Homeowners Insurance

[rjn5656]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

[retiredguy123]

I have sinkhole coverage with Progressive.

[wlasowicz]

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?

[Blueblaze]

Not that laws mean anything anymore, but every Florida homeowner policy is required by law to include catastrophic sinkhole coverage.

Nevertheless, when American "Integrity" renewed my policy this year, they added a rider than excluded BOTH my roof AND catastrophic sinkhole coverage -- and then raised my rate 20%!

So, I guess, in this corrupt new loony tunes world we live in, where anybody can do anything they want except for law-abiding suckers and tax payers, we're probably on the verge of "virtual" insurance, where you pay an enormous rate so that your neighbors can scam a new roof every ten years, but the fine print excludes all other actual hazards. I'm tempted to get a mortgage just so I can have someone big enough on my side to force them to sell me real insurance!

[tophcfa]

Hell, sadly I’m just happy to have insurance period without any additional sinkhole coverage. Our roof is 16 years old and I am nervously anticipating getting dumped again when our overpriced policy comes up for renewal in December. I have had two professionals inspect our roof, with architectural shingles, and both said it’s in good shape and has several years of remaining life. Unfortunately, with the roof scam thing running rampant, the insurers are either jacking up premiums to the stratosphere or leaving the Florida market entirely. DeSantis needs to push through some legislation pronto to protect the insurance companies from this scam or pretty soon there won’t be any companies left writing policies in Florida.

[retiredguy123]

Not that laws mean anything anymore, but every Florida homeowner policy is required by law to include catastrophic sinkhole coverage.

Nevertheless, when American "Integrity" renewed my policy this year, they added a rider than excluded BOTH my roof AND catastrophic sinkhole coverage -- and then raised my rate 20%!

So, I guess, in this corrupt new loony tunes world we live in, where anybody can do anything they want except for law-abiding suckers and tax payers, we're probably on the verge of "virtual" insurance, where you pay an enormous rate so that your neighbors can scam a new roof every ten years, but the fine print excludes all other actual hazards. I'm tempted to get a mortgage just so I can have someone big enough on my side to force them to sell me real insurance!
All Florida homeowners policies must include "catastrophic ground collapse" coverage, not sinkhole coverage. That coverage will only cover damage if your house has been declared condemned by the local Government. Some companies will offer an additional coverage called "sinkhole" coverage that will cover damage to your property even if it has not been condemned.

[Babubhat]

10 percent what I was offered. Hard no. Risk reward far out of whack

[retiredguy123]

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?
Yes, I have Progressive with sinkhole coverage. The deductible for the sinkhole coverage is 10 percent of the stated house value.

[Stu from NYC]

Have it with Allstate since we moved here

[Skip]

... that will cover damage to your property even if it has not been condemned.
I thought you can't cover the property (land, trees, etc.) - only the structure.

Skip

[RPDaly]

---

[retiredguy123]

I thought you can't cover the property (land, trees, etc.) - only the structure.

Skip
I think it will also cover other structures on your property, like a detached garage or a fence, and probably a driveway. I don't know about trees.

[GatorFan]

Local agency and great service. Allstate will endorse sinkhole coverage with deductible same as your all perils deductible.

[GatorFan]

I think it will also cover other structures on your property, like a detached garage or a fence, and probably a driveway. I don't know about trees.


Florida laws also specify that sinkhole coverage only applies to damage to a home's structural support system.

[retiredguy123]

Florida laws also specify that sinkhole coverage only applies to damage to a home's structural support system.
Are you referring to the catastrophic ground collapse coverage or the optional sinkhole coverage? They are two different things.

[Snowbug]

State Farm!

[Joe Sacco]

Correct!

[richrjones]

Hell, sadly I’m just happy to have insurance period without any additional sinkhole coverage. Our roof is 16 years old and I am nervously anticipating getting dumped again when our overpriced policy comes up for renewal in December. I have had two professionals inspect our roof, with architectural shingles, and both said it’s in good shape and has several years of remaining life. Unfortunately, with the roof scam thing running rampant, the insurers are either jacking up premiums to the stratosphere or leaving the Florida market entirely. DeSantis needs to push through some legislation pronto to protect the insurance companies from this scam or pretty soon there won’t be any companies left writing policies in Florida.

I wonder if your 2 professionals had come back that your roof had wind damage, like my 2 professionals (structural engineers) did, and you submitted a claim and was told that's not wind damage, it's just wear and tear, like my insurance company did, would you feel the same regarding who is scamming who?????

[Sandy and Ed]

Not that laws mean anything anymore, but every Florida homeowner policy is required by law to include catastrophic sinkhole coverage.

Nevertheless, when American "Integrity" renewed my policy this year, they added a rider than excluded BOTH my roof AND catastrophic sinkhole coverage -- and then raised my rate 20%!

So, I guess, in this corrupt new loony tunes world we live in, where anybody can do anything they want except for law-abiding suckers and tax payers, we're probably on the verge of "virtual" insurance, where you pay an enormous rate so that your neighbors can scam a new roof every ten years, but the fine print excludes all other actual hazards. I'm tempted to get a mortgage just so I can have someone big enough on my side to force them to sell me real insurance!
Not a bad idea. They have folks that can actually make sense of the jargon and seemingly contradictory passages in different sections of the policy. Each year brings another revised paragraph. Posting policy updates driving me nuts

[bern916]

State Farm. Need an inspection first before they cover you for it

I called State Farm yesterday for a quote since my renewal from American Integrity jumped $800. She said they cannot offer me a quote because my house was built prior to 2004. What the heck? Even though my roof is only 4 years old, didn't matter. That shouldn't be allowed ...

[Life as I know it]

Why can’t Insurance companies simply prorate the coverage of the roof based on age?
The deductible for the roof should be increased every year (without raising the premium) so at the end of of the life of the roof payout would be based on the age and condition. The deductible would start after the roof is 10 years old and it increases as it ages.
Or why can’t the Insurance company sell roof coverage in a separate policy like sinkhole coverage? When ever I see several roofs going on in one Village you have to wonder if they are being put on at our expense. I know of several friends and neighbors who have gotten these “free” roofs and are so happy that they got one. They should know that people know what they did.

[Kathe]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

I have it through State Farm for a house I bought in May.

[gweisheipl]

All Florida homeowners policies must include "catastrophic ground collapse" coverage, not sinkhole coverage. That coverage will only cover damage if your house has been declared condemned by the local Government. Some companies will offer an additional coverage called "sinkhole" coverage that will cover damage to your property even if it has not been condemned.
This is 100% correct. It’s non-catastrophic coverage that is now difficult to get! Farmers will cover your old roof, but offers no non-catastrophic sinkhole coverage. In addition, they were just told they now can only write 650 policies a month here in Florida!

[Mazjaz]

I wonder if your 2 professionals had come back that your roof had wind damage, like my 2 professionals (structural engineers) did, and you submitted a claim and was told that's not wind damage, it's just wear and tear, like my insurance company did, would you feel the same regarding who is scamming who?????
No one should expect a free roof with any damage. There should be a yearly depreciation value loss that the homeowner has to chip in in case of any claim. It’s the full replacement scams that are driving everybody’s premiums thru the roof or forcing insurance companies to leave the state completely.

[birdawg]

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?
That’s my understanding

[retiredguy123]

Why can’t Insurance companies simply prorate the coverage of the roof based on age?
The deductible for the roof should be increased every year (without raising the premium) so at the end of of the life of the roof payout would be based on the age and condition. The deductible would start after the roof is 10 years old and it increases as it ages.
Or why can’t the Insurance company sell roof coverage in a separate policy like sinkhole coverage? When ever I see several roofs going on in one Village you have to wonder if they are being put on at our expense. I know of several friends and neighbors who have gotten these “free” roofs and are so happy that they got one. They should know that people know what they did.
The problem is that an old roof can blow away, and the entire house is destroyed. Insurance companies want their customers to have a good roof to prevent that from happening.

I agree that the problem needs to be fixed, but it needs to be done by the state. They write the rules for insurance policies and the insurance companies have very little flexibility when writing policies. They need to cover what the state tells them to cover.

[westernrider75]

Just an fyi, Progressive is not quoting on homes in Florida right now.

[Chitown]

I have State Farm insurance. I just went over my policy with my agent. I have both catastrophic ground collapse insurance and sinkhole insurance as part of my policy

[terenceanne]

Only thing that is certain is that insurance companies will try and find a way not to pay you. If they pay you for a broken sprinkler they will go ahead and drop you the following day. Insurance is one of the best scams ever invented by man.

[jrref]

Check your policy i believe the sink hole insurance rider Only covers "covered" areas meaning a roof over the area. It's designed to cover your home if it has damage from the house severly settling from a sink hole under it. If you get a sink hole in your driveway it's not covered. Catastrophic ground collapse is 10% of the value of your home so it's a very large deductable. Many will disagree and believe they are covered differently but you need to read the policy and not just listen to the agent.

[SusanStCatherine]

IMHO I think The Villages should somehow insure homeowners against sinkholes. It's pretty bad publicity when there is a sinkhole in the neighborhood. If anyone in The Villages suffers a great personal loss from a sinkhole in The Villages, I would personally contribute to something like a "GoFundMe." I have sinkhole coverage with State Farm above the standard ground collapse. I wonder how easy it would be to get a claim paid.

[SusanStCatherine]

There was a depression in the ground between two new construction houses last year. They were not sold yet. The Villages secured the houses foundations as recommended and I believe it cost them around $180,000 each house. I wonder if they had construction insurance. At least they fixed the issue and those homes are probably now safer than most.

[coconutmama]

Only thing that is certain is that insurance companies will try and find a way not to pay you. If they pay you for a broken sprinkler they will go ahead and drop you the following day. Insurance is one of the best scams ever invented by man.

Totally agree. In a capitulation to the insurance companies in FL, during R Scott’s tenure as governor, sinkhole insurance coverage was greatly reduced to no longer cover driveways & other areas of property.

[lindamiller]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

I have sink hole coverage with AllState. My rates did increase substantially when all the roof claims soared. I have never put in a claim.

[Linnberg]

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?


10 percent is correct on FL
for any company that offers sinkhole. Everyone automatically gets catastrophic coverage but sinkhole
Which covers anything less than catastrophic is an extra and costs 10% of your home value. Only a few still offer it and only to certain homes which include not anyone near having had a sinkhole, not it built before 2004 as well as some other conditions. We have USAA and have it. Never know when a company will drop it or drop you or leave
Florida.

[retiredguy123]

Check your policy i believe the sink hole insurance rider Only covers "covered" areas meaning a roof over the area. It's designed to cover your home if it has damage from the house severly settling from a sink hole under it. If you get a sink hole in your driveway it's not covered. Catastrophic ground collapse is 10% of the value of your home so it's a very large deductable. Many will disagree and believe they are covered differently but you need to read the policy and not just listen to the agent.
You are correct. My sinkhole endorsement only covers structural damage to the principal building and personal property. It doesn't cover driveways, fences, etc. My cost for this endorsement is about $200 per year, which is about 23 percent of the total policy. But, I think it is worth having because a structural failure can cause a significant amount of damage to your house.

FYI, the sinkhole endorsement document for Progressive is "ASI HO FL SH 08 20". It may be the same document for other insurance companies.

[GATORBILL66]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

I have sinkhole insurance with THE BASCOM INSURANCE ANGENCY here in the villages. He is an ALLSTATE company.

[ECPRO]

Who wrote these laws . That’s where the total blame belongs.

[GatorFan]

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?

When the State of Florida removed sinkhole coverage as an automatic coverage and replaced with catastrophic coverage, all property insurance companies had two choices of deductibles that they could file with state regarding deductible offered. A huge % choose the 10% of Coverage A deductible.the other choice was same deductible as clients all peril deductible. $500, $1000, $2500 and $5000. Most insureds choose $1,000 all perils deductible. Allstate offers the all perils deductible.

FYI, the reason for the change was because of so many claims being filed (knocking on doors just like what has been going on with roof claims)

[Rubank]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

I have Progressive and just renewed with sinkhole coverage.

[kkingston57]

Do not know answer to your ?. Even if I knew it might change tomorrow.

[condomom22]

I have had the sinkhole coverage with Cabrillo Coastal/Safe Harbor Insurance Company for several years now. The sinkhole deductible is 10% of the Dwelling. With my current renewal, the sinkhole coverage premium alone went up 85% to $969/yr. I have the policy through Allstate - McDonald & Company Insurance Agency on CR 101, tel 352-259-3825.

[dyoder66@aol.com]

Try Farmers. They are a good company but have high standards. Have treated me well for 3 years, offered me sink hole for additional premium.

[MidWestIA]

Almost impossible to get in 2017 and there was some weird you still have to pay for their investigation of it that had a huge cost. I think the state insists we are covered (vague memory) if our house is a total wipeout. Good luck on resale if they label it a sinkhole especially if it's just a water pipe. And if your value is dropped your tax won't show that because the assessors don't recognize that (did tax for a guy)

[Stu from NYC]

There was a depression in the ground between two new construction houses last year. They were not sold yet. The Villages secured the houses foundations as recommended and I believe it cost them around $180,000 each house. I wonder if they had construction insurance. At least they fixed the issue and those homes are probably now safer than most.

I wonder if they mentioned this to the buyers? All things being equaled would not have bought the house.

[midiwiz]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

Don't know why anyone would call villages anything.....but. I have it under state farm so apparently looking at the posts the villages don't know jack, big surprise

[EatthMama]

I just switched to Allstate. They cover sinkholes much better than State Farm did.

[Catalina36]

I have sinkhole insurance with THE BASCOM INSURANCE ANGENCY here in the villages. He is an ALLSTATE company.

My Home Owners Insurance went up having sinkhole coverage with the Bascom Agency.
A $1100.00 increase in 2 years to $2478.00. Thats Crazy. I decided against sinkhole insurance
and went with Farmers Home Owners Insurance with 500K for liability and 5K for medical etc.
at $1344.00 thats a big savings. With all of the golf courses, golf cart paths, roadways, rec centers when was the last time you saw a sinkhole? I was told you have a better chance of your home getting hit with lightning.

[gighilton]

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

Just bought a Progressive underwritten policy from the Villages Insurance and
sink hole protection was included. New home on Mulligan Run

[PJackpot]

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?

We had ASI as well, and that is correct.

[kkingston57]

Who wrote these laws . That’s where the total blame belongs.

Basically most insurance companies write insurance in Florida using standard policies with minor differences. Legislators do not create the policy but have created laws to protect the consumers.

Florida has had insurance problems since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Before then there were good nationwide insuraance companies in Florida.Most good natonwide insurance companies do not want to write business in Florida due to hurrIcanes and poor construction.

After 1992 Florida, particularly the coastal areas have been and still are on a downward spiral. I was in the biz and Florida has always been an area of high rates of fraudulent activity, particularly the Miami area. Afterall they were #1 in Medicare fraud.

[GatorFan]

Are you referring to the catastrophic ground collapse coverage or the optional sinkhole coverage? They are two different things.

Allstate offers with same deductible as you have for Fire, theft, etc.

[GatorFan]

Totally agree. In a capitulation to the insurance companies in FL, during R Scott’s tenure as governor, sinkhole insurance coverage was greatly reduced to no longer cover driveways & other areas of property.

Never covered anything but structural damage to dwelling. The Governor can only make suggestions, can not change law.

[Blueblaze]

Who wrote these laws . That’s where the total blame belongs.

Who wrote the laws? The Florida insurance cartel, obviously.

That's what always happens. Voters complain, politicians "do something". But since only thing they know how to do is get elected, they call in the "experts" to write the bill -- the same people the voters were complaining about in the first place.

Look at the law they just passed that forbids insurers from refusing roofs less than 15 years old. Result? They simply hiked rates an absurd amount, which is what they wanted to do anyway.

At no point did anybody look at the cause of the problem -- goofball "full replacement" policies and roof scammers working in cahoots with the insurance cartel, to force you to replace your roof 10 years before the warranty runs out. It's called corruption, and it's the primary feature of all banana republics.