Sink Hole insurance coverage?

[billethkid]

Several of our neighbors have noted upon renewal of their home owners insurance the sink hole supplement was not available to renew.

Others who have insurance thru TV insurance were told those under writers they have are also not renewing when the policy comes due. And added that if someone came in the front door today they have NO companies available that will write for sink hole coverage.

Apparently as long as there are sink incidents within a certain distance one cannot get coverage.

As I understand it if your home is involved in a sink hole and is no longer livable or "destroyed" most insurance will cover the loss as a natural disaster. However if the home is damaged and still liveable then you are responsible for the repairs, INCLUDING the repair of the sink hole.

Given most providers still will write a rider for hurricane coverage and now NOT for sink holes....what kind of message does that send?
I also understand there is an inspection or test that can be performed to check for sink hole potential.

In one respect one would think the sink hole potential is a function of the tons and tons of sand used to fill in certain areas for leveling before construction.

More home work to be done to understand it all and one's rights in the event of an incident.

Anybody with any additional information please share with us.

btk

[Villageshooter]

do to being beat up about my post i have removed it,,, we all dont want to hear unhappy news, I understand, i refuse to stick my head in the sand. so there it is all better. and with no caps for to make a point. no koolade for me

[Augie]

You can bet the developer will make sure you can get it on your NEW HOME!!, (at least for the first year), and torpedo the resales to be able to get sinkhole insurance. Just look what is happening at mission hills...,,, keep covering it up,, stick your head in the sand,,, well now the sand is washing away , and we have a HUGE mess.... I feel this sinkhole issue will cost all of us many $$ in equity in our homes, as there will be no one to buy them as this place starts to develop more and more of them. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY!! if it is a losing proposition they will get out and that IS WHAT IS HAPPENING!!. This issue needs to be kept to the forefront. The next thing to happen will be the mortgage companies will start to take a look at this disaster in the making. WILL ONLY BE CASH SALES HERE! We have to vigilante! My kids dont want to inherent a hole in the ground!

Show us proof of the truth in the above statement regarding Mission Hills. Going off half-cocked with misinformation is a dangerous and unfair activity. If you don't have it - please alter your post. Thank you.

[bluedog103]

You can bet the developer will make sure you can get it on your NEW HOME!!, (at least for the first year), and torpedo the resales to be able to get sinkhole insurance. Just look what is happening at mission hills...,,, keep covering it up,, stick your head in the sand,,, well now the sand is washing away , and we have a HUGE mess.... I feel this sinkhole issue will cost all of us many $$ in equity in our homes, as there will be no one to buy them as this place starts to develop more and more of them. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY!! if it is a losing proposition they will get out and that IS WHAT IS HAPPENING!!. This issue needs to be kept to the forefront. The next thing to happen will be the mortgage companies will start to take a look at this disaster in the making. WILL ONLY BE CASH SALES HERE! We have to vigilante! My kids dont want to inherent a hole in the ground!
This is in no way being critical, just being curious, why do you shout certain words and phrases when you type?

[red tail]

You can bet the developer will make sure you can get it on your NEW HOME!!, (at least for the first year), and torpedo the resales to be able to get sinkhole insurance. Just look what is happening at mission hills...,,, keep covering it up,, stick your head in the sand,,, well now the sand is washing away , and we have a HUGE mess.... I feel this sinkhole issue will cost all of us many $$ in equity in our homes, as there will be no one to buy them as this place starts to develop more and more of them. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY!! if it is a losing proposition they will get out and that IS WHAT IS HAPPENING!!. This issue needs to be kept to the forefront. The next thing to happen will be the mortgage companies will start to take a look at this disaster in the making. WILL ONLY BE CASH SALES HERE! We have to vigilante! My kids dont want to inherent a hole in the ground!

hogwash !!

[784caroline]

All insurance companies include coverage in your home owners policy for what they call Catestrophic Ground Collapse...ie when a major depression is visible and causes damage to your home to the extent a goverment authority declares it unfit to live in. Granted this type of problem is fairly rare but does exist.

The Sink Hole issue (cracking of foundation, drywall or improper closing of doors) is predominate all through out Florida, and its a nature of the subsoils ...This is not only a VIllages problem and its not simply a problem where you can say the builder did not compact the solil properly. You would be hard pressed to persue that legal angle given all the sinkholes all throughout florida. The fact that you have settlement due to "sinkhole activity" is not something you want to hear BUT it is not the end of the world...but granted I would rather NOt have this problem.

All sinkhole claims are different and there has been alot of insurance fraud associated with sinkhole claims that resulted in the homeowner getting full value of their policy and in return immediately sells the property back to the Sinkhole inspector for the value of the land. With little or no fixup, the Home is then rented out (hey the new landlord may have only paid 20K for this property) and is collecting $1500-2000 per month rent. This is why the insurance companies had to tighten up or eliminate sinkhole coverage entirely (NOT catestrophic ground cover collapse). BUt again this is for practically all of FLorida!!

Yes some people have developed a sinkhole issue but they are far and few compared to the approx 40K homes built in TV.....and to say this problem will result in people not wanting to buy in TV..(or all of Florida) is crying wolf. I certainly know many many more people who are enjoying their TV homes than those who have laid claim to a sinkhole problem.

[rubicon]

I had conversation with my insurance agent yesterday on this very subject. I am with a major insurance carrier. In addition to raising my premiums some $2,000 the last two renewal periods they now tell me that upon renewal I will only have Catasrophic coverage menaing that the sink hole must be visible it must have caused damaged to the house and the house must be condemned before they will pay. However for additional sink hole coverage at additional cost I can buy it back. To add insult to injury I must contact their contractor and pay them $23 to come out to my home and proved to them I don't already have a sink hole.

The agent atempted to give me I am sorry but we are paying out millions of dollars in Florida........Meanwhile other than property losses in Florida this national company is making millions upon millions in all other lines of insurance.

By the way you can thank our governor because he gave insurance company the green light for all of this.

[Augie]

I had conversation with my insurance agent yesterday on this very subject. I am with a major insurance carrier. In addition to raising my premiums some $2,000 the last two renewal periods they now tell me that upon renewal I will only have Catasrophic coverage menaing that the sink hole must be visible it must have caused damaged to the house and the house must be condemned before they will pay. However for additional sink hole coverage at additional cost I can buy it back. To add insult to injury I must contact their contractor and pay them $23 to come out to my home and proved to them I don't already have a sink hole.

The agent atempted to give me I am sorry but we are paying out millions of dollars in Florida........Meanwhile other than property losses in Florida this national company is making millions upon millions in all other lines of insurance.

By the way you can thank our governor because he gave insurance company the green light for all of this.

Insurance is BIG business. Care to guess the party affiliation of our Governor? You get what you pray for!

[BobKat1]

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