Sinkhole insurance 15 year old house
 

I am in the process of arranging homeowners insurance for our new house which is scheduled to close Oct 30.

First I called the agency we went through for our villa in Oldsmar. Agent says we would need an inspection to get sinkhole coverage and he thinks the inspection would cost $3,000-6,000 but he will research more. Today he writes: "The inspection needs to be completed by an Engineer. It is not even a Home Inspector that does it. I have called multiple inspectors and have been on the line with The Villages Warranty Department and they don’t even know of anyone that can inspect for Sinkholes." (This agency is in south -- not Central -- Florida.)

After reading posts on TOTV, I called Villages Insurance. She says if our roof is original we don't qualify for sinkhole coverage because the roof would be 15 years old. If we replace the roof (or find out that the roof is NOT original) we would qualify. I am waiting to hear back from the realtor, who is checking on the age of the roof. (The sellers added a second master suite to the house a couple of years after they bought it, so I suppose it is possible that they replaced the roof at that time. Fingers crossed.)

If it turns out that our roof is 15 years old, does anyone know of a company that will give us sinkhole coverage?

Thanks in advance!

kathy

This makes no sence so I would check a few brokers. I have heard about an inspection and best I can remember it is between 100 and 300. My guess is it is more with checking on what sink holes have developed in your area and if any are close (?) you will be turned down. My guess is you will not be able to get the insurance. Do a search on this site as this should have a lot of discussions.

My insurance company knew the age of my roof, by looking up county building permits issued.
Any new roof requires a permit.

I don’t understand the relationship between the age of the roof and whether you qualify for sinkhole insurance. Can someone explain to me, please?

**********“After reading posts on TOTV, I called Villages Insurance. She says if our roof is original we don't qualify for sinkhole coverage because the roof would be 15 years old. If we replace the roof (or find out that the roof is NOT original) we would qualify. “*************





I am at a loss as to why a roof would have anything to do with a sinkhole. If thats the case everything north of LSL must be one big sinkhole waiting to happen. :22yikes: I would try a different Villages Insurance Office, Maybe the person was confused.

Sinkhole insurance is very complicated because different insurers have different requirements. In Florida, all homeowners policies must cover "catastrophic ground collapse" which is similar to sinkhole coverage, but not the same thing. Some insurers will require an older house to have a geological inspection before they will sell you sinkhole coverage. The inspection should cost a few hundred dollars. Sinkhole coverage is an add-on, not part of the basic policy. But, some insurers may not even sell you a policy at all, if they determine that your roof is too old. This is not really related to sinkhole coverage, but can affect your ability to buy any insurance from that company. The reason the age of the roof is important is because an older roof may not protect the house from hurricane damage, and the insurer does not want to be liable for damage to a vulnerable house. If you want sinkhole coverage, you really need to shop around and find a company that will provide the coverage for your specific house. I hope this provides some help.

I added sinkhole coverage to my Statefarm policy. SF contracted with Mueller insurance services, they performed a Interior/Exterior sinkhole on-site report on my 2 year old home. The cost to me was $47 for a emailed/mailed hardcopy of the report.

QUOTE=asianthree;1581230]**********“After reading posts on TOTV, I called Villages Insurance. She says if our roof is original we don't qualify for sinkhole coverage because the roof would be 15 years old. If we replace the roof (or find out that the roof is NOT original) we would qualify. “*************





I am at a loss as to why a roof would have anything to do with a sinkhole. If thats the case everything north of LSL must be one big sinkhole waiting to happen. :22yikes: I would try a different Villages Insurance Office, Maybe the person was confused.[/QUOTE]

I have also been told this by Villages Insurance. They told me that they will not renew my sinkhole insurance if I do not replace my 13 year old roof. I will be looking for a new company because I do not need a new roof.

Sinkhole coverage is an add-on to the basic homeowners policy, not part of the basic policy. Some insurers will not sell you a basic policy if your house has an older roof. So, you cannot purchase the sinkhole add-on. You need to find an insurer who will sell a basic policy on a house with an older roof, and who will also offer a sinkhole add-on. I don't think you can puchase sinkhole coverage as a separate policy.

Attached is a copy of the POA Bulletin for August 2018. It contains several informative articles about sinkholes and insurance.

When it comes to obtaining sinkhole coverage, I think it's safe to say, "It's a jungle out there."

Go get quote from AAA, they will beat Villages probably in every category. AAA also has sinkhole insurance. My house, sinkhole, car, golf cart, and scooter from AAA was cheaper than just home onwers insurance in OKC, OK.

Most sinkhole insurance comes with high deductibles, usually $10,000 minimum? Don't let that scare you off engineering survey and couple truck load will well exceed that?

:bigbow: any insurance policy very complicated! It's the fine print that don't have Two days to read and when you file claims it's a O we don't cover that natural disaster, read you're policy.

Call Allstate Kevin McDonald Agency. They sell several different homeowner's policies with different companies. I am sure they know the ins and outs of sinkhole insurance and inspections.

Address: 11962 Co Rd 101 #305, The Villages, FL 32162
Hours:
Closed ⋅ Opens 8AM Mon
Phone: (352) 259-3825

Sounds like they want you to get a geological survey, usually $5-10k. If you want a bit more info, PM me and I’ll tell you what little I know about it.

Thanks for all the info, everyone. I have been in touch with Allstate and it sounds like they are going to be able to write the policy that we want.

kathy