Originally Posted by Bluedriver

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.

Originally Posted by Noisecanceller

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.

Originally Posted by Noisecanceller

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.

Originally Posted by RemoveB4flght

It’s not a thing typically initiated by the homeowners, after the hurricane the vultures swoop in and pepper neighborhoods with flyers and mailers, take out ads on local radio, even the ambulance chasing local lawyers get involved with handling claims. It’s not an exaggeration, even with some minor roof damage or a few missing shingles they will convince people of the possibility of water leaks and what the damage could do to their house, and once explaining it “won’t cost them a dime” many people figure they should just go ahead and get theirs. I know several people who were dropped after getting a new roof and have trouble finding affordable coverage again. With thousands of claims and not enough time to investigate each one, lots of shady people siphon tons of money in the wake of a disaster.

Originally Posted by Bluedriver

Why aren't these practices happening in other states? Still trying to understand what is unique about Florida that is causing this problem?

Originally Posted by CincoDeMayo

They 100% happen in other states. Opportunism doesn’t only exist in FloRida country

Originally Posted by Bluedriver

Then why is it Florida having the insurance crisis?

Originally Posted by SoFloFlyer

I’ve read that it’s because Florida has gotten hit with some pretty bad hurricanes in consecutive years that insurance companies don’t think it’s worth the hassle to stay in Florida

What we should do is stop building roofs out of wood. I’m willing to bet that if we did that, homeowner insurance wouldn’t be as big of a deal as it is now

Originally Posted by CincoDeMayo

They have roofs that are built for hurricane winds, problem is, people don’t want to pay for them. So hurricane come, blow the roofs off, insurance says “too much risk, we out” and the asphalt single roof crowds say “but who will replace our roofs?!”

See the issue? If you want to protect your house, protect your house. Stop depending on insurance companies to pick up the slack where you fail to protect your house. This is Florida, not Iowa, you live in hurricane country, act accordingly.

Originally Posted by CincoDeMayo

They have roofs that are built for hurricane winds, problem is, people don’t want to pay for them. So hurricane come, blow the roofs off, insurance says “too much risk, we out” and the asphalt single roof crowds say “but who will replace our roofs?!”

See the issue? If you want to protect your house, protect your house. Stop depending on insurance companies to pick up the slack where you fail to protect your house. This is Florida, not Iowa, you live in hurricane country, act accordingly.