Home Insurance Update
 

For those of you looking for more reasonable home insurance and have roofs 15 to 20 years of age, this is an update of State Farm. I got a song and dance of how they do not reject simply because of age and believe that a roof is good until it is defective. They offer a program that allows you to hire one of their qualified independent inspectors ($125). I did that and got a report that said my roof was good for at least 5 more years and perhaps more if I replaced ridge caps.

Waited about 3 weeks after submitted by inspector to State Farm and got reviewed by underwriters of State Farm. They rejected the inspection report and said they would insure only if I replaced the roof.

That after I was told that no one in The Villages that they had represented previously had their roof rejected if they had a satisfactory inspection.

I just wanted to debunk that urban myth. A Villages roof was rejected under 20 years of age even though inspector said it was good for five years.

For what is worth????????

What year was your house built? Some of my friends are having a difficult time getting insurance because their homes were built before 2002. Homes built before 2002 were not constructed under Florida's stricter codes.

If your home was built in 2002 or later, did you ask the agent why the roof inspection was rejected? Perhaps, you can fix the reason without replacing the entire roof.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems, at the very least, State Farm owes you an explanation.

That confirms what I was told by our insurance agent. Our house was built in 1996 and State Farm won’t even give us a homeowners quote despite a new roof and a detailed wind mitigation report showing property roof truss construction.

Our insurance premiums were going to significantly increase for the coming year, so I called around and State Farm was the most cost effective. However, they required a 4 point inspection and gave me the numbers of some local inspectors. I soon realized that it would be a $150-$300 charge. I called State Farm back and said that your company is now not the best choice. They agreed to pay for the inspection, which indicated that my roof has 5 more years left. Our house was build in 2007.

Do you now have home insurance through State Farm?

I think State Farm was probably telling you the truth when they said they don't care how old your roof is. I have yet to hear a valid excuse for why any insurance company would care how old the roof is, unless it's obviously on the verge of leaking. If it was installed according to current code, a 30-year-old roof is no more likely to be ripped off in a tornado than a new one. The reason FLORIDA insurance companies don't like old roofs is because FLORIDA CITIZENS have a habit of scamming their insurance company out of a roof when they want a new one.

State Farm has always been notoriously picky about who they deal with, as well as quick to drop someone who makes a claim. I think they probably give a much bigger weight to your insurance history than the age of your roof. It wouldn't surprise me if they told you the rejection was due to roof age when the real reason was a 20-year-old insurance claim they found in your record, that they didn't want to argue about.

Nobody tells the truth these days when a lie is easier.

What you have described in your original post is pretty much exactly what happened to me and my husband.

We purchased a house in The Villages and we were told to submit an inspection report to State Farm. Our inspection report said that the roof had 5+ years of life remaining.

We were given insurance, subject to review by the underwriter. After the underwriter reviewed the pictures of the house (about three weeks later), they said they’d drop us unless we replaced the roof within 60 days.

The house was built in 2010, so I had a feeling this was coming but the fact is State Farm doesn’t like roofs that are more than 12 years old.

I have been a homeowner for over 55 years and have never submitted a claim.

Were you able to get insurance through another company? Did you have to replace your entire roof?

And THAT right there is the *real* truth.

They want you to buy a new roof out-of-pocket so you have no incentive to scam them for same.

I was able to get insurance with no problems on my 12 year old new home. I went with Tower Hill Exchange, reasonable price considering the shannanigans going on these days.

Talk to Fay at The Villages Insurance. She was great to work with.

I’m an Allstate agent working remote. Allstate is not writing property insurance however; I can provide a quote from one of our Allstate partners. We write with Tower Hill as well. I’m happy to help anyone looking for insurance. Please call 954-437-9220 ext. 308 or email hrichardson4@allstate.com.

foolish people
 

This all got started when some "roofers" ran around giving free inspections then told people you need a new roof but your insurance will pay when they didn't need it. Foolish people said oh yah and forced the insurance to pay years too soon

I would also call State Farm and demand my $125 back since they were the ones who recommended you go that path. That would royally p!ss me off. It's not a lot of money, it's the principle of the thing.

And, by the way, OP, if they rejected you after confirming that the roof is good for another 5 years, they are blatantly breaking the Florida law passed in 2022 that specifically says they can't do that.

Not that it matters, since Florida doesn't enforce its own laws. The legislature also passed tort reform, but Morgan and Morgan is still blasting the airwaves with their pleas for new scammers. Try calling what passes for an Insurance Commission in this state and see how far you get (I'm still waiting for a call back, almost 2 years later).

My rental has a perfectly beautiful 20 year old roof. I got a decent quote and switched to Kin because their policy protects them from scammers by covering the roof as a depreciating asset instead of"full replacement value". At least it's covered. The reason I called the insurance commission is that "American Integrity" literally wrote the roof out of the policy entirely, practically on the day after the new law was passed.

My SF experience
 

I contacted them for a quote after my 23% increase from Florida Family. My roof is 4 years old and the home was built in 2000. The response I got was "State Farm is not insuring homes built prior to 2003". :rant-rave: La-de-da!

State Farm is trying to make up their losses in Florida in year 1. My State Farm auto policy that was due Oct 1 of this year increased 30% from prior year. I have never had a claim on any of my auto policies.

Maybe I am missing something, why would you go through all of this hassle to keep a company that doesn’t want you? Call other companies and get other quotes and move on.

The Villages need to change their policy and allow Metal and Tile roofs. It is absolutely shameful that they don’t!

With all the intelligent retired business people living in The Villages, why; hasn't people grouped together and start their own private insurance company.
That is what State Farm and the rest of the companies do.
65,000 insured homes. 1 year= 65,000X $4,000=$260,000,000

I have a metal roof. Manufactured homes can have metal roofs, but you have to live in a village that allows manufactured homes. You also have to accept that *homeowners* insurance is not *manufactured home* insurance, and most insurance companies don't insure manufactured homes at all.

I asked ARC about having an aluminum roof and they said I could as long as it was one that looked like a "normal" roof, rather than sheet metal.

There are also several tiled roofs in our neighborhood.

Whether or not the insurance companies will still want you to replace metal or tile after 15 years...

Self-insurance is fine if the assets are widely-distributed. Having them all in one location is a recipe for disaster.

I have never understood why all insurance companies don't do this, unless it's not allowed under Florida law.

You wouldn't expect to get the "new" value for your 10-year old car if it gets totaled, so why a roof?

Had Farmers, who is leaving state of Florida, found Nsure agent in Boca Raton, after wind mitigation and 4 point inspection on our 80 year roof (Tile) and house, was approved by Citizens and saved $800. I know there will be a conclusion to Citizens but REFUSE to replace an 80 yr roof after 22 years, when this ride ends, we will self ensure and will send many letters to the state of Florida, for whatever that is worth, other than making us feel better.

[QUOTE=JRcorvette;2275840]The Villages need to change their policy and allow Metal and Tile roofs. It is absolutely shameful that they don’t![/QUOTE
I remember walking thru the model home village on Spanish Springs years ago. The houses were Key West style with metal roofs. Are they still there?

Is anybody using Kin Insurance? What are your thoughts? Experience? Appreciate input.

Agree. Fraudulent or at least questionable claims contribute to an insurance company’s decision to no longer offer insurance in a marketplace. Some roofing companies will sell a roof replacement saying it will be paid by insurance and will be more than happy to “work with you” to make it happen. Always somebody out there to milk the system. Insurance, Medicare, Unemployment, you name it

Had kin, DOUBLED premium, bye-bye kin!

How do you know when your roof needs to be replaced? When was the last time you inspected your roof? Have you read all the regulations agreed to by the insurance industry and the state legislation regarding when they have to replace a roof? No insurance company is going to pay for a roof replacement that doesn't meet the requirements they agreed to.
Just because someone knocked on a door and offered to inspect a roof then found that according to insurance industry regulations it was eligible for replacement doesn't mean it's a scam. I wouldn't know what to look for. What do you do, wait for a leak so you have to then replace the roof, and possibly underlayment, trusses, drywall and flooring?
Skip Smith has a Villages YouTube channel and on two different WNL shows he had insurance people on and one thing they said that shocked me was that something along the line for every $20 they spend on paying for a claim they spend about $70 to lawyers fighting your claims. This shocked me, I was amazed at that much going to fight your claims and second that they would admit that. Maybe they need to investigate what kind of scam the insurance companies and these law offices are running. Maybe they could afford to pay these claims instead of making lawyers rich.
These insurance companies made a lot of money over the years and now they have a couple bad ones and skip town.

Very poignant.

I am looking at Citizens. It seems that they are not a private Home Insurance Company, but rather a state run insurance company. Several things bother me. First, their offer says that they do not cover sinkhole. No distinction between Catastrophic or gradual. Second, they have a provision that they can increase their premium by up to 45% due to a natural disaster . AAA insurance person indicated they were not a good option.

Any good words?

I emailed this guy and got no response!

Good words is that they have to accept you even if all other insurance companies will not accept you. They are the insurance company of last resort and if they go belly up you will be protected(or should be protected by the State of Fl.

So I am the starter of this thread. New input. I found my original procurement documents and specsof my house in The Villages. Our house was built in 2006 near lake Sumter Landing. The roofing shingles were Owens Corning Oak Ridge 30 year Shingles with matching shingle Ridge Vent. Interested to knowing if that is the standard for homes at that time in The Villages?

Checked what 30 year shingles means. First, they state that warranty must be registered within 60 days of procurement. Who would think of doing that when buying a new house. Second must be installed in accordance with their process. I wonder if our builder was obligated or documented as doing this. Do not think this will go anywhere but will be discussing with The Villages warranty office.

This info may be of interest of new buyers who happen to think about their roof 20 plus years from now. Just like me 17 years later.

I think the 30 year warranty works like this - if you are 20 years into the 30 years, you would pay for 1/3 of the new shingles, BUT, you would need to pay for the labor to install.

or would that be pay 2/3 of the new shingles?

You are right, you would pay for 2/3, warranty covers 1/3

Call Abshier Insurance Agency
 

352-245-2423, They will shop for you.

Yes, it was purchased 3 months ago.