Florida Residents

[cabinetman]

Its been in the news lately, this is a recent article.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/busi...proves_10.html

There's a link in the article for emailing comments. Wife and I are composing one this morning.

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[conwaygolfer]

Wife and I lived in the Fla. Keys from 1990 - 1997 and the insurance rates were one reason we decided to leave. After Andrew everyone got the shaft and apparently are still receiving it.

Too bad such an awesome place is almost unaffordable unless you are rich.

Conwaygolfer

[jackellis]

There's a similar problem with earthquake insurance in California. Deductibles are high and premiums are high. We considered the likelihood of an earthquake strong enough to cause more damage than the deductible would cover and decided it was not worth the cost. In the '89 quake, we had a few dishes get rattled, a file drawer front came off when the cabinet tipped over, and (worst of all) a fence was damaged when the neighbor's pool created a tiny tsunami.

Having lived in Florida, it seems to be the best defenses against storms are a) don't live too close to the beach, b) keep plywood or storm shutters on hand to protect windows, c) fix or replace your roof so it won't come off in the strongest winds you can imagine, c) make sure your house is concrete block rather than wood frame. at that point, the biggest threat becomes a tree that topples over.

The reason insurance is expensive down there is probably because too many homes are of substandard construction, so they're damaged more easily. A case of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Our place up here in the Sierras is designed to withstand a pretty strong earthquake with 100 tons of snow on the roof. It also has a fire-resistant exterior, tempered glass outer window panes, no roof soffets to suck in burning embers, and indoor sprinklers (which may be a bigger risk than the fires they are meant to protect against).

[cabinetman]

In a sense, Citizens, a State run agency, has no competition. It's like a JUA in that those that can't get insurance, can through Citizens. And since if there is an existing mortgage, it's a mandate that there is homeowners in effect. Most of the companies that still provide coverage don't accept homes that are over 50 years old. With Citizens, there is a premium increase (in our case) of 10% due to the age of the house.

The fact that they set their own rates is in a sense criminal, as homeowners have no alternative. They have all kinds of excuses for raising their rates, and as yet, I haven't seen a profit/loss statement from them. Justifications for increases should be based on those facts that are public record.

I don't know what the mean income is for Florida residents, but even @ $40K-$50K, their homeowners is approximately 10% of what they make.

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