House insurance
House insurance
My stinking house insurance just went up $600 a year. I think I'm going to buy some property and build a concrete house and say screw you to insurance!
Shop around for the best rates.
I do so every year, and switch companies almost every year.
I do so every year, and switch companies almost every year.
Seems that most years, mine go up significantly also. I had them double the premium. They are telling you that they want to get rid of the polices with criteria that you happen to meet, and they "encourage" you by raising your premium.
I just shop around. I used to use an independent insurance agent to get quotes. Used the same one for years. But in recent years, she has not done very well for me so I have another agent that did better.
Thankfully, I have managed so far to stay away from the State Pool.
Insurance is a real scam! Just like whenever the Goobernment gets involved, they sure improve things (NOT) and make it more expensive!
You know why the Libiturds say "Global Warming" is the cause of all the hurricanes recently? No, it is because the insurance companies push to have the weather service name the storms, so that the high deductible insurance coverage kicks in when a storm in named and they can continue to collect high premiums but not pay $hit. Thus more named storms.
I just shop around. I used to use an independent insurance agent to get quotes. Used the same one for years. But in recent years, she has not done very well for me so I have another agent that did better.
Thankfully, I have managed so far to stay away from the State Pool.
Insurance is a real scam! Just like whenever the Goobernment gets involved, they sure improve things (NOT) and make it more expensive!
You know why the Libiturds say "Global Warming" is the cause of all the hurricanes recently? No, it is because the insurance companies push to have the weather service name the storms, so that the high deductible insurance coverage kicks in when a storm in named and they can continue to collect high premiums but not pay $hit. Thus more named storms.
Ah that's one thing about our Flame, doesn't play any favorites! Flame hates everybody!
Find an agent, through recommendations, who does a good job "shopping it." If you were closer to Central FL, I could recommend one. Anytime I need anything, I just tell him what I need and he shops it for me, gets the best rate to reliability combination.
Good luck. One day a politician will run on the platform of killing all insurance company executives, and will win on a landslide. Whether it's health, home, auto, life, they're all the same.
Good luck. One day a politician will run on the platform of killing all insurance company executives, and will win on a landslide. Whether it's health, home, auto, life, they're all the same.
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star.
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Tenzing_Norgay
- Posts: 1611
- Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:55 pm
- Location: Your mom's house, Trebek!
Florida Property Insurance Rates May Spike. Here’s Why
Florida's property insurers are facing a number of industry-wide issues that are affecting their bottom lines.
Florida property insurance rates may spike, in part because of lingering Hurricane Irma claims.
By Malena Carollo
Published Aug. 17, 2020
Florida’s property insurance market is ready for hurricane season after a tumultuous start to the year. But ratepayers may be in for rougher seas.
Several Florida insurers filed for premium hikes ranging from 15 to a little more than 31 percent this summer. A number of trends within the property insurance market — including increased costs for reinsurance and the ongoing issue of water damage litigation — are driving up rates.
Despite the ballooning costs, experts said, Florida insurance companies are well positioned to handle storm claims this year.
“If you have insurance with a carrier in Florida, you are well-protected for the hurricane season,” said Mark Friedlander, Florida representative for nonpartisan industry group the Insurance Information Institute.
Nearly 10 insurers asked state insurance regulators for rate increases of at least 15 percent. Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty asked for a rate increase of just more than 31 percent. National Specialty Insurance Co. requested a 28 percent hike, while Capitol Preferred Insurance Co. asked for a 26 percent increase. National Specialty was approved, while Capitol Preferred and Southern Fidelity are still pending.
The leading cause of the premium increases was a spike in reinsurance prices.
Reinsurance is coverage insurance companies buy to help them pay claims, and it makes up a significant portion of customers’ premiums. This year, reinsurance prices jumped because of a shift in the market.
After the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street investors began putting money into insurance-linked securities. If there was a catastrophic event such as a hurricane, the funds would pay for claims, said Paul Handerhan, president of the Federal Association for Insurance Reform. This kept private insurers’ reinsurance prices low because they had to compete with the prices of the securities.
“That’s changed,” Handerhan said. “The market has tightened up. Some of that capital has receded, and you’ve seen the traditional reinsurers take this opportunity to try to recoup some of those profits.”
Storms were also a significant factor.
Under Florida law, claims for a named storm can be submitted for up to three years after it hits. Claims from Hurricanes Irma and Michael in particular have put pressure on insurers, Friedlander said. As of December 2019, the most recent data available, Hurricane Michael caused $7.9 billion in insured losses, while Hurricane Irma, according to claims data as of January 10, caused $17.4 billion in insured losses.
“There was a lot of claim activity particularly last year, two years out from (Hurricane Irma),” Friedlander said. “Those losses hit the books of these carriers.”
In June, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund increased the funds it expects to pay for Hurricane Irma claims from $6 billion to $6.5 billion, according to spokesman John Kuczwanski. The “Cat Fund” is a state-run trust fund that assists private insurers with paying claims after the industry pays $7.74 billion in claims.
Compounding these is a nearly decade-old issue insurers say they can’t shake: litigation stemming from water damage claims that aren’t related to storms. Insurers have long said that they face increasing costs from litigation over the disputed price of residential water damage repairs. The companies blame unscrupulous contractors and the lawyers who work with them for using the courts to garner attorney fees and higher prices for repairs that weren’t caused by hurricanes.
Citizens Property Insurance Co., the state-owned insurer of last resort, previously requested an 8.2 percent premium increase in December 2018 because of this issue, later downgrading it to a 2.3 percent hike. Legislation that went into effect last year curbs attorney fees for the litigation.
Michael Carlson, CEO of industry group the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, said lawsuits filed up until the law went into effect last July put pressure on insurers, as did a new burgeoning version of the issue.
“The problem is a structural problem in the property (insurance) market,” he said. “If it’s unchecked, it’ll be an increasing cost to the companies and it’ll be an increasing cost on customers who have to pay the premiums.”
When will ballooned rates come down? The Federal Association for Insurance Reform’s Handerhan said that depends on the number and size of claims over the coming years.
“If we don’t have a storm this year and we don’t have another storm for another four our five years,” he said, “reinsurance rates (will go down),” taking premiums with it.
Despite the issues, experts said, widespread insolvency because of these issues is likely not on the horizon.
Earlier this year, the state’s property insurance industry was plagued by a ratings crisis as nearly 20 Florida insurers were threatened with decreases in their financial health ratings. Demotech Inc., one of the major insurance rating companies, said it was concerned with the companies’ ability to pay claims. It did not release the list companies potentially affected by the downgrades.
Several of these companies shed policies or merged with other more stable firms.
Tampa-based HCI Group, for example, agreed to absorb all 43,000 policies from St. Petersburg’s Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Demotech previously warned it would downgrade Anchor’s rating from an “A,” exceptional, to “M,” moderate.
The mergers and rate increases stabilized the Florida industry, the Insurance Information Institute’s Friedlander said
“There were some bumps in the road there, but it’s in a much better financial position than last year when we saw the ratings decreases,” he said.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/ ... heres-why/
Florida's property insurers are facing a number of industry-wide issues that are affecting their bottom lines.
Florida property insurance rates may spike, in part because of lingering Hurricane Irma claims.
By Malena Carollo
Published Aug. 17, 2020
Florida’s property insurance market is ready for hurricane season after a tumultuous start to the year. But ratepayers may be in for rougher seas.
Several Florida insurers filed for premium hikes ranging from 15 to a little more than 31 percent this summer. A number of trends within the property insurance market — including increased costs for reinsurance and the ongoing issue of water damage litigation — are driving up rates.
Despite the ballooning costs, experts said, Florida insurance companies are well positioned to handle storm claims this year.
“If you have insurance with a carrier in Florida, you are well-protected for the hurricane season,” said Mark Friedlander, Florida representative for nonpartisan industry group the Insurance Information Institute.
Nearly 10 insurers asked state insurance regulators for rate increases of at least 15 percent. Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty asked for a rate increase of just more than 31 percent. National Specialty Insurance Co. requested a 28 percent hike, while Capitol Preferred Insurance Co. asked for a 26 percent increase. National Specialty was approved, while Capitol Preferred and Southern Fidelity are still pending.
The leading cause of the premium increases was a spike in reinsurance prices.
Reinsurance is coverage insurance companies buy to help them pay claims, and it makes up a significant portion of customers’ premiums. This year, reinsurance prices jumped because of a shift in the market.
After the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street investors began putting money into insurance-linked securities. If there was a catastrophic event such as a hurricane, the funds would pay for claims, said Paul Handerhan, president of the Federal Association for Insurance Reform. This kept private insurers’ reinsurance prices low because they had to compete with the prices of the securities.
“That’s changed,” Handerhan said. “The market has tightened up. Some of that capital has receded, and you’ve seen the traditional reinsurers take this opportunity to try to recoup some of those profits.”
Storms were also a significant factor.
Under Florida law, claims for a named storm can be submitted for up to three years after it hits. Claims from Hurricanes Irma and Michael in particular have put pressure on insurers, Friedlander said. As of December 2019, the most recent data available, Hurricane Michael caused $7.9 billion in insured losses, while Hurricane Irma, according to claims data as of January 10, caused $17.4 billion in insured losses.
“There was a lot of claim activity particularly last year, two years out from (Hurricane Irma),” Friedlander said. “Those losses hit the books of these carriers.”
In June, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund increased the funds it expects to pay for Hurricane Irma claims from $6 billion to $6.5 billion, according to spokesman John Kuczwanski. The “Cat Fund” is a state-run trust fund that assists private insurers with paying claims after the industry pays $7.74 billion in claims.
Compounding these is a nearly decade-old issue insurers say they can’t shake: litigation stemming from water damage claims that aren’t related to storms. Insurers have long said that they face increasing costs from litigation over the disputed price of residential water damage repairs. The companies blame unscrupulous contractors and the lawyers who work with them for using the courts to garner attorney fees and higher prices for repairs that weren’t caused by hurricanes.
Citizens Property Insurance Co., the state-owned insurer of last resort, previously requested an 8.2 percent premium increase in December 2018 because of this issue, later downgrading it to a 2.3 percent hike. Legislation that went into effect last year curbs attorney fees for the litigation.
Michael Carlson, CEO of industry group the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, said lawsuits filed up until the law went into effect last July put pressure on insurers, as did a new burgeoning version of the issue.
“The problem is a structural problem in the property (insurance) market,” he said. “If it’s unchecked, it’ll be an increasing cost to the companies and it’ll be an increasing cost on customers who have to pay the premiums.”
When will ballooned rates come down? The Federal Association for Insurance Reform’s Handerhan said that depends on the number and size of claims over the coming years.
“If we don’t have a storm this year and we don’t have another storm for another four our five years,” he said, “reinsurance rates (will go down),” taking premiums with it.
Despite the issues, experts said, widespread insolvency because of these issues is likely not on the horizon.
Earlier this year, the state’s property insurance industry was plagued by a ratings crisis as nearly 20 Florida insurers were threatened with decreases in their financial health ratings. Demotech Inc., one of the major insurance rating companies, said it was concerned with the companies’ ability to pay claims. It did not release the list companies potentially affected by the downgrades.
Several of these companies shed policies or merged with other more stable firms.
Tampa-based HCI Group, for example, agreed to absorb all 43,000 policies from St. Petersburg’s Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Demotech previously warned it would downgrade Anchor’s rating from an “A,” exceptional, to “M,” moderate.
The mergers and rate increases stabilized the Florida industry, the Insurance Information Institute’s Friedlander said
“There were some bumps in the road there, but it’s in a much better financial position than last year when we saw the ratings decreases,” he said.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/ ... heres-why/
- I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you... -
We paid our house of in about 8 years by doubling down on payments and paying additional lump sums when possible. That saved a shitload of interest in the long term. Once it was paid off I told the insurance company to stick their $3000 premium up their ass. That has saved me over 30K since we dropped it. Never had a storm claim in the 20 years we have lived there either. If I did have a claim my so called insurance would have been with a 12K hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible is not based on the house value, it is based on the assigned rebuild value that the insurance company declares. Just another way to not pay claims, so why even have it?
Shop around for sure, Also make sure they are not over insuring you or have your deductibles super low. Remember they make a % off your premium. Like if they have your content property at $250k and you only have $100k of stuff. I just went through this same thing and turns out they were over insuring a rental I have. made them adjust it and save a ton of money.
we paid cash for our house in 2005, for a year or 2 I ran naked, no insurance, it wasn't till we went to remodel our bathroom and I noticed a wiring nightmare of orange extension cords, covered but open junction boxes with no wire nuts, etc...all from the previous owners half ass remodel, then in 08 we had the forest fire up here, I was on the roof with the sprinkler, the next day I ran ( 1 1/4 ) line off the well pump to 4 of the golf course sized sprinklers, thinking if we had to evacuate I could hook up the gen to the well and let it run for about 8 hours with water flowing over the roof....lesson learned, I called and got quotes that next week, I would hate to have a tragic loss due to something careless someone else did or un preventable act of god or some BS...I saved about $ 6 K, but in the end if we had a fire it wouldn't be worth it.gforester wrote: ↑Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:15 pm We paid our house of in about 8 years by doubling down on payments and paying additional lump sums when possible. That saved a shitload of interest in the long term. Once it was paid off I told the insurance company to stick their $3000 premium up their ass. That has saved me over 30K since we dropped it. Never had a storm claim in the 20 years we have lived there either. If I did have a claim my so called insurance would have been with a 12K hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible is not based on the house value, it is based on the assigned rebuild value that the insurance company declares. Just another way to not pay claims, so why even have it?
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better2have¬need
- Posts: 93
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:20 pm
- Location: Summerfield
One year back in the early 2000's I was sitting in my living room looking out the front door. It was open because the power was out, because a hurricane was headed my way, and I was watching the trees getting blown all over the place. I still remember thinking "well shit, I saved $500 this year by not having home insurance...but that $500 won't do much if I lose everything." That was a cheap starter house which I paid off, and my house now is paid off as well...I haven't been without home insurance since then.
I had State Farm when I got my house back in 2001, after 7yrs they non-renewed me with no claims. Hurricanes beat their ass, and they pulled out of Florida for homeowners, unless you were with them 20yrs or more. The agent sold the business, and the new owners tried to place me with Citizens, I'm miles away from the water. I called and got the run around, so I told them we were done doing business when the policy ended. Man did I get a long story after that. Called a friend of mine, who gave me a number of a new agent starting out. He had me insurance at half of Citizens in days.