Latest on Homeowners Insurance
 

I know this is an on-going topic but I want to know what the latest is.

I got my renewal from Progressive for a 2600 sqft home, no pool, no sinkhole, no flood insurance, roof 9 years old, 250/500, Dwelling $578K for $2,100. About a 45% increase from last year, no claims.

Please tell us how much you are paying so we can see what's right or not or what the "new normal" is.

Please list:
Company
Size of home
Dwelling insured limit
Pool or anything else special
Sinkhole insurance or not
Flood insurance or not
Roof age

Any recommendations to shop for a better deal.

I know we have talked about this a lot but now that the storms have passed It would be good to know how the insurers have re-calibrated for homes in the Villages.

Also, If you were not re-insured just tell us how you got new insurance and or whom you recommend.

Hope this will help a lot for those getting renewals this time of year.

It sounds about right. I renewed my Progressive insurance in February for $1,202. It was about a 10 percent increase. The differences between your's and mine is that my SF is about 2,000, my dwelling coverage is about $250,000, and I do have sinkhole insurance. Everything else is about the same.

I would get a quote from State Farm. They had comparable rates to Progressive.

Progressive ceo wants to reduce Florida exposure. This will continue for years. Look elsewhere

I wouldn’t call it “….. storms have passed It would be good to know how the insurers have re-calibrated for homes in the Villages.” They don’t recalibrate that quickly. What Florida needs is another 11-year hurricane drought that we had back around the turn of the century. (Hermine October 2005 broke Florida's record of a hurricane drought that lasted 3,966 days.) In 2024, three hurricanes made landfall in Florida: Debby, Helene, and Milton. By far Milton was the worst with $34.6 billion damage. Helene ($14 billion) and Debby ($66.7 million). That’s not nothing.

Back to homeowners ins cost. I would say yours is a good deal. I just got a renewal letter for $1621. Up from $1571. SF is about 1800, my dwelling coverage is about $365,000, neither flood nor sinkhole insurance. I’m going to add flood insurance when I get around to it. It’s Spinnaker Insurance Company. I have several weeks to pay the premium. This is not a major ins company. Some only will go with major companies.

It’s easy to get a quote:

Go to this website and click “Request a Quote” enter your address and answer a few other questions. You’ll get a quote very quickly. (They will call you.)

Guardian Insurance Group Inc. - Florida Insurance Agency

Here is my latest

Tower Hill
dwelling insured limit $700K
2700 SF house
with pool
sink hole with 10% deductible
no flood
new house

Price $3232.18. Sink hole coverage with 10% deductible was $768 of that. Probably a waste of money.

Seems more or less in line with the figures the OP quoted.

Our northern homes insurance are higher than any of our Florida homes. Just renewed one TV house February with less than $40 increase on a 2yo home

We have a $440,000 home in Bradenton, FL with State Farm insurance......10 miles from the coast and we had a decrease of about 5% when our renewal came in last month. The agent we have had for years actually called me to let me know it would decrease.

You should be very happy with that. We live outside The Villages in a 2,000 sq. ft. house worth about $250k and pay $500 more than you.

I think that you have a better than average quote. We have a slightly smaller house with a 2 year old roof, and all other factors the exact same as you. We pay literally a few $ more than you to a company named "Slide" which we purchase thru The Kevin MC Donald Agency.
And for the one large claim that we have had, this company was VERY prompt in paying.

I just signed up for loggerhead insurance, three bedroom 2 bath two car garage wood frame vinyl siding 1527 square feet, built in 1999, new roof this year mitigation form submitted, house value 290000 my premium for 12 months will be $1090

I have a 1700 square ft. home in Calumet Grove with a 4 year old roof and pay 2,000 I think I am overpaying with Frontline Insurance. Just paid. Will have to check for new insurance next year.

Home Insurance
 

Kin Insurance 2800 sq ft $535,000
$1300 10 year old roof

Your pool has no effect on your premium. Your quote seems reasonable and a good price for your under air sq. ft.

From AI: Having a pool generally increases homeowners insurance premiums. This is because pools add to the overall risk profile of a home, increasing the likelihood of liability claims and the potential cost of repairing or replacing damage to the pool itself.

I pay about $1200 for a similar house that is 2 years old via Kin Insurance which offers insurance in The Villages. They were hundreds less than the big brand names.

That is not a bad price and I am surprised that Progressive is even offering it. We have a 2345 sf home, no pool build in 2015 and our premium is $2450 with USAA and that includes a discount for having autos with them. I doubt you need flood insurance here in the Villages unless your mortgage company requires it.

State Farm is competitive until you have to submit a claim. There are numerous articles about how unhappy many of the California wild-fire victims are with State Farm's response to their claims. The theory behind property insurance is a "share the risk" strategy. Unfortunately, SF doesn't seem to like to share anything once it gets ahold of your premium dollars.

If we could have afforded a $400,000 home, we wouldn't quibble over the cost of insurance.

We have a double-wide manufactured home, we own the property it's on, the house is tied down (anchored into the ground and literally strapped to the anchors from the roof down), no grey pipes, no sinkhole area, no retention pond to flood over near the yard, and we have a metal roof and double-pane, double-hung windows rated to withstand 120mph hurricane force. It's an 1185sf house. We pay around $1500/year, and if we have full catastrophic damage, we'll be lucky to get $48,000 replacement cost. That isn't merely "the best we could do." That was "the only thing we could get." Manufactured home insurance is nearly impossible to get here. Most people don't even bother to have it at all. They take their chances, instead.

So be grateful for what you have.

Shop it. We dropped Progressive last year for same reasons.

After replacing our roof, our insurance with Liberty went UP about 25%/year for three years in a row. I now pay $0 premiums. We are "self insured".

Skip

Surely you kept Fire/Liability?
so, it's not zero

Kin. Give them a call

Tower Hill
2000 sq ft
pool and outdoor kitchen
3 year old roof

$1500

Paying It Forward
 

First post. Please be gentle.
As Mrs. Sunseeker and I have just purchased a preowned home in DeLuna, I found this thread especially helpful when comparison shopping for quotes today and here's what we settled on:

Tower Hill
1399 sq. ft.
$280K
No pool
No sinkhole
No flood
3 year old roof

$1182

Can't wait to start livin the lifestyle!!

Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne were in 2004.

Hermine, in 2016, broke the 11 year drought that started in 2005. 2004 sucked, we had to evacuate from Madeira Beach twice.

Just an update. After doing my own shopping and talking with my current insurance broker which is part of the Baldwin group now, I found I can get the same policy that Progressive wants at $2,100 for $1,350. Actually, several companies came back in this range.

Initially, I didn't want to switch to a smaller company in fear that they wouldn't pay in large weather event but from my neighbors experience after hurricane Milton, Progressive didn't want to pay either. They low-balled many of my friends who had roof and water damage to the point where they had to go the legal route to get compensated. I've also heard storys with Allstate and others. Just go with the one that has good ratings and provides the same coverage at the lowest cost.

So, what I found is Kin, Loggerhead, Frontline, State Farm for example, will provide the same coverages at a significant less cost. I understand everyone will have a story to tell about all these companies but that's the nature of home insurance these days.

One thing I will tell you is Frontline, will give a significant discount for a monitored burgler and fire alarm system, whole house surge protector and a Smart Home Water Protection System. I was very surprised to see these in the discounts. Also, they check to see if you have replaced your hot water heater as well. So, yet another reason to proactively replace it after the warranty ends vs waiting until it leaks and potentially causes damage to your home. Your credit score also has a lot to do with your rate and they tell you that explicitly.

Just FYI, I know people are going to comment that they got Kin for example and the first year was cheap and after that the premium doubled. In speaking with some friends, this can be for many reasons such as your roof reaching a certain age, etc.. You never get the whole story from the complainers. What I'm finding is it's probably a good idea to re-shop your homeowner's insurance yearly unless your renewal is reasonable and now there are plenty of insurers to choose from. Just the way things are these days with insurance.

Going into our 4th insured year with Spinnaker via The Villages insurance agency. 2019 build designer, interior lot no pool, no additional sink hole or flood, 2100 ish SF with enclosed lanai. $502K dwelling, $500K liability with $1000 general deductible. $1562 this coming year. First year was $1517 - pretty steady so I’m hanging in with them. Side note, they are AM Best A rated which was a requirement for my umbrella policy underwriter.

Speaking of Umbrella (I know this is a homeowner thread) my renewal just arrived with a nearly tripled premium - $1316 for $2M. I obviously will shop that which likely means changing my auto insurance as well. I have been with Costco’s insurance partner Connect by AmFam and have been happy. But, they quit writing new auto policies in FL and are apparently encouraging the likes of me to move on. I should see my auto renewal soon and I’m guessing it will be a little eye watering as well.

Is it generally 'cheaper' to insure a concrete block/wall home vs a wood frame home?

Observation from posts above:
Insurance is just a piece of paper until you have a claim, especially a major claim. You will wish that you had a well recognized company who has national coverage and a good track record.

I looks like most people are underinsured for what it would cost to rebuild should they sustain a total loss. If you are not insured 80% to value you will be hit with a co-insurance penalty. You will not find this out until you have a major loss.

Look over your policy and understand the Limitations and Exclusions before you have a claim.

A pool does effect the cost of a premium. That is why they ask you if you have one. Those birdcages over the pool are the first things damaged when the high winds comes from a hurricane. Not to mention accidents that can happen around or in a pool.

The only thing I would add is there is no guarantee even from a well recognized company who has national coverage and a good track record that they will pay major claims without a lot of effort and possibly legal action. During hurricane Milton, many of my friends and neighbors had Progressive, AllState and others and they only wanted to pay a fraction of the cost to repair the roof and water damage. Many had to resort to legal action to get paid. So these days, just find a company with the least amount of complaints and a good rating and you should be fine.