Additional Homeowner Insurance Coverage
 

As a new buyer to TV, besides regular homeowners coverage, would you also recommend flood insurance and sink hole insurance?

Yes, we have both flood and sinkhole insurance.

If you are purchasing in the older, historic area, they had problems with flooding 5 years ago after Hurricane Irma.

The newer sections are better engineered to accommodate 100 year floods. After Irma, the excess water flowed through the planned pathways onto the golf courses. No golf for a couple weeks, but no homeowners were flooded.

I do not have flood insurance. You can decide for yourself.

Buy sinkhole coverage, if you can get it. Also, buy the optional sewer backup coverage, if it is available for your policy.

Flood insurance is not worth buying.

Definitely buy sinkhole insurance, not a good start to your day waking up 50 ft below ground.

Your insurance agent should be able to tell you if you are in a flood zone. There are very few areas which are susectible to flooding. There is very good drainage in TV. Sink holes are underground and hidden. In this area probably a good idea. Also most sinkholes are truly not sinkholes but are voids created by broken underground pipes in TV and close to the surface. A true sinkhole can swallow up an entire home

When we bought, we asked about flood and sinkhole insurance. She told us yes, buy the sinkhole insurance, but that we had no need for the flood insurance, since we weren't on a flood plain...

I figured if she didn't want to take our money for a product, that we didn't need it...

This is the first year I passed up the Flood Policy. It went from $259 to $400ish. We had a drain in our street clogged with silt and debris during Irma and the water backed up down the street up the driveway and into the garage.

We just went for a Golf Cart ride and saw some pretty major league trees down in the area of the Paradise Rec Center. We as a community should be NOTHING but grateful that we dodged a bullet again. I'm grateful.

We had flood insurance from FEMA the first 4 years down here.
We weren't in any flood zone, and the first year was still $395,00 annual premium.

Then as years went by the premiums kept creeping higher.
The last years premium was $485.00, needless to say I cancelled the policy.

Image what I'd pay to be in a flood zone???

If you wake up 50 ft below ground the policy won't do you any good.

....and if you don't wake up, it's classed as a cheap funeral ;)

If it is not a sinkhole, would it be covered by sinkhole insurance? In my experience, insurance companies look for reasons (loopholes) to deny claims rather than reasons to pay them.

Insurance Coverage
 

I recommend talking to your your insurance agent and find out what is an is not covered by the insurance you own. I recommend Felecia Russell. She owns an Allstate office here in the Villages. She’ll talk you through it/what you have/what you need/what it cost. 352 - 399 -7667.

North side of the villages ( historic section) did not do well in hurricane Irma. Definitely get flood and sinkhole ins, especially if you have a manufactured home. South of that, you are pretty safe from floods, but might think about sinkhole ins

insurance
 

Yes, we have both through USAA

Additional Insurance
 

Sink hole

Having had a house in a flood zone, it would cost several thousand dollars for about $250,000 of coverage. You then had to buy coverage from someone like Lloyds of London for the remainder. Very pricey indeed.

1022.55 USAA even if the foundation goes into the abyss.

Yes on sink hole and check your elevation and proximity to water for flood.

YES and YES ABSOLUTELY!!!

I think the rain that hit the east coast exceeded the 100yr limit so the flood control system may have been overwhelmed.

I have both sinkhole and great hurricane insurance through THE BASCOM AGENCY who is an ALLSTATE agent here in the villages.

Just curious -- how common are sink holes at the Villages? This thread makes it sound like sink holes occur as often as hurricanes!

Having flood insurance was a requirement for us my our mortgage holder. Our sales contract said that we "may" be in a flood zone. Based on that we were required to get a elevation certificate from our closing specialist that reflected we were considered in a flood zone, so was required to get it prior to closing. Its only $495 a year, so not a huge burden. We're paying off our mortgage in a few years, so we'll re-evaluate once it is no longer mandated.

We also got the sinkhole coverage...was an additional $395 a year. Again, not a huge amount of money so that fell into the "better safe than sorry" category.

Closing in a few days!

No but
I Assuming you can afford to replace the home.
I would have the basic policy, one reason would be the liability coverage. Consider an umbrella liability policy also.
Flood depends on the land around your property. I would look to buy in areas that have not had the problem.
Sink Hole you get some coverage in your basic policy (if the home is not habitable). I would see what the builder does to make sure your home site is probably ok. and if I though that worked then no. BUT if you have ponds close by these can leak and cause sink holes. So probably get the insurance. Also you should be able to research the area for past sink holes and I would then avoid these areas.

We did not consider flood insurance, as we are not in or even near a flood plain. We do have sinkhole coverage not as an add-on but rather as a integral part of our homeowners' policy, that is, the same deductible as any loss (other than hurricane). It's my understanding that all policies include catastrophic loss coverage, which is not the same as sinkhole coverage.

got on my knees and did just that

Sounds like you’ve been with poor insurance companies. As I retired insurance claims manager, I can tell you that our adjusters were always instructed to first look for coverage for each and every claim filed, and then only if coverage can not be found, then turn to the exclusion claims. I know most mainstream insurance companies have the same philosophy, and conduct themselves with the highest degree of integrity. If coverage was ever questioned no seemed gray, we alwaysnerred on the side of the policyholder and afforded coverage. We only denied coverage when the denial was clear- cut and could be legally defended.

Omg can you please tell us what company you worked for b/c I find this is generally NOT the case….sorry

When a sinkhole occurs pretty clear that is what it is.

Sinkhole
 

sinkhole insurance - the couple I've seen were due to underground pipes or sewer leaking not including the Orange Blossom area or far north

AAA-California - there are very heavy fines that an insurance carrier has to pay to the adept of Insurance if they were found to have denied a claim without cause - that is why we always afforded coverage if denial was not crystal clear. Unfortunately, most insureds do not read the policies, and expect coverage at times for things that are clearly excluded in their policy. That is why it is important you have a good and trustworthy insurance agent that is knowledge of the product he is selling.

Sinkhole
 

I was told I could not get sinkhole insurance. May I ask who you use?