One more insurance question...

[Duchess]

Our wind policy was sold by Citizens to Florida Peninsula a couple of months
ago. We just got our first policy renewal from FP and our premium has gone
up just over 100%---from $2411 to $4887. Would appreciate any input from
others who may use Seaside Property Insurance or First Home Insurance.
The numbers I quoted are with a 2% deductible.

And no, we're not gulf-front nor have we ever made a claim.

Thanks......

[nowgirl]

I would definitely shop around.....I've found that since the insurance market has become so expensive and difficult premiums quoted by different companies/agents can vary.... not by hundreds, but thousands, for the same coverage. PM me if you would like the name of a good agent.

[Beach Runner]

Our wind policy was sold by Citizens to Florida Peninsula a couple of months
ago. We just got our first policy renewal from FP and our premium has gone
up just over 100%---from $2411 to $4887. Would appreciate any input from
others who may use Seaside Property Insurance or First Home Insurance.
The numbers I quoted are with a 2% deductible.

And no, we're not gulf-front nor have we ever made a claim.

Thanks......
That's just terrible.

[TooFarTampa]

Duchess, we are due to get our renewal from FP any day now. I am nervous, to say the least. If you get a better deal, would you post info or PM me? Thanks.

[SHELLY]

Duchess, we are due to get our renewal from FP any day now. I am nervous, to say the least. If you get a better deal, would you post info or PM me? Thanks.

It's kinda like when you were a little kid with a Jack-in-the-Box and you cranked your way through "Pop-Goes-The-Weasel" and you got to those last few cords and you scrunched down and squinted your eyes and you plinked through them one...at...a...time....until POP!

Only this time the Knave, or the Weasel, is the Insurance Company. :eek:

[TooFarTampa]

It's kinda like when you were a little kid with a Jack-in-the-Box and you cranked your way through "Pop-Goes-The-Weasel" and you got to those last few cords and you scrunched down and squinted your eyes and you plinked through them one...at...a...time....until POP!

Only this time the Knave, or the Weasel, is the Insurance Company. :eek:

Nah, it's nothing like that! In that case logic told me what was coming. With this? There seems to be no logic to it. We also got outsourced to Florida Peninsula from Citizens with barely any notification and no rate reduction (even though Citizens is supposed to be "most expensive." Reading Duchess' post makes me :eek: and :pissed:

I really have no idea what is coming, and worse, have no faith that it will be close to fair.

[Duchess]

I'll shop around and post whatever I find. I feel better now, kind of like when you're at the long of a very long line and then someone gets in line behind you.

[yippie]

My homeowners insurance with Nationwide went from $ 2,100 per year to close to $5,000.00. Then last night on the news, they announced that Nationwide has has for yet another increase of 70%.

They also said on the news that Nationwide announced that all policies south of the Intercoastal Waterway went up 44% and everywhere else in the county the policies went up 79%. I don't understand this.

The way mine went up makes me wonder if the intercoastal waterway is IN the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone know where it is???

Any other comments on this???

[Beach Runner]

If I'm not mistaken, the Gulf Intracoastal (not Intercoastal, for googling purposes) Waterway in our area goes right under the Clyde Wells bridge on 331. I googled for a map, but I don't have much time to surf the 'Net right now, and all I found were links to maps for sale or either maps without much detail.

[SGB]

If I'm not mistaken, the Gulf Intracoastal (not Intercoastal, for googling purposes) Waterway in our area goes right under the Clyde Wells bridge on 331. I googled for a map, but I don't have much time to surf the 'Net right now, and all I found were links to maps for sale or either maps without much detail.

This is true. The intracoastal goes right through the bay and to Panama City roughly through the Point Washington area.

[yippie]

This is true. The intracoastal goes right through the bay and to Panama City roughly through the Point Washington area.


Ok, so I am south of the Intracoastal Waterway and my insurance goes up over 100%..... Should have gone up 44%????

Hummmmm.......

[SHELLY]

I'll shop around and post whatever I find. I feel better now, kind of like when you're at the long of a very long line and then someone gets in line behind you.

The line is a h*ll of a lot longer than you think: Florida Citizen's Insurance Protest Site (http://web.tampabay.rr.com/hac/citizens/CitizensRateTable.html)

I think that the Florida property insurance situation is going to be THE main driver in the future of Florida real estate.

[TooFarTampa]

The line is a h*ll of a lot longer than you think: Florida Citizen's Insurance Protest Site (http://web.tampabay.rr.com/hac/citizens/CitizensRateTable.html)

I think that the Florida property insurance situation is going to be THE main driver in the future of Florida real estate.

Absolutely. And I can't imagine it won't be the main factor in the gubernatorial election in November. Things seem to be heading in that direction.

Well, we have also joined the $5K club. Ours went up from about $2800 (Citizens) to $5076 (Florida Peninsula), wind-only of course. I am wondering if it would help to shop around with different agents around here, or whether that is even possible. There is not much to choose from up there.

I would scream, cry and yell a lot except I read EVERY DAY about people with average or fixed incomes who are paying exhorbitant price increases and it may drive them out of their primary homes. Our increase is painful and infuriating but apparently in line with what is going on elsewhere. Let us all pray for a quiet hurricane season, and some clever legislative strategizing. This crisis must be resolved or an awful lot of people not affected by hurricanes are going to be hurt.

[30A Skunkape]

What is maddening is the hyperbole the companies throw out about "having to leave the state" and "being insolvent", yet they continue to post mighty hefty profits, even after last summer! Meanwhile they lobby the state legislature to further limit their liabilty to the point that your policy is good for little more than protecting you from a good gust of wind under limited circumstances. :pissed:

[TooFarTampa]

From the S. Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale paper), April '06: FYI.


Four more insurers that cover thousands of South Floridians' homes want to charge much higher rates, and one of them intends to nearly double customer premiums.

Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., United Property & Casualty Insurance Corp., Hanover American Insurance Co. and Amica Mutual Insurance Co. all asked state insurance regulators over the weekend for substantial rate increases.

Boca Raton-based Florida Peninsula Insurance Co. asked for the highest, seeking permission to increase windstorm premiums by a statewide average of 81.4 percent for single-family homes and 76.6 percent for condominium policyholders. The year-old insurer, which only covers the wind portion of homeowner policies, took 85,530 coastal customers' policies from state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

United Property & Casualty Insurance of St. Petersburg asked for a 35.5 percent statewide average increase, though some South Florida homeowners could see much higher increases. The company insures more than 36,000 policies in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

Both Florida Peninsula Insurance and United Property & Casualty cited spiraling costs for reinsurance -- insurance coverage for insurance companies -- as the driving force behind higher rates.

"The reinsurance market is in a panic because of the storms of the last couple of years," said Mel Russell, senior vice president for underwriting, marketing and product development for United Property & Casualty.

Reinsurance companies aren't sure how much capacity they'll have to cover insurers' claims after a catastrophe, and many insurers aren't even sure what prices they'll have to pay or how much coverage they'll be able to get.

Russell said his company was told to expect to pay at least 40 percent more for reinsurance, once they finalize their contracts in June. And those costs will be passed down to customers.

"The market is very volatile right now," Russell said. "... Ultimately it's going to hit everybody right in the pocketbook, because it's starting from the top down."

United Property also is holding off on selling new policies, until its reinsurance contracts are settled, Russell said.

Florida Peninsula's chief executive officer, Roger L. Desjadon, said his company's higher premiums were directly related to higher reinsurance costs.

Florida's insurance market is largely dependent on reinsurance, and the next few months will be critical, said Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.

Some reinsurers are holding back on doing more business in Florida because of recent hurricanes and losses here, coupled with a decision by rating company A.M. Best to boost capital requirements for reinsurers, McCarty said.

All this means it is tougher for Floridians to get a new insurance policy from a company other than Citizens, and existing customers with private companies will pay more for their policies.

Should more hurricanes hit Florida this year, it could create even more problems for the fragile market.

"Two years of storms back to back, it's amazing the resiliency of the market," McCarty said. "I don't know how much more we can sustain."

[SHELLY]

From the S. Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale paper), April '06: FYI.


Four more insurers that cover thousands of South Floridians' homes want to charge much higher rates, and one of them intends to nearly double customer premiums.

Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., United Property & Casualty Insurance Corp., Hanover American Insurance Co. and Amica Mutual Insurance Co. all asked state insurance regulators over the weekend for substantial rate increases.



And the bad news is that on top of those increases, every homeowner policy holder must kick in an ADDITIONAL percentage to bail out Citizen's every year.

This insurance situtation is going to seriously impact the Florida economy going forward. I can't say I didn't see this problem coming--I just didn't imagine it would develop this fast, or be this big.

Unless the next Govenor can convince Gates & Buffett to funnel their cash into bailing out Florida after every hurricane--OR he has the power to stop hurricanes (or the perceived risk of hurricanes hitting Florida in the future)--we're all at the mercy of insurers who can name their price.

Low supply + high demand = price increases
(the same economics principle employed during the housing boom--only without the investulators :cool: ).

What's really scary are these newly-minted "Mom & Pop" Insurance companies who will be able to rake in money and then they, or the "off-shore" re-insurance company they do business with, can cry "Bankruptcy" after the first tropical storm hits.

[Duchess]

I've found out how to get my wind ins. premium reduced from approx.
$4800 to about $3300. First we needed to tell our agent that it's not
a rental anymore, but a true second home. Second, we need to have
a home security system installed and have it monitored. If I understood
my agent correctly, it's not having taken our home off the rental market
but rather the monitored security system that's the reason for the
premium reduction. We have been hoping to "take over" our cottage
for some time, and were able to do it this past spring. It seems our
timing is right, as the next insurance premium rate hike for FL has
already been pre-approved, and it's the out-of-state owners of FL
rental property that will be hit first. Our agent said we were getting
out of that insurance pool at just the right time. Very informative
discussion I had with him. This should be outrageous to everyone
with insurance issues in Sowal. Like I told him, it's as if I just sprouted
long blond hair and fell down a rabbit-hole. The insurance rate hikes
in FL to me are more of a long-term affordability issue than property
taxes. Will make owning almost impossible for most ordinary folks.

[TooFarTampa]

I've found out how to get my wind ins. premium reduced from approx.
$4800 to about $3300. First we needed to tell our agent that it's not
a rental anymore, but a true second home. Second, we need to have
a home security system installed and have it monitored. If I understood
my agent correctly, it's not having taken our home off the rental market
but rather the monitored security system that's the reason for the
premium reduction. We have been hoping to "take over" our cottage
for some time, and were able to do it this past spring. It seems our
timing is right, as the next insurance premium rate hike for FL has
already been pre-approved, and it's the out-of-state owners of FL
rental property that will be hit first. Our agent said we were getting
out of that insurance pool at just the right time. Very informative
discussion I had with him. This should be outrageous to everyone
with insurance issues in Sowal. Like I told him, it's as if I just sprouted
long blond hair and fell down a rabbit-hole. The insurance rate hikes
in FL to me are more of a long-term affordability issue than property
taxes. Will make owning almost impossible for most ordinary folks.


Thanks for the tip. We are not taking ours off the rental program but certainly we could add a security system if it makes that big of a difference. Yikes. One other thing is I noticed that our $5K rate was based on having a gabled, asphalt roof when in truth we have a hipped, metal roof. That SHOULD reduce our premium by about 20 percent. We are awaiting a new bill. Folks read your policies!!

But wait a minute ... why would an alarm system make a difference on a wind only policy? It's not like the hurricane is going to run away when it hears your alarm going off. :floor: Is that for real? :scratch: Seems like it would help hazard insurance rates, not wind.

[SHELLY]

But wait a minute ... why would an alarm system make a difference on a wind only policy? It's not like the hurricane is going to run away when it hears your alarm going off. :floor: Is that for real? :scratch: Seems like it would help hazard insurance rates, not wind.

I was thinking the same thing...especially since these systems are usually monitored using the telephone system and the phone systems can be knocked out during a "wind event." I'd go back and question this claim before I went out and purchased a security system (if the main intent of the purchase was to lower the wind policy premium).