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.

The insurance broker gave you incorrect information. Sinkhole coverage will only cover damage to your house. It won't cover damage to your property, such as your lawn or driveway. The difference between sinkhole insurance and the mandatory catastrophic ground collapse insurance is that the mandatory insurance can only be used if your house is condemned and declared uninhabitable. But, if your house has minor foundation damage, but not condemned, the sinkhole insurance will cover the damage.

I am in the middle of shopping insurance. Sinkhole coverage from one company is a whopping $726. Given the 10% deductible, I would probably forego the sinkhole coverage. Another company offers sinkhole coverage for $81. For that, I would probably take the extra coverage. Crazy, isn't it!

We have always had only catastrophic; not sinkhole coverage. Willing to take the risk.

I think if a Villager had an uninsured sinkhole develop they should form a Gofundme and we'll chip in.

Sinkholes common if Florida? Are hurricanes common in Florida? You have more sinkholes in Florida than hurricanes. Do you have hurricane insurance?

Another question: do you have umbrella insurance? If you have done well up to this point, umbrella insurance is mandatory or you can lose everything.

the question I have is you pay the first 10% of the value of the home,so let’s say the house is valued at 400 thousand you pay the first 40 thousand. I would think with that much damage the home would be condemned. Am I correct with my thinking.

Has anyone had, or knows of anyone, who made a claim under their sinkhole coverage?

How did it work out?
How much was the damage and how much was paid by the insurance company? Did the insurance company fight you on the claim?

With a 10% deductible, I would think most of the claim would be paid by the homeowner.

As with any insurance weigh the cost vs. benefit, a sinkhole though can be catastrophic however the chance suffering one is very rare.

I am not an expert but
I think if your house is destroyed by a sinkhole, sinkhole coverage does not apply. Instead you would be covered by catastrophic ground cover collapse coverage. If there is slight damage, such as cracks in the wall, then you might be covered by sinkhole coverage.

This article seems to provide a excellent discussion.


What Is Sinkhole Insurance and Who Needs It? | Credible

With State Farm sink hole coverage the deductible is much lower than Progressive, at least for us 20 months ago.

First of all, I think you can get a lower deductible with some insurance companies if you shop around. And second, it is very possible that a house could sustain more than 10 percent damage without being condemned. It really depends on the type of damage that occurs. Repairing a damaged foundation is very expensive, but you may still be able to live in it, and long as safety is not an issue.

No, there would be a thread 50 pages long saying you should have had sinkhole insurance.

I lived in a courtyard villa in Calumet Grove for about 18+ years. The entire home had ceramic tiles and not one grout line ever cracked.

Don’t generalize! Talk to a professional insurance broker or home inspector and get their take on Sinkhole coverage. Personally I have it, yes it is expensive but sinkholes are unpredictable and expensive to repair. What was the old ad, “Pay me now or pay me later. “

2 insurance professionals who have nothing to gain, advised me to drop the extra sinkhole. Progressive told me several customers have dropped it. Now I’ll receive all sorts of remarks telling me that’s wrong 🤣🤣. Good luck. Do what’s best for you Good luck

No you’re not wrong it’s your choice . I’ve had 5 new homes and the 6th one is a preowned, I was ready to walk away from the sale and move to the lofts because my old insurance company and 2 others wouldn’t give me the coverage , the third one came out did an inspection and gave me the coverage with not much of a change in price , for some people you can never have to much insurance for others not so much it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind if you can or even if you can’t

We have both coverages. We bought new construction and was told by agent we should have it, most everyone does. Upon renewal we were also debating whether to keep it and an inspector told us in their opinion keep it at least 5 yrs to give everything time to settle after all the disruption in the area. An actual example given was a sink hole opening in front yard that damaged attached garage and foundation was not covered under catastrophic cause house was not condemned - cost was about $100k to repair. Convinced us to keep it and went with State Farm, we have 1/2% deductible for all perils including the added sinkhole coverage. Only one I found that offers less than the 10% deductible on sinkhole and we got better coverages on other items.

I agree, but I would point out that, if you bought a new house from The Villages, you would have a 10 year warranty on the foundation.

What does your insurance agent tell you as opposed to opinions on this website?

When I was shopping for sinkhole insurance, I found out that many insurance "agents" do not understand sinkhole coverage, and they cannot explain it. I would suggest that you do your own research.

She said it was up to me.

That is why I am trying to find out how many people have sinkhole coverage and more importantly, how many people have submitted claims and what their experience was. Were they paid? Did the insurance company dispute the claim?

Is it possible to get the information from the State Insurance Department? I assume they keep records.