Home insurance
 

I am looking to hear your recommendations and/or red flags about HOME INSURANCE companies and agents in TV. Any details regarding rates and/or claims for a 2 bdrm, 2 bath mobile home would be helpful.

We have Progressive through The Villages Insurance. I found progressive's pricing to be very competitive and remember when comparing prices the amount of coverage you have for liability and contents contributes to the cost so be sure to compare apples with apples. That being said, I would not recommend The Villages Insurance and will most likely keep progressive but change agents at some point. TV Insurance has very pool customer service, at least with my experiences with the, and many times you have to wait 24 hours or an entire weekend to talk with anyone over there. Most independent agents will get back to you quickly.

The OP is asking about a mobile home. Does Progressive insure mobile homes? Shopping for mobile home insurance is completely different from other homes.

According to their website Progressive does write policies on "mobile" homes.

We are shopping to replace our current homeowners insurance. We are working with Villages Insurance and they have been responsive and helpful. VI had presented us with quotes from two companies that are considerably less than our current. It appears that insurance companies are starting to require Wind Mitigation Reports for houses built before 2002. I am not sure if this requirement would apply to mobile homes.

We have Progressive in The Villages but had to get Foremost for our lake mobile home in Georgia. Satisfied with Progressive and Foremost so far.

We got a letter from AIG this month stating they were changing our deductible for roof replacement from $500 to $15,000 deductible. This is for wind and hail, however hurricane is still $500. They stated the reason is because they are having to replace a lot of roofs in the Villages. They then say if you still want the $500 deductible their new rate for that is $2000/year which is double what we were paying. Reminds me of years back when State Farm dropped insuring homes in The Villages due to too many hurricane claims in Florida.

We found Allstate a little cheaper than Village insurance and went with them.

When we got the renewal a few months ago the increase was a lot smaller than I was thinking we would get.

No claims so no idea how well they would be handled.

Roof age can and eventually will be an issue regarding price and insurability. Also be sure to find out insurers coverage for catastrophic and non-catastrophic sink hole coverage.

Florida homeowners insurance
 

The Wall Street Journal had an instructive article about the soaring increases of home insurance possibly cooling the housing boom in Florida. Increases in the range of 20 to 60 per cent or more are becoming the norm if the carriers will even renew the policies. Sham roof claims and litigious activities were cited as causes for huge losses accrued to the insurance companies beyond the recent hurricane losses. Sounds like big insurance hikes are coming.

Mobile/manufactured homes are tricky. They represent a big hurricane risk to insurers. Insurability often depends on year built (the building codes got more restrictive for later built homes), and the tie down system securing the homes. Many insurance companies dropped them from their insurance portfolios. Many people that own manufactured homes opt to only carry renters insurance, which covers the contents of the home, but not the home itself. The reasoning for this is that the risk is minimal relative to the cost of insurance. Most of the actual value is the land the home is built on and the contents of the home, not the home itself. Of course, if there is a mortgage on the home the lender will require homeowners insurance to protect the value of their collateral.

Thanks for all the comments so far.

I purchased a preowned home in TV and a relative recommended the Allstate, Bascom Agency. Excellent Customer Service, Patiently answered all of my questions, returned phone calls, emails. I would recommend highly. 352-753-1177

Insurance Recommendation
 

Garrett Johnson of the Southern Insurance Group has saved us money on our auto and homeowners insurance for the last five years.

Insurance
 

We have Progressive Insurance through AAA. They are an unbiased group. Watch out for No-Name insurance peddled by The Villages insurance. They tried to sell me insurance that no one ever heard of - no history of claim payment, not rated by BBB & not listed in JD Powers website. YES, they were cheaper than other companies.