Sinkhole Coverage Catastrophic Ground Collapse
 

At the present time, I have Sinkhole coverage and Catastrophic Ground Collapse coverage. I am debating whether I can drop Sinkhole coverage and save some money. Do most of you have both Sinkhole and Catastrophic coverage? What are the pros and cons of dropping Sinkhole? As far as I can tell, Catastrophic Ground Collapse is mandatory.

Any horror stories with insurance companies denying Catastrophic Ground Collapse because it wasn't sudden?

Yes, you can drop the sinkhole coverage. If you do, you will have no coverage for sinkhole damage, unless your house is condemned and declared uninhabitable. You will still have the catastrophic ground collapse coverage, which is mandatory in Florida.

Do you have any idea how often homes have sinkhole damage and the house is not declared uninhabitable? Every sinkhole that makes the news is catastrophic. Are there a lot of minor sinkholes?

I don't have any data. But, there could be a small void that opens up under your house and causes damage to the foundation. This is not unusual. The void could be declared a sinkhole, in which case, your sinkhole coverage may pay for it. Foundation damage can be very expensive to repair.

A house in my neighborhood had a floor crack that extended about 20 feet through the kitchen and living room and was about one-half inch wide in some areas. The builder repaired it under warranty with epoxy, and they had to replace the sheet vinyl flooring and carpet with vinyl plank. The issue of what caused the crack was not addressed because the house was still under warranty.

dont call babiarz law office not a good place. did mot help us took 2 years

If I owned the house, I would have wanted the causation issue to be resolved while it was under warranty!

Note that the warranty for new houses covers the foundation for 10 years. When you build a house on a concrete slab over sandy soil, things can happen. Sometimes a builder will dig a hole and dump trash or organic material in the soil which can create a void over time. Ground water movement or rainwater can also create a void. These voids can cause the footings or the slab to settle and cause cracks in the floor or the walls. Whether these types of voids can be defined as a sinkhole is very subjective. Having the sinkhole insurance may offer some protection.

Check the deductible- Tower Hill through villages insurance was 45,000 dollars for sinkhole specifically

If homeowners in tv knew the size of cracks under all that carpeting
in homes sitting on concrete slaps, they would sell by sundown.

I don't see how not to have any cracks sitting on all this sandy soil.

If you watch some of Goldwingnut's videos, you'll see how the remove a lot of the sandy soil and replace it with packed clay...

I don't know how much difference it makes but I added gutters around the entire perimeter of the roof and then installed underground drains to direct the water away from the foundation.

So far my door frames are still in perfect alignment as the doors need very little push to latch. If that ever changes then I will start to worry about other foundation issues such as a sinkhole.

How to Spot a Sinkhole | University of Florida Online.

Why would you risk hundreds of thousands of $ in a house to save a few bucks? If you lived on the west coast, would you skip earthquake insurance? On the coast, would you skip flood insurance? You could but why? You have been paying for home insurance, boat insurance, and car insurance to hopefully never to use it.
Roll the dice and be self insured if you own the house outright.

If you drop sinkhole coverage it will save you a few $, but it might put you in a hole.

Excellent point!

For the purpose of my own edification I’d be interested in knowing whether sinkholes are prevalent in The Villages neighborhoods.

This is basically a question of risk vs cost. The risk is low for sure. The cost is whatever it is. So one would have to know their risk tolerance and make a decision. An insurance broker explained to me that the catastrophic ins which is mandatory will cover your home if the home is damaged from a sink hole. If a sinkhole opens up away from the home, in the driveway, back yard, etc that's when sinkhole coverage takes over. I'm not sure everyone understands this. I personally do not have sink hole coverage.