[JourneyOfLife]

Here are some interesting articles with related info. I bolded some interesting items in the context of the entire quote.

TB Times:

The result: Homes from Brandon to Port Richey to Weeki Wachee sit unrepaired, decimating property values and draining millions of dollars in tax revenue from local governments already hard hit by the recession.

Since 2005, the Florida Legislature has repeatedly tried to find ways to ensure that legitimate sinkhole damage is covered and repaired while cutting down on the number of questionable claims. The latest attempt came in May with major changes to state law that require homeowners to repair damage and that make it less attractive to sue their insurance companies.

Sinkholes become Florida's latest insurance disaster | Tampa Bay Times

Now... why would the state repeal the electronic database of sinkhole activity?

WLRN:

The Florida Legislature responded to the issue in 2011 with the passage of SB 408, property insurance reform that tightens up the timeframe for insured homeowners to make a sinkhole claim, outlines investigation protocol, and limits the structures that may be covered under a sinkhole claim. It also "allows an insurer to require a property inspection prior to issuing sinkhole loss coverage" while repealing the electronic database of sinkhole activity. (Homeowners can read SB 408 here.)

What Florida Homeowners Should Know About Sinkholes | WLRN

This next article is long, but it seems to give the insurance company POV too.

TB Times:
The owner of the home, T****** L****, said her claim languished for a couple of years because Citizens' initial offer included only $2,000 for cosmetic repairs.

Citizens eventually agreed to pay $14,000 toward cosmetic damage and repair work recently began. But it was too late for Lyons.

While waiting, she and her husband fell behind in mortgage payments, and they recently divorced. They're now arranging a short sale that may come through before the sinkhole repair is finished.

"We should have had the money way back when, but they refused to write a check," she said. "We're now told because of the short sale, we'll never see the money."

Bought in 2005 for $248,900, the home is now appraised at only $38,000. "What I'm told by the public adjuster is once you fix the house, you could double the $38,000 and that's what you could sell it for," L***** said. "We're going to lose no matter what."

TB Times:
Citizens has shifted to a 10 percent deductible on sinkhole coverage, far higher than the 2 to 5 percent deductible for other perils like hurricanes. That looks attractive to the financially strapped homeowner facing a multithousand-dollar sinkhole premium.

But when it comes time to pay up, it can be a shocker.

Underpinning a home with sinkhole damage may cost $10,000 to $20,000. Compaction grouting, a more durable and costly method, could cost up to $100,000. Translation: With a 10 percent deductible, a homeowner would have to pay $30,000 out of pocket to fix a house valued at $300,000 before any insurance kicks in.

St. Petersburg sinkhole plaintiff attorney Hans Haahr said the combination of a high premium, high deductible and little likelihood of a successful claim means "there really is not sinkhole coverage now."

Florida's 'sinkhole alley' homeowners struggle with insurance overhaul (w/video) | Tampa Bay Times