind or not.
It sounds like you need a good agent.
Adam Gurdis at 203-661-8126 is the AIG agent for quite a few properties in SoWal but I think you may have to get the windstorm from Citizens if you go with AIG.
Or try these people, who helped me out when my company of 15 years left Florida. I went with Citizens after that, because nobody else would take me
but then I got "taken out" of Citizens and into a startup I never heard of. Will be interesting if we have a hurricane. 
Insurance Associates of Destin, Inc.
127 Miracle Strip Pkwy SW
Suite N-3
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
(850) 269-0704 phone
Do you really want AIG backing your property?
As to SJ's post I see the those of us with Citizens are going to fill the fund get pissed at the ongoing increases and then go to a private insurer who will ultimately declare bankruptcy after a major hurricane. Any of this sound familiar?
i got a good quote from frontline but then they came back and said i have to have an alarm or be in a gated community with a guard to get the rate if i don't live there full time. thats bs.i've seen very few homes in the beach area with alarms. plus if not there nad it goes off a pain in ass. i might try st johns or tower hill
occupied homes are cheaper to insure than unoccupied homes. If a pipe breaks in the house, and no one is there to notice the water before damage sets in, the entire place could be destroyed with mold and rot. Kind of makes sense, but last time I checked, motion detector alarms don't detect something like a burst water pipe.
Do the insurance companies require moisture sensors, or just a basic burglar alarm of some sort? I'm guessing only the latter.
Sad but true.