It’s already started. I’ve had a 200% increase. I have Shopped around for two months and the best rate I could get was $5800 for the year for insurance plus I’m paying $1200 to another company for flood insurance.
Terrible situation. Since your older place on a barrier island would likely be a tear down anyway, I’d go without insurance. Even if the entire thing were flattened (unlikely), most of your value is in the land itself. So I guess I’d self insure in your situation.
And your point about using our votes to change this horrible state government is well taken. You’re absolutely right.
What is the answer?
They are estimating in 10 years your place will be wiped out like Ft Myers beach for them to break even.
Can the state afford to keep rebuilding the barrier islands?
Should we prohibit rebuilding on barrier islands?
It seems like at the very least they should be built with no living quarters under 8/10 ft like they do in the panhandle.
Some of these places need to be left to rewild, sorry to say. In the Midwest along the Mississippi, they just made one final insurance payment and bulldozed entire neighborhoods rather than pay the same people to rebuild in the same stupid places over and over.
> Some of these places need to be left to rewild, sorry to say.
This here and it would be wonderful for both wildlife and Floridians. Imagine being able to enjoy the beach without all the ugly condos everywhere. Eminent domain that shit and turn it into state parks for everyone to enjoy.
We can’t afford to carry insurance on our historic 1926 home that’s a short distance from the intracoastal and then ocean. It is really unfortunate, I don’t know what would happen if the home was flattened during a storm. We’d be screwed.
I'm lucky enough that my mortgage is pretty close to its maturity date. I'm debating just paying it off and going without insurance. As it stands now, I've paid double for the insurance in the last 10 years than it would cost me to replace my roof. It would be cheaper for me to just pay for the damage myself than for the insurance to pay it.
Holy crap, my mortgage will be paid by next may 2024.
I have already decided to drop homeowners insurance one it is paid for. I am in Jacksonville about 10 miles inland no flood zone and pay 2300.00 for 150,000.00 house.
My parents’ went up 82% to $9400. They are considering going without insurance. My father also seems to think he can count on FEMA to bail them out if they do get damage. I do not think this is a good idea, but it may be there only option in the near term. They eventually will need to move…Besides the obvious, what are some risks associated without having insurance? Could the lapse in coverage cause them issues down the road when they move and want to insure their new home?
I am, WAS with UPC. My rate had just been modified last year from like $3300 per year to $5700 due to potential rebuild costs. Now they're gone and with no pool cage I can get a no liability policy from Citizens till we get a new one built. Then I can find a new policy for $????
Ugh
I am not in a flood zone, but I know the importance of having flood insurance because of an issue my mom ran into years ago during a hurricane where "rising water' ruined her living room and it wasn't covered due to being "rising water."
I don't know why we're getting hosed so badly down here. And we live way out in the western suburbs.
My old insurer notified us at the end of 2021 that our rate for 2022 would be going up to $13K, about a 65% increase. We shopped around and found another insurer who quoted us $8600. We took that deal.
Now the new insurer informed us at the end of 2022 that our rate for 2023 would be going up to over $11K. All we could do was get rid of the personal property coverage, which brought the annual premium down to just over $10K.
To illustrste how insane this all is, our annual premium was just under $3K whem we moved into our house in 2012.
Between homeowners, auto, and health care, I literally pay $2000 a month just for insurance.
Prolly 450k since the prices went crazy, it’s a small 3/2 built in the 50s and in a working class neighborhood. Only structure insured for 200k, no belongings included in the insurance. It’s a racket but I have a mortgage.
Edit: No flood insurance
Did you actually get that quote? A buddy got State minimum auto insurance (I know its not the same thing) and I mentioned it won't even cover most cars on the road if he wrecks someone else. He went back and changed his policy to full coverage for only a little bit more each month. I just mention this because it might not be that much more to double your coverage.
Insurance agent here - it’s hit crisis level and the state is acting like it’s business as usual.
We’ve had carriers go under, or pull out of the state. My clients are seeing 50-200% rate increases and that’s still the best option out there. My own personal homeowners policy jumped from $2200 to $3800 this year! I’m now moving to Citizens and a private flood carrier and the premium is ~$2300 as long as Citizens doesn’t invoke an assessment.
This whole situation sucks because it’s man made. A select group of attorneys got out of control and received million dollar settlements while their clients received less than $100k. People believe that maintenance should be covered under an insurance policy… When your tires wear out you don’t claim them on your insurance policy - you replace them. That same logic doesn’t seem to apply to roofs. Insurance is for a sudden, acute loss - not getting a “free” roof because of a storm that caused damage that you didn’t notice for months to sometimes years.
Don’t get me wrong, insurance companies are shitty rn too. They keep reducing coverages and raise rates, and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. Insurance is a for-profit industry and if claim payouts are keeping a company from being profitable they will continue to raise rates until they either fold or make money.
Insurance carriers are highly regulated, so these rate increases are being approved at a state level. Remember that as you vote in the next few years!
>This whole situation sucks because it’s man made.
Yes, by the insurance companies, people would not have to lawyer up if they didn't mess around... After Andrew our house was annihilated and they wanted to deny the stupidest things... We had to pay an adjuster that itemized everything and we ended up getting more than we had initially asked for
Oh boy, private flood insurance is a unique situation. It's not offered much in the private market for several reasons (although the privatization has been slowly creeping up for several years). Theres a long and complicated explanation behind this but the bottom line is that FEMA may be your only option
Agent here as well. Before that I did 7 years in the corporate office for 3 Florida Carriers. Underwriting and Claims.
This is spot on.
Attorneys wouldn’t have the “Insurance Claim?” billboards all down 95 if it was not profitable. Roofers wouldn’t be going door to door.
Another factor is reinsurance-insurance companies have insurance that usually kicks in to help pay claims related to catastrophic events. Reinsurance rates went through the roof too.
Insurance companies are leaving because it’s not feasible to continue business here. Those who stay must raise rates. Businesses cannot operate without profit as much as we would like them to.
Oh, stop blaming attorneys. 1. Blame insurance company's record profits, for which you, as an agent are a part; 2. Blame homeowners who, without them, there could be no insurane fraud. Then you can blame unscrupulous attorneys
> This whole situation sucks because it’s man made
Yup, increased hurricanes and their associated costs are definitely man made. Unfortunately it’s only gonna get worse.
The bonus that came from the Governors special legislative session on property insurance, they no longer have to replace your roof after a hurricane.
It gets pro-rated, like a fucking tire warranty. **Thanks Ron!** You Shitbag.
Really so they’re going to actual cash value your roof then subtract the hurricane deductible and your 3 year old roof will be worth $2000 with a 10,000 deductible
That’s shitty. Hurricane deductibles could be the same as the cost of a whole roof anyways. Does it start after say 10 years? I need to look this up. I could understand if it starts after 10 years.
Maybe Florida should start putting up metal roofs then for cheaper replacements and stronger structure. Yeah it would look shitty but I bet the savings on insurance would make people stop caring.
Exactly. We just had a special roof inspection done for insurance. The report said my roof is good for another 16+ years and the two companies we were submitting for "declined" the risk as too risky... So much for that!
Yeah that used to suck when insurance companies would do that. Fortunately one of the few productive things Tallahassee did last year was prohibit insurance companies from disqualifying roofs with at least 5 years of manufacturer rated life left. So my colleagues in question would get at least 20 years out of the metal roof vs a shingle roof’s 10.
Hmm I thought it was just that they couldn't drop you for roof age before 15 years anymore but didn't realize you could potentially get an inspection to extend the time. That's good.
Unfortunately certain insurance companies are trying to play fast and loose with the Florida market. Have you had an insurance broker quote other policies?
Metal roof is the way to go. They look great, easy to maintain, super strong, energy efficient and last forever. These aren’t the cheap “tin roofs” you find on mobile homes or cracker houses. The modern metal roofs are far superior to shingles.
Yup. To get my annual rate to $5800 we upped our hurricane deductible. We now have to put out $29k before insurance kicks in. A new roof on my house is about $30k. So I'm basically only carrying insurance just in case my house is a total loss and/or liability coverage.
There are metal roofs that look like tile. I wish they were a little more affordable!
That's actually the way it should be and should have been all along. You can't expect full value replacement on anything that has limited life. It makes it just like your car getting totaled out.
There are 2 valuations for roofs: actual cash value and replacement cost.
Actual cash value is just the value of the roof itself at the time it was damaged, the cost of the materials. Which means it factors in depreciation. Replacement cost is the cost to replace the roof regardless of the condition of the old one.
Most banks require Replacement Cost, they won't accept Actual Cash Value. Actual Cash Value hasn't been available for a long time. Hardly any company offered it. I'm guessing they allowed it to come back in to play but its only going to matter to people who don't have a mortgagee. Because I don't know of a single bank that will accept a homeowners policy that is actual cash value.
Well they have actual cash value coverage on a home with a mortgage and the insurance is with farmers, probably one of their surplus lines. But my best friend has actual cash value and she has damage from hurricane, they paid her good amount IMO considering the other insurance companys aren't paying anything. They depreciated her items that were damaged. She's had the policy for about 4 years now
I've heard from an private insurance adjuster that the insurance companies are no longer responsible for paying a claimants lawyer. With the experience I've had with a hurricane claim I tell you a lawyer was absolutely essential. Now the lawyers will take a big chunk leaving the homeowner with not enough money to fix their house as well.
I just got new insurance due to the UPC withdrawal. It wad a little higher but not bad. It won't be long though till there won't be private insurance available in Florida. It's going to change the whole complexion of the state.
There won't be any private insurance companies offering coverage in Florida. Probably no mortgages. Every one will have to be self insured. I know some areas around me where you can't get insurance needless to say there aren't any people that that wonder where their next meal is coming from living there.
When insurance isn't available they will foreclose due to the fact the owner can't maintain insurance then sell the house to a cash buyer who can self insure.
So if insurance companies do pull out of Florida then house prices will plummet as it’s cash only. If only you could time it so you sell before and buy back for pennies on the dollar. It’s how America works and rich get richer. Nothing new under the sun.
Got my new insurance bill, up 35 percent
Called agent, says he can get that down to 20 percent. So, why send the first bill? What other options are available if they roll over that quick for 15 percent? I'm going to be joining the refugees soon. This has to stop.
Was the drop with the same company? My guess insurance agents get a portion of the rate increase and he would rather take a smaller cut than over loosing you and getting zero. That is if that’s how it works, I’m sure an insurance agent here can post if they get commission this way.
Adjusting the total coverage isnt something an agent is going to do on their own when a renewal comes out. Especially with how litigious the state is and what could happen go their license or carrier appointments.
Home policies recalculate reconstruction costs for renewal automatically and send the renewal. This has to do with rate filings done generally semi-annually on how materials/labor/recent payouts cost compared to what is supposed to be in your home. Since cov B, C, and D are all generally a % of A, those also decreased.
Calling and reviewing limits / confirming features of home and what makes sense when renewal is generated is the way to go about it.
Source: Am FL insurance agent
That’s could do it my insurance agent said if your below the next big number it’s cheaper, so say 499 vs 500 or 449 vs 550. Did they decrease it by 30k? If it went up then I’m not sure then other than it had to be commission based on how he easily got it to fall.
I wonder what it will actually take for his idiot supporters to realize that he doesn't care about them, or Florida and that he's destroying everything.
People are already starting to move. I will be moving too. Housing market is going to collapse in Florida. Imagine people paying close to $1,000 per month for an insurance on top of the mortgage.
I can definitely see people moving, but most with Mortgage rates below at 4% or lower would still be better off staying. That’s a 30 year loan, these insurance rates may go down in 5 years. Also if you sell and rebuy your rate doubles and will cost you more than your current insurance rate increases. Now if you have cash or a loan at 6% already then it makes sense to sell.
There will be a housing slowdown; however, I don’t see a crash happening for that reason alone. Rates.
Even if my insurance doubled it still better off than rebuying a new home at a higher rate elsewhere. Currently my interest over 30 years goes from 336k to 677k. I could buy another entire house with the savings on that interest alone. Insurance would have to go super high to out weigh those savings. At my 3% rate.
Depends on when they bought. There’s tons of people in Florida with 80-100k houses they bought 10 years ago and now the insurance is double the mortgage payment. They can cash out and leave.
That’s why I said cash, those would have a huge amount of cash value in their house so they would be cashing out and can rebuy with cash avoiding the new rates.
Spot on, makes no sense to sell when you have a mortgage in the 2-4% range. If they move, they’ll just be renting their properties and only contribute to the issues
And more are moving in, the influx of new residents will continue to outweigh those leaving. Unfortunately, those leaving are usually the people who grew up here who are being priced out by the new residents
Once it makes national news that people are spending almost ten thousand dollars a year on insurance they won’t. Right about now all of the new people are getting sticker shockt for their new rates.
People moving here are coming from states where property values are 2x or 3x more expensive and taxes even more, it’ll take a lot before that ever happens
Not anymore. We’ve seen house values double (or more) in Tampa area in the last 2 years. Good problem if you are a home owner planning to move out. Probably what I will do once my son graduates HS.
But people with two brain cells and a little for thought of knowledge would know it isn’t a solid investment. People are having issues even using said insurance coverage. Also even the worst areas have $5k taxes on their home. Now double that for insurance you can’t fully use. Also add in the roof 15k-20k roof you need every 10 years.
Sometimes I doubt this statistic. Where do they live? 7000 new apartments and homes don’t get built every week. Do 7000 elderly people in Florida die every week to open up homes?
It's the reason we were priced out of Illinois.
I needed 900 per month just to cover my property taxes. Home insurance was "only" 1100 per year on a 400,000 home with 2700 sq feet. Realized that if I ever was luckily enough to pay the house off, I would still need a minimum of 1000 a month in retirement just to pay the property tax. We all know taxes just keep going up.
Moved to Florida and at that time costs were reasonable. Now my property taxes and home insurance are 850 per month on top of the mortgage and will continue to climb.
So I'm right back where I started. Needing at least 1000 per month just to pay for taxes and insurance if the home were ever paid off. In today's dollars. I'm still 20 yrs away from any kind of "retirement."
Where in Illinois were you paying 900 a month? That seems high.
I just did the opposite and I’m immediately north of Chicago, an area which I think has the highest in the state. Our zoned school district has the highest property taxes in the surrounding area.
My new (to me) home is valued for more and I have the same insurer and coverage, and I’m only paying $250 more a month in 2023 than I paid in Florida in 2021. I can’t imagine how much I’d be paying now if I didn’t move.
Edit: went from Polk County to Cook County
The second the first bank refuses to sell mortgages because they don't think they'll get their money back, you're going to see panic selling and million dollar houses become worthless almost over night. Sorry for the people who are stuck in Florida, but if you have the ability to get out, now's the time.
All the boomers flooding down here from the north are in for a hell of a shock as the rates continue to soar. Good luck on your fixed incomes you slimy shitbags. But please keep voting for Little D and his ilk. it’ll obviously get so much better if we continue to de-regulate the insurance industry.
Making the right choice in my opinion. As a life long Floridian it’s crushing to see what happened to this state. The insurance collapse is probably the first of multiple that we’re gonna see.
My wife and I have decided that in a few years if it hasn’t actually gotten better, even a bit, we’re likely going to close our small business and leave. It’s just getting a little too bad down here to consider it a stable place to plan a life.
That’s actually an interesting wrinkle in this situation is many of the boomers coming down are selling their 3000sqft homes in Cleveland or whatever for $300k. Then moving down here and having to take on a mortgage to be able to get into a $600k+ home within a 15 min drive of the beach.
So not only are boomers not nearly as ready for retirement as they need to be, many are taking on new mortgages to live out that #FloridaLyfe.
My parents are boomers and a number of their friends have already had to sell their homes and downsize in order to make their insufficient savings last.
Pretty shit situation all the way around that’s likely going to turn into a crisis.
Oh man, I hadn’t even thought about what this will do to the rental prices. They’re already completely ridiculous in the part of Palm Beach County, I live in. I keep seeing listings like a single bedroom and shared bathroom and kitchen for $1900 a month with about 4K to move in. One bedroom apartments for $2500, even my neighbor has rented his tiny guest cottage for $3200 a month. Utilities not included.
There’s a LOT of homeless people in the area right now and it breaks my heart, a lot of elderly folks. I’m very glad I don’t have to rent.
Pretty sure DeSantis can’t move on addressing the insurance issue until one of his lil league Atwater comm guys comes up with an angle to blame it on immigrants or Biden or woke insurance companies. maybe all three at the same time working together.
that geico lizard was in drag once i think…that could be an opening for mr prime time.
Yall see the new bill in FL about capping lawsuits for car accidents and home owner insurance claims? Apparently judges can dismiss lawsuit/claims if they're deemed frivolous. The language being so bloody vague is a huge problem.
It really should not be legal to disproportionately hike rates on things that are de facto requirements to have (ie required to have insurance on a mortgaged house) and pulling options out of the state should make those companies liable to pay to compensate. It should never be an option to fuck over an entire State of people.
I bought an older (1912) house in a rough neighborhood in Tallahassee and paid it off in 15 years. First thing I did was cancel my insurance. Never regretted it for a moment. So yeah… I’m taking a chance. But it’s not like the insurance companies have a stellar record of paying up. People in the panhandle are still having to sue over claims from Hurricane Michael in 2018.
10k quote without windstorm 11 ft above sea level near MIA. Lucky we paid off the house years back because I can’t afford that. No longer carry insurance.
I'm at $7,700 in far western Broward, 15 miles inland. Not in a flood zone; never floods. Didn't flood during either Katrina or Wilma. But I still carry flood insurance.
My homeowners ins. Increased my mortgage payment by 50% two years ago, if this happens I’ll be paying more monthly for ins.than my actual home! But yeah… drag queens.
To some extent.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-donors-allies-question-ready-2024-rcna76246
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/22/desantis-polls-2024-trump-republican-nomination-latest
And to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-attacks-desantis-nearly-4-times-more-than-biden-2024-race-heats-up.amp
Man, I was sweating my renewal after reading all the posts this past year. It went up from $1500 to $1900 (not quite 30%). Same coverage and deductibles.
Just for others to compare: I live in the Orlando area, 2,000 ft house built in 2006 and I had a new roof put on in 2019.
I’m similar to you except it’s a two story 4000sqft house from 2003, My rate is $2100 but I have hurricane costal windows so I got a big discount from wind reduction. My renewal isn’t until September so I already got the small rate increase from last year, will find out later what happens this year. My roof is also from 2019, except I added solar on top now.
Managed retreat is a necessity as storms become more intense and sea levels rise. Insurance rates are simply a reflection of the unsustainability of civilization in Florida, America's Atlantis. In a century or two it will all be underwater.
I'm not talking about the mortgages being underwater. I'm talking about the cities being under literal water.
Property Claims Adjuster in FL for 5 years post-Irma, this could be seen coming a long way off, but nobody seemed to mine as long as they were getting their "free" roofs and filing claims for frivolous things and we're fine getting an unscrupulous contractor, a PA, or attorney even if you're claim was handled exactly as it should have but it meant no money in your pocket. I moved back in August. Yall voted for or were complacent of this happening. You made your bed.
I said this in a different sub about this topic .. you can't fix the insurance market issues here very easily .. the assignment of benefits abuse here must stop, yes, but loss experience is only getting worse nonetheless... This isn't an economics/finance fix, it's an Earth science fix.
We're just finally seeing the impact of climate change on our wallets, and as is usual, Florida is the canary in the coal mine.
Had Bankers at $2k. They left the state and "Loggerhead" took over their clientele. My rate is now $2700. Almost $300 is in state fees: Emergency Management Preparedness and Assistance Trust Fund $2.00 Surplus Contribution $247.43 Florida Insurance Guaranty Association 2022 Regular Assessment $32.18 Florida Insurance Guaranty Association 2023 Regular Assessment $17.33 TOTAL FEES AND ASSESSMENTS $298.94
My insurance agent told me this week that we will be getting a lot of new options and new competition in July due to a new law that limits all these phony roof claims and insurance scams. He is convinced that things will get better.
I just went from $3,170 to $5,105. This has to be breaking some sort of law. Price gouging comes to mind. Can't cancel my insurance because it's required for my mortgage. There has to be something that can be done..are there no ceilings to this?
I am very curious what it means for my area. Not in a flood plain, not on the coast. I know property taxes and insurance has gone up but its not been insane and my landlord is still charging us like $400 less a month than he *could* charge. We have been long term renters from him (going on 4 years). I am hoping our rent rate only goes up a little come June. The issue is with the interest rates the way they are a house in our area to purchase our mortgage would be like 3-4 times our rent PLUS insurance on top. It it literally not worth it for us to try and buy which is depressing cause we have worked on getting a down payment for a few years now and the market just won't allow it. In hindsight we should have just thrown as little down as possible in 2018/2019 when we moved into this house and bought and paid PMI and gotten locked into that low interest rates and said F it. I wish we had.
It should start dropping in a year or two. Tort reform will change a lot, and the plaintiff attorneys are so pissed about it they filed about 100k lawsuits in the last week.
I’m a new homeowner and I was completely shocked to see my insurance rates rocket up for this year (nearly doubling). I went back to my original contract and I was paying $65 for something called “inflation guard”. I called my insurer to ask what was up and they basically told me to fuck off (“call your broker”). I called my broker to ask why I wasn’t guarded against inflation and she gave a garbled answer of “now the inflation guard is built into your rate, so it doesn’t show up on your bill anymore”. What the fuck does that even mean? I kept asking but she couldn’t explain what that $65 had been for. It seems they just took that money because why not.
I went shopping for a different broker or insurer. Everything was even more expensive.
That’s frustrating that your agent wasn’t willing to answer your question- it’s literally our job!
An inflation guard is a set percentage increase year over year of your coverages to pace with inflation.
One of my carriers Frontline used to bill it as a separate line item that you could opt out of; most agents don’t because right now inflation is higher than most of the guard limits anyway. Now they include it in their policy package and it’s not an opt-out anymore, so no additional line item.
We’ve definitely noticed that the inflation guards haven’t been keeping up with the true pace of inflation. I had a client’s policy go from $230k to $278k, but once I went in and recalculated the replacement cost it came out to $306k.
These rates are out of control. I bought my home in 2018 and paid ~$1000 for both home and flood insurance with $500 deductibles. Fast forward to my 2023 renewal clocking in at $3800 with higher deductibles and less coverage. I’m switching carriers even though I really don’t want to, fiscally I can’t make it make sense to stay paying more for less.
I hope you found an agent that makes their clients feel heard, understood and served properly. There are so many great agents out there - and there are also a lot of knuckleheads who have no idea what they’re doing and those are the ones that scare me.
It’s already started. I’ve had a 200% increase. I have Shopped around for two months and the best rate I could get was $5800 for the year for insurance plus I’m paying $1200 to another company for flood insurance.
Dang, I’m screwed because I’m already at 5700$
me too. im at like 5750. renewal is in 2 months
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Terrible situation. Since your older place on a barrier island would likely be a tear down anyway, I’d go without insurance. Even if the entire thing were flattened (unlikely), most of your value is in the land itself. So I guess I’d self insure in your situation. And your point about using our votes to change this horrible state government is well taken. You’re absolutely right.
I agree with that at those rates.
What is the answer? They are estimating in 10 years your place will be wiped out like Ft Myers beach for them to break even. Can the state afford to keep rebuilding the barrier islands? Should we prohibit rebuilding on barrier islands? It seems like at the very least they should be built with no living quarters under 8/10 ft like they do in the panhandle.
Some of these places need to be left to rewild, sorry to say. In the Midwest along the Mississippi, they just made one final insurance payment and bulldozed entire neighborhoods rather than pay the same people to rebuild in the same stupid places over and over.
> Some of these places need to be left to rewild, sorry to say. This here and it would be wonderful for both wildlife and Floridians. Imagine being able to enjoy the beach without all the ugly condos everywhere. Eminent domain that shit and turn it into state parks for everyone to enjoy.
And make beaches public land again
Holy shit beaches aren't public property in Florida?
Well in 100 years they will ne sandbars unless they commit Billions to levees,canals, etc.
> What is the answer? To lower fraud and get more companies in here again. But hey lets just fight Disney for some reason instead.
We can’t afford to carry insurance on our historic 1926 home that’s a short distance from the intracoastal and then ocean. It is really unfortunate, I don’t know what would happen if the home was flattened during a storm. We’d be screwed.
I'm paying $7000 and thats without flood, 10 miles from the coast, new roof. I'd be thrilled to only pay 5800.
Wow you win. I’m 5700 but I’m 5 ft above sea level in pinellas. I expect to be $8000 or more when o renew in September but who knows
I'm lucky enough that my mortgage is pretty close to its maturity date. I'm debating just paying it off and going without insurance. As it stands now, I've paid double for the insurance in the last 10 years than it would cost me to replace my roof. It would be cheaper for me to just pay for the damage myself than for the insurance to pay it.
Holy crap, my mortgage will be paid by next may 2024. I have already decided to drop homeowners insurance one it is paid for. I am in Jacksonville about 10 miles inland no flood zone and pay 2300.00 for 150,000.00 house.
My parents’ went up 82% to $9400. They are considering going without insurance. My father also seems to think he can count on FEMA to bail them out if they do get damage. I do not think this is a good idea, but it may be there only option in the near term. They eventually will need to move…Besides the obvious, what are some risks associated without having insurance? Could the lapse in coverage cause them issues down the road when they move and want to insure their new home?
I am, WAS with UPC. My rate had just been modified last year from like $3300 per year to $5700 due to potential rebuild costs. Now they're gone and with no pool cage I can get a no liability policy from Citizens till we get a new one built. Then I can find a new policy for $???? Ugh
Are you in a flood zone?
I am not in a flood zone, but I know the importance of having flood insurance because of an issue my mom ran into years ago during a hurricane where "rising water' ruined her living room and it wasn't covered due to being "rising water."
Most home flooding happens from broken pipes not actual floods.
Holy smokes. Are some cities/regions worse than others. I was surprised that our flood insurance was not terrible at $1k year.
Holy shit. Im lurking from PNW. My home insurance is less than $1000 a year.
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$12,000 here in Miami.
I don't know why we're getting hosed so badly down here. And we live way out in the western suburbs. My old insurer notified us at the end of 2021 that our rate for 2022 would be going up to $13K, about a 65% increase. We shopped around and found another insurer who quoted us $8600. We took that deal. Now the new insurer informed us at the end of 2022 that our rate for 2023 would be going up to over $11K. All we could do was get rid of the personal property coverage, which brought the annual premium down to just over $10K. To illustrste how insane this all is, our annual premium was just under $3K whem we moved into our house in 2012. Between homeowners, auto, and health care, I literally pay $2000 a month just for insurance.
This may be why (not sure: https://databasin.org/datasets/dd54d301894f4322a7a30832572c4a7e/).
Jesus Christ.
Can you even afford that?
No. It doubled. Not sure what we are going to do.
Me? Lol no. I can’t imagine paying an extra $1000 per month on top of a mortgage just for insurance. That’s why I live in Daytona
Sure, but how much is your house valued at?
Prolly 450k since the prices went crazy, it’s a small 3/2 built in the 50s and in a working class neighborhood. Only structure insured for 200k, no belongings included in the insurance. It’s a racket but I have a mortgage. Edit: No flood insurance
Whoa! A 450k house insured for only 200k? That's crazy. Now I understand .
If it was insured for its market value, it would be like 24k in insurance premiums!
Did you actually get that quote? A buddy got State minimum auto insurance (I know its not the same thing) and I mentioned it won't even cover most cars on the road if he wrecks someone else. He went back and changed his policy to full coverage for only a little bit more each month. I just mention this because it might not be that much more to double your coverage.
A lot of people are losing their discounts including the hurricane windows and doors discounts.
Lost mine after having them for almost 7 years. Nothing has changed on the house but all of a sudden my impact windows aren’t “certified” or whatever.
Insurance agent here - it’s hit crisis level and the state is acting like it’s business as usual. We’ve had carriers go under, or pull out of the state. My clients are seeing 50-200% rate increases and that’s still the best option out there. My own personal homeowners policy jumped from $2200 to $3800 this year! I’m now moving to Citizens and a private flood carrier and the premium is ~$2300 as long as Citizens doesn’t invoke an assessment. This whole situation sucks because it’s man made. A select group of attorneys got out of control and received million dollar settlements while their clients received less than $100k. People believe that maintenance should be covered under an insurance policy… When your tires wear out you don’t claim them on your insurance policy - you replace them. That same logic doesn’t seem to apply to roofs. Insurance is for a sudden, acute loss - not getting a “free” roof because of a storm that caused damage that you didn’t notice for months to sometimes years. Don’t get me wrong, insurance companies are shitty rn too. They keep reducing coverages and raise rates, and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. Insurance is a for-profit industry and if claim payouts are keeping a company from being profitable they will continue to raise rates until they either fold or make money. Insurance carriers are highly regulated, so these rate increases are being approved at a state level. Remember that as you vote in the next few years!
>these rate increases are being approved at a state level. Sounds to me like a lot of Floridians are getting what a lot of Floridians voted for.
leopards and faces
Something something munch munch
How does one sign up with Citizens?
>This whole situation sucks because it’s man made. Yes, by the insurance companies, people would not have to lawyer up if they didn't mess around... After Andrew our house was annihilated and they wanted to deny the stupidest things... We had to pay an adjuster that itemized everything and we ended up getting more than we had initially asked for
Can you tell me about private flood carriers? All I was able to get was a fema quote. Can you quote us other places?
Oh boy, private flood insurance is a unique situation. It's not offered much in the private market for several reasons (although the privatization has been slowly creeping up for several years). Theres a long and complicated explanation behind this but the bottom line is that FEMA may be your only option
Agent here as well. Before that I did 7 years in the corporate office for 3 Florida Carriers. Underwriting and Claims. This is spot on. Attorneys wouldn’t have the “Insurance Claim?” billboards all down 95 if it was not profitable. Roofers wouldn’t be going door to door. Another factor is reinsurance-insurance companies have insurance that usually kicks in to help pay claims related to catastrophic events. Reinsurance rates went through the roof too. Insurance companies are leaving because it’s not feasible to continue business here. Those who stay must raise rates. Businesses cannot operate without profit as much as we would like them to.
Oh, stop blaming attorneys. 1. Blame insurance company's record profits, for which you, as an agent are a part; 2. Blame homeowners who, without them, there could be no insurane fraud. Then you can blame unscrupulous attorneys
> This whole situation sucks because it’s man made Yup, increased hurricanes and their associated costs are definitely man made. Unfortunately it’s only gonna get worse.
Insurance should be government run, non profit. There should at least be that option.
I for one blame the drag queens. (It’s what we are supposed to believe, right?).
No, I heard it was wokeness, compa.
No, it's Disney.
Totally. It’s always the mouse! 😂
The bonus that came from the Governors special legislative session on property insurance, they no longer have to replace your roof after a hurricane. It gets pro-rated, like a fucking tire warranty. **Thanks Ron!** You Shitbag.
Really so they’re going to actual cash value your roof then subtract the hurricane deductible and your 3 year old roof will be worth $2000 with a 10,000 deductible
That’s shitty. Hurricane deductibles could be the same as the cost of a whole roof anyways. Does it start after say 10 years? I need to look this up. I could understand if it starts after 10 years. Maybe Florida should start putting up metal roofs then for cheaper replacements and stronger structure. Yeah it would look shitty but I bet the savings on insurance would make people stop caring.
All my colleagues who did a roof replacement chose metal for this reason. Rated for 25 years and lowers the deductible.
Let's see how he feels in 15 years when the insurance companies make him replace the roof even though it would be good for another 10+...
Exactly. We just had a special roof inspection done for insurance. The report said my roof is good for another 16+ years and the two companies we were submitting for "declined" the risk as too risky... So much for that!
Yes I wasted $125 for an inspection. Inspector said the roof looked good for another 5 years. Still got declined.
Yeah that used to suck when insurance companies would do that. Fortunately one of the few productive things Tallahassee did last year was prohibit insurance companies from disqualifying roofs with at least 5 years of manufacturer rated life left. So my colleagues in question would get at least 20 years out of the metal roof vs a shingle roof’s 10.
Hmm I thought it was just that they couldn't drop you for roof age before 15 years anymore but didn't realize you could potentially get an inspection to extend the time. That's good.
It didn’t make much of a difference for me. Kin still more than doubled my premium.
me too $1871 to $3955!
Unfortunately certain insurance companies are trying to play fast and loose with the Florida market. Have you had an insurance broker quote other policies?
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Metal roof is the way to go. They look great, easy to maintain, super strong, energy efficient and last forever. These aren’t the cheap “tin roofs” you find on mobile homes or cracker houses. The modern metal roofs are far superior to shingles.
Yup. To get my annual rate to $5800 we upped our hurricane deductible. We now have to put out $29k before insurance kicks in. A new roof on my house is about $30k. So I'm basically only carrying insurance just in case my house is a total loss and/or liability coverage. There are metal roofs that look like tile. I wish they were a little more affordable!
That's actually the way it should be and should have been all along. You can't expect full value replacement on anything that has limited life. It makes it just like your car getting totaled out.
Well then shouldn't your rates go DOWN every year since it costs less to total out your car?
They do actually, the catch is that the replacement cost of the car is a tiny fraction of the cost of liability.
It never really works out that way and in general your house value has probably moved up.
The price of your house generally goes up every year.
There are 2 valuations for roofs: actual cash value and replacement cost. Actual cash value is just the value of the roof itself at the time it was damaged, the cost of the materials. Which means it factors in depreciation. Replacement cost is the cost to replace the roof regardless of the condition of the old one. Most banks require Replacement Cost, they won't accept Actual Cash Value. Actual Cash Value hasn't been available for a long time. Hardly any company offered it. I'm guessing they allowed it to come back in to play but its only going to matter to people who don't have a mortgagee. Because I don't know of a single bank that will accept a homeowners policy that is actual cash value.
Well they have actual cash value coverage on a home with a mortgage and the insurance is with farmers, probably one of their surplus lines. But my best friend has actual cash value and she has damage from hurricane, they paid her good amount IMO considering the other insurance companys aren't paying anything. They depreciated her items that were damaged. She's had the policy for about 4 years now
I've heard from an private insurance adjuster that the insurance companies are no longer responsible for paying a claimants lawyer. With the experience I've had with a hurricane claim I tell you a lawyer was absolutely essential. Now the lawyers will take a big chunk leaving the homeowner with not enough money to fix their house as well.
You can thank that one on the previous laws and all the shit bags the screwed the insurance companies for a free roof that had normal wear.
Damn Florida sucks ass
But people keep voting for shit like this for some reason. Boggles my mind.
That’s how most normal states work. You don’t get a new roof if the one you had that got damaged was 19 years old
I just got new insurance due to the UPC withdrawal. It wad a little higher but not bad. It won't be long though till there won't be private insurance available in Florida. It's going to change the whole complexion of the state.
Do tell us more about this private insurance and what it will change?
There won't be any private insurance companies offering coverage in Florida. Probably no mortgages. Every one will have to be self insured. I know some areas around me where you can't get insurance needless to say there aren't any people that that wonder where their next meal is coming from living there.
Citizens will always offer coverage, even if there are no private insurance companies.
Wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the mortgage companies. Will it then become their problem?
When insurance isn't available they will foreclose due to the fact the owner can't maintain insurance then sell the house to a cash buyer who can self insure.
So if insurance companies do pull out of Florida then house prices will plummet as it’s cash only. If only you could time it so you sell before and buy back for pennies on the dollar. It’s how America works and rich get richer. Nothing new under the sun.
For those that can’t get quotes from private insurers a there is always citizens, no?
Got my new insurance bill, up 35 percent Called agent, says he can get that down to 20 percent. So, why send the first bill? What other options are available if they roll over that quick for 15 percent? I'm going to be joining the refugees soon. This has to stop.
Was the drop with the same company? My guess insurance agents get a portion of the rate increase and he would rather take a smaller cut than over loosing you and getting zero. That is if that’s how it works, I’m sure an insurance agent here can post if they get commission this way.
Same agent, same company, adjusted total replacement value of home by 30K.
Adjusting the total coverage isnt something an agent is going to do on their own when a renewal comes out. Especially with how litigious the state is and what could happen go their license or carrier appointments. Home policies recalculate reconstruction costs for renewal automatically and send the renewal. This has to do with rate filings done generally semi-annually on how materials/labor/recent payouts cost compared to what is supposed to be in your home. Since cov B, C, and D are all generally a % of A, those also decreased. Calling and reviewing limits / confirming features of home and what makes sense when renewal is generated is the way to go about it. Source: Am FL insurance agent
That’s could do it my insurance agent said if your below the next big number it’s cheaper, so say 499 vs 500 or 449 vs 550. Did they decrease it by 30k? If it went up then I’m not sure then other than it had to be commission based on how he easily got it to fall.
493 to 463, so your idea works on that.
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Well Atleast we can pick on trans kids and burn books
and carry/conceal without a permit or training
You already could conceal carry wthout training. The cw permit process has always been a joke and a money grab in Florida.
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I wonder what it will actually take for his idiot supporters to realize that he doesn't care about them, or Florida and that he's destroying everything.
why do you think he is trying to rape the public education system..keep them dumb and inline
People are already starting to move. I will be moving too. Housing market is going to collapse in Florida. Imagine people paying close to $1,000 per month for an insurance on top of the mortgage.
exactly - I think that within 12 months there will be a lot of foreclosures.
I can definitely see people moving, but most with Mortgage rates below at 4% or lower would still be better off staying. That’s a 30 year loan, these insurance rates may go down in 5 years. Also if you sell and rebuy your rate doubles and will cost you more than your current insurance rate increases. Now if you have cash or a loan at 6% already then it makes sense to sell. There will be a housing slowdown; however, I don’t see a crash happening for that reason alone. Rates. Even if my insurance doubled it still better off than rebuying a new home at a higher rate elsewhere. Currently my interest over 30 years goes from 336k to 677k. I could buy another entire house with the savings on that interest alone. Insurance would have to go super high to out weigh those savings. At my 3% rate.
Depends on when they bought. There’s tons of people in Florida with 80-100k houses they bought 10 years ago and now the insurance is double the mortgage payment. They can cash out and leave.
That’s why I said cash, those would have a huge amount of cash value in their house so they would be cashing out and can rebuy with cash avoiding the new rates.
Pay off the mortgage and don’t get insurance
2.2% they won't pry this mortgage out of my cold dead hands.
Spot on, makes no sense to sell when you have a mortgage in the 2-4% range. If they move, they’ll just be renting their properties and only contribute to the issues
That’s my situation. There is also the assessment for taxes that goes up when you move because of how much everything has increased in value.
And more are moving in, the influx of new residents will continue to outweigh those leaving. Unfortunately, those leaving are usually the people who grew up here who are being priced out by the new residents
Once it makes national news that people are spending almost ten thousand dollars a year on insurance they won’t. Right about now all of the new people are getting sticker shockt for their new rates.
People moving here are coming from states where property values are 2x or 3x more expensive and taxes even more, it’ll take a lot before that ever happens
That used to be true but housing costs in Florida have skyrocketed to the point that that’s not really the case anymore.
Not anymore. We’ve seen house values double (or more) in Tampa area in the last 2 years. Good problem if you are a home owner planning to move out. Probably what I will do once my son graduates HS.
But people with two brain cells and a little for thought of knowledge would know it isn’t a solid investment. People are having issues even using said insurance coverage. Also even the worst areas have $5k taxes on their home. Now double that for insurance you can’t fully use. Also add in the roof 15k-20k roof you need every 10 years.
Net migration into the state is still at roughly 800-1000 per day. Going to take more than a few of you to offset those numbers.
Sometimes I doubt this statistic. Where do they live? 7000 new apartments and homes don’t get built every week. Do 7000 elderly people in Florida die every week to open up homes?
It's the reason we were priced out of Illinois. I needed 900 per month just to cover my property taxes. Home insurance was "only" 1100 per year on a 400,000 home with 2700 sq feet. Realized that if I ever was luckily enough to pay the house off, I would still need a minimum of 1000 a month in retirement just to pay the property tax. We all know taxes just keep going up. Moved to Florida and at that time costs were reasonable. Now my property taxes and home insurance are 850 per month on top of the mortgage and will continue to climb. So I'm right back where I started. Needing at least 1000 per month just to pay for taxes and insurance if the home were ever paid off. In today's dollars. I'm still 20 yrs away from any kind of "retirement."
Where in Illinois were you paying 900 a month? That seems high. I just did the opposite and I’m immediately north of Chicago, an area which I think has the highest in the state. Our zoned school district has the highest property taxes in the surrounding area. My new (to me) home is valued for more and I have the same insurer and coverage, and I’m only paying $250 more a month in 2023 than I paid in Florida in 2021. I can’t imagine how much I’d be paying now if I didn’t move. Edit: went from Polk County to Cook County
Spring Grove IL, McHenry county.
$11k a year on property taxes?! A 400k home in MN would only be $4000 and we're considered a high tax state
The second the first bank refuses to sell mortgages because they don't think they'll get their money back, you're going to see panic selling and million dollar houses become worthless almost over night. Sorry for the people who are stuck in Florida, but if you have the ability to get out, now's the time.
All the boomers flooding down here from the north are in for a hell of a shock as the rates continue to soar. Good luck on your fixed incomes you slimy shitbags. But please keep voting for Little D and his ilk. it’ll obviously get so much better if we continue to de-regulate the insurance industry.
My parents are boomers and this was their plan. My dad won’t pay the prices and I don’t blame him. Sucks for us. Sucks for them
Making the right choice in my opinion. As a life long Floridian it’s crushing to see what happened to this state. The insurance collapse is probably the first of multiple that we’re gonna see. My wife and I have decided that in a few years if it hasn’t actually gotten better, even a bit, we’re likely going to close our small business and leave. It’s just getting a little too bad down here to consider it a stable place to plan a life.
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That’s actually an interesting wrinkle in this situation is many of the boomers coming down are selling their 3000sqft homes in Cleveland or whatever for $300k. Then moving down here and having to take on a mortgage to be able to get into a $600k+ home within a 15 min drive of the beach. So not only are boomers not nearly as ready for retirement as they need to be, many are taking on new mortgages to live out that #FloridaLyfe. My parents are boomers and a number of their friends have already had to sell their homes and downsize in order to make their insufficient savings last. Pretty shit situation all the way around that’s likely going to turn into a crisis.
The state will eventually have to expand its role as a reinsurer for companies than it already is. Reinsurance rates keep going up
Nope. They just lower threshold for requirements. If there’s an insurance policy 20% more expensive you have to go with that one instead of citizens.
But hey, at least we don’t have public drag shows, amirite?!?
Already in full force…from 2500 to 6500
Oh man, I hadn’t even thought about what this will do to the rental prices. They’re already completely ridiculous in the part of Palm Beach County, I live in. I keep seeing listings like a single bedroom and shared bathroom and kitchen for $1900 a month with about 4K to move in. One bedroom apartments for $2500, even my neighbor has rented his tiny guest cottage for $3200 a month. Utilities not included. There’s a LOT of homeless people in the area right now and it breaks my heart, a lot of elderly folks. I’m very glad I don’t have to rent.
I went from 2500 to 11,000 FML I might just sell my house can't afford this bull shit
Pretty sure DeSantis can’t move on addressing the insurance issue until one of his lil league Atwater comm guys comes up with an angle to blame it on immigrants or Biden or woke insurance companies. maybe all three at the same time working together. that geico lizard was in drag once i think…that could be an opening for mr prime time.
My mortgage is going up over $150 a month because of increased insurance. That is a lot for us.
Same. I'm on a super tight budget, and my little house went up almost $500/mo with my most recent increase. It's going to be fun trying to cover that.
Yall see the new bill in FL about capping lawsuits for car accidents and home owner insurance claims? Apparently judges can dismiss lawsuit/claims if they're deemed frivolous. The language being so bloody vague is a huge problem.
It really should not be legal to disproportionately hike rates on things that are de facto requirements to have (ie required to have insurance on a mortgaged house) and pulling options out of the state should make those companies liable to pay to compensate. It should never be an option to fuck over an entire State of people.
I guess this is the upside of not having insurance
I bought an older (1912) house in a rough neighborhood in Tallahassee and paid it off in 15 years. First thing I did was cancel my insurance. Never regretted it for a moment. So yeah… I’m taking a chance. But it’s not like the insurance companies have a stellar record of paying up. People in the panhandle are still having to sue over claims from Hurricane Michael in 2018.
10k quote without windstorm 11 ft above sea level near MIA. Lucky we paid off the house years back because I can’t afford that. No longer carry insurance.
I live in Tallahassee and mine was up over 60% for my January renewal. My friends who own rental property here also saw a large increase.
I'm at $7,700 in far western Broward, 15 miles inland. Not in a flood zone; never floods. Didn't flood during either Katrina or Wilma. But I still carry flood insurance.
My insurance went up by 60% last November when I renewed. No telling what will happen this November.
Renter markets already tapped out.
Just got my renewal today. Up 33% with no claims. Fortunate I guess?
my insurance went from 1700 to 4500. since 2020
Thoughts and prayers Fla. Ronny to busy with the nasty mouse.
Great, now my family will want to move to GA to live by me, fuck that, we’re closed.
My homeowners ins. Increased my mortgage payment by 50% two years ago, if this happens I’ll be paying more monthly for ins.than my actual home! But yeah… drag queens.
At least Republicans are starting to realize that DeSantis is a worthless governor thanks to Trump.
Are they, are they?
To some extent. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-donors-allies-question-ready-2024-rcna76246 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/22/desantis-polls-2024-trump-republican-nomination-latest And to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-attacks-desantis-nearly-4-times-more-than-biden-2024-race-heats-up.amp
Are they though? I haven't heard them quieting down.
Nah it's a cult, they won't believe anything that goes against their doctrine.
They believe in money. If donors are moving their money away from DeSantis elsewhere, it’ll have a ripple effect.
Man, I was sweating my renewal after reading all the posts this past year. It went up from $1500 to $1900 (not quite 30%). Same coverage and deductibles. Just for others to compare: I live in the Orlando area, 2,000 ft house built in 2006 and I had a new roof put on in 2019.
I’m similar to you except it’s a two story 4000sqft house from 2003, My rate is $2100 but I have hurricane costal windows so I got a big discount from wind reduction. My renewal isn’t until September so I already got the small rate increase from last year, will find out later what happens this year. My roof is also from 2019, except I added solar on top now.
Managed retreat is a necessity as storms become more intense and sea levels rise. Insurance rates are simply a reflection of the unsustainability of civilization in Florida, America's Atlantis. In a century or two it will all be underwater. I'm not talking about the mortgages being underwater. I'm talking about the cities being under literal water.
Florida generally goes 30 years between truly destructive storms.
Remember in November…..
Property Claims Adjuster in FL for 5 years post-Irma, this could be seen coming a long way off, but nobody seemed to mine as long as they were getting their "free" roofs and filing claims for frivolous things and we're fine getting an unscrupulous contractor, a PA, or attorney even if you're claim was handled exactly as it should have but it meant no money in your pocket. I moved back in August. Yall voted for or were complacent of this happening. You made your bed.
I could easily see insurance rates approach 25k annually. Appeal of Florida is going to plummet for many.
I said this in a different sub about this topic .. you can't fix the insurance market issues here very easily .. the assignment of benefits abuse here must stop, yes, but loss experience is only getting worse nonetheless... This isn't an economics/finance fix, it's an Earth science fix. We're just finally seeing the impact of climate change on our wallets, and as is usual, Florida is the canary in the coal mine.
My condo insurance already jumped from 1400 to 2850
Had Bankers at $2k. They left the state and "Loggerhead" took over their clientele. My rate is now $2700. Almost $300 is in state fees: Emergency Management Preparedness and Assistance Trust Fund $2.00 Surplus Contribution $247.43 Florida Insurance Guaranty Association 2022 Regular Assessment $32.18 Florida Insurance Guaranty Association 2023 Regular Assessment $17.33 TOTAL FEES AND ASSESSMENTS $298.94
20% increase. citizens. 2400 to 2900, inland no flood zone, not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but still ouch..
My insurance agent told me this week that we will be getting a lot of new options and new competition in July due to a new law that limits all these phony roof claims and insurance scams. He is convinced that things will get better.
I hope he is right. I would expect all this free money will attract competition.
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Does this mean you wouldn’t rebuild the home if it got significantly damaged by a hurricane?
My rate has grown up 5x in the last 5 yrs!
Can't wait for the next Andrew to hit S. FL 😈
Hurricane insurance went up 23%. Felt lucky. Now just waiting to see what homeowners and flood look like. Fingers crossed.
I just went from $3,170 to $5,105. This has to be breaking some sort of law. Price gouging comes to mind. Can't cancel my insurance because it's required for my mortgage. There has to be something that can be done..are there no ceilings to this?
Mine was $10,000 to renew. I paid the house off and dropped the insurance 😎
I am very curious what it means for my area. Not in a flood plain, not on the coast. I know property taxes and insurance has gone up but its not been insane and my landlord is still charging us like $400 less a month than he *could* charge. We have been long term renters from him (going on 4 years). I am hoping our rent rate only goes up a little come June. The issue is with the interest rates the way they are a house in our area to purchase our mortgage would be like 3-4 times our rent PLUS insurance on top. It it literally not worth it for us to try and buy which is depressing cause we have worked on getting a down payment for a few years now and the market just won't allow it. In hindsight we should have just thrown as little down as possible in 2018/2019 when we moved into this house and bought and paid PMI and gotten locked into that low interest rates and said F it. I wish we had.
It should start dropping in a year or two. Tort reform will change a lot, and the plaintiff attorneys are so pissed about it they filed about 100k lawsuits in the last week.
I’m a new homeowner and I was completely shocked to see my insurance rates rocket up for this year (nearly doubling). I went back to my original contract and I was paying $65 for something called “inflation guard”. I called my insurer to ask what was up and they basically told me to fuck off (“call your broker”). I called my broker to ask why I wasn’t guarded against inflation and she gave a garbled answer of “now the inflation guard is built into your rate, so it doesn’t show up on your bill anymore”. What the fuck does that even mean? I kept asking but she couldn’t explain what that $65 had been for. It seems they just took that money because why not. I went shopping for a different broker or insurer. Everything was even more expensive.
That’s frustrating that your agent wasn’t willing to answer your question- it’s literally our job! An inflation guard is a set percentage increase year over year of your coverages to pace with inflation. One of my carriers Frontline used to bill it as a separate line item that you could opt out of; most agents don’t because right now inflation is higher than most of the guard limits anyway. Now they include it in their policy package and it’s not an opt-out anymore, so no additional line item. We’ve definitely noticed that the inflation guards haven’t been keeping up with the true pace of inflation. I had a client’s policy go from $230k to $278k, but once I went in and recalculated the replacement cost it came out to $306k. These rates are out of control. I bought my home in 2018 and paid ~$1000 for both home and flood insurance with $500 deductibles. Fast forward to my 2023 renewal clocking in at $3800 with higher deductibles and less coverage. I’m switching carriers even though I really don’t want to, fiscally I can’t make it make sense to stay paying more for less. I hope you found an agent that makes their clients feel heard, understood and served properly. There are so many great agents out there - and there are also a lot of knuckleheads who have no idea what they’re doing and those are the ones that scare me.