All the laws regarding Sinkhole insurance (Not catastrophic ground collapse insurance) changed in Florida on 1/1/2012 following insurance "reform" enacted by the Florida state government. If you were a NEW policy holder in Florida as of 1/1/2012 your chances of getting sinkhole coverage in ANY home (new or resale) is almost nil. Our rep at Villages Insurance told us that she had only ONE Florida insurer who would write sinkhole insurance for NEW HOMES ONLY in The Villages. None of their other companies would write for it. If you purchase a resale home you can apply for sinkhole insurance, and they will send out a company to do an inspection. You pay 50% of the cost of the inspection, the insurance company pays the other half. Chances are no matter how good your inspection looks, your insurance company will decline to issue you a policy for sinkhole coverage. If all the planets & stars align and you do get a sinkhole policy it will come with a deductible as high as 30%. 30% of what?? Of the SALE PRICE OF YOUR HOME. So if you bought a house that cost 300K you will be on the hook for the first $30,000 of damage.
Sinkhole and Catastrophic Ground Collapse are NOT the same things although most people use the terms interchangeably. Catastrophic Ground Collapse insurance is REQUIRED on ALL policies issued in Florida. Sinkhole, which covers the less noticeable, happening-over-time damages is no longer required in Florida policies and as stated above is now almost impossible to obtain anywhere in FL.
The damages incurred by the homes in the current discussion fall under Catastrophic Ground Collapse, not sinkhole coverage.
Our Villages Insurance rep also told us that even those who currently have sinkhole coverage will lose it in the next couple of years no matter what your situation. This kind of coverage has basically passed into history.
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