As are you, very impressive. 😂 the insurance market is a mess. Some lenders are no longer requiring wind coverage. Roof coverage is changing, insurers are now requiring extremely high deductibles and are now pro rating roofs. I think FIGA will probably wind up taking the whole thing over.

 

Yeah but it makes for some great entertainment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH3nsTqdAd8

 

Why are rates and risks going up so much?

 

Much worse.

Just look at Google News for "FL homeowners insurance" and you'll see dozens of articles about it.... many insurance companies are pulling out of the state

 

Because homeowners would file a wind damage claim on a 20 year old roof when there hasn’t been a hurricane in the area for years. When the insurance company denies the claim, they sue. If the homeowner wins, the insurer has to pay the legal bills. I’m not saying all claims are fraudulent but possibly a portion. Also, there are people called public adjusters that Jack up the damage estimates.

So the end result is the insurance companies pull out.

when I bought my house 4 years ago my insurance was $1800, 2 years ago they quoted $7000. So we paid it off and now self insure. All that means is that we keep a larger emergency fund.


Roofs in Europe are concrete and last 400 years. Ours last made out of plywood, plastic and concrete decoration. Seems stupid.

 

People don't file fraudulent insurance claims in other states? Doesn't sound like an honest answer for why the rates and risk are increasing so much.

 

The limited research I’ve done pointed to the shear amount of claims from hurricanes that caused a large area of damage one too many years in a row

 

the claims wind up costing the insurer $400,000 for a roof replacement. Calling me dishonest isn’t cool. This is my assessment of a market I’m familiar with and friends with insurance brokerage.


what are your thoughts BD?

 

I wasn't calling you dishonest, I'm saying the people pushing this narrative are being dishonest.

I can't think of a reason why fraudulent insurance claims would be more prevalent in FL vs other states.

 

Assignment of benefits. You can assign your insurance benefit to a contractor in FL. Contractor finds one broken tile and says you need a new roof. They file a claim with your insurance for double the cost of a new roof when all you needed was a small repair. That happened over and over after Irma

I was dropped by my insurance company every year after Irma. New company would be 50%+ increase each year then drop me again the next. Now I can only get insured from the state backed company and they constantly shop my home to outside companies. If they can find someone to insure me for less than a 25% increase on their premium then they can drop me as well. Their renewal on my policy was 30% increase this year.

If I had a lender that allowed you to not be covered for wind (hurricane) coverage that would be great but I didn’t know that even existed. My plan is to pay off and self insure when my premiums out cost the advantage of my 2.25% interest rate on my mortgage. That may happen sooner than later at the rate they’ve been increasing.

Oh and btw if you don’t have all the wind mitigation on your house like impact rated windows and doors, and a strapped roof you’re screwed bc the insurance companies will require it. That could be $40-$100k++ depending on the size of your house.

The crazy thing is that surge is what causes all the damage in a storm not really wind even in a cat 3 or 4. Yet all the insurance shenanigans are based on wind coverage which is required by lenders.