[Snowbug]

State Farm!

[Joe Sacco]

Correct!

[richrjones]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Hell, sadly I’m just happy to have insurance period without any additional sinkhole coverage. Our roof is 16 years old and I am nervously anticipating getting dumped again when our overpriced policy comes up for renewal in December. I have had two professionals inspect our roof, with architectural shingles, and both said it’s in good shape and has several years of remaining life. Unfortunately, with the roof scam thing running rampant, the insurers are either jacking up premiums to the stratosphere or leaving the Florida market entirely. DeSantis needs to push through some legislation pronto to protect the insurance companies from this scam or pretty soon there won’t be any companies left writing policies in Florida.

I wonder if your 2 professionals had come back that your roof had wind damage, like my 2 professionals (structural engineers) did, and you submitted a claim and was told that's not wind damage, it's just wear and tear, like my insurance company did, would you feel the same regarding who is scamming who?????

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

Not that laws mean anything anymore, but every Florida homeowner policy is required by law to include catastrophic sinkhole coverage.

Nevertheless, when American "Integrity" renewed my policy this year, they added a rider than excluded BOTH my roof AND catastrophic sinkhole coverage -- and then raised my rate 20%!

So, I guess, in this corrupt new loony tunes world we live in, where anybody can do anything they want except for law-abiding suckers and tax payers, we're probably on the verge of "virtual" insurance, where you pay an enormous rate so that your neighbors can scam a new roof every ten years, but the fine print excludes all other actual hazards. I'm tempted to get a mortgage just so I can have someone big enough on my side to force them to sell me real insurance!

Not a bad idea. They have folks that can actually make sense of the jargon and seemingly contradictory passages in different sections of the policy. Each year brings another revised paragraph. Posting policy updates driving me nuts

[bern916]

Originally Posted by RPDaly

State Farm. Need an inspection first before they cover you for it

I called State Farm yesterday for a quote since my renewal from American Integrity jumped $800. She said they cannot offer me a quote because my house was built prior to 2004. What the heck? Even though my roof is only 4 years old, didn't matter. That shouldn't be allowed ...

[Life as I know it]

Why can’t Insurance companies simply prorate the coverage of the roof based on age?
The deductible for the roof should be increased every year (without raising the premium) so at the end of of the life of the roof payout would be based on the age and condition. The deductible would start after the roof is 10 years old and it increases as it ages.
Or why can’t the Insurance company sell roof coverage in a separate policy like sinkhole coverage? When ever I see several roofs going on in one Village you have to wonder if they are being put on at our expense. I know of several friends and neighbors who have gotten these “free” roofs and are so happy that they got one. They should know that people know what they did.

[Kathe]

Originally Posted by rjn5656

I called the Villages Insurance for a quote on an existing home. They said none of the companies offer sinkhole insurance anymore.

Any one have luck with other insurance companies?

I have it through State Farm for a house I bought in May.

[gweisheipl]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

All Florida homeowners policies must include "catastrophic ground collapse" coverage, not sinkhole coverage. That coverage will only cover damage if your house has been declared condemned by the local Government. Some companies will offer an additional coverage called "sinkhole" coverage that will cover damage to your property even if it has not been condemned.

This is 100% correct. It’s non-catastrophic coverage that is now difficult to get! Farmers will cover your old roof, but offers no non-catastrophic sinkhole coverage. In addition, they were just told they now can only write 650 policies a month here in Florida!

[Mazjaz]

Originally Posted by richrjones

I wonder if your 2 professionals had come back that your roof had wind damage, like my 2 professionals (structural engineers) did, and you submitted a claim and was told that's not wind damage, it's just wear and tear, like my insurance company did, would you feel the same regarding who is scamming who?????

No one should expect a free roof with any damage. There should be a yearly depreciation value loss that the homeowner has to chip in in case of any claim. It’s the full replacement scams that are driving everybody’s premiums thru the roof or forcing insurance companies to leave the state completely.

[birdawg]

Originally Posted by wlasowicz

Maybe they are not offering it for new insurance but I have insurance thru The Villages insurance which I think is ASI which owned by Progressive I have sinkhole coverage but the agent told me last week the deductible for sinkhole was 10% of the value of my home.
Can any one comment if that 10% is correct?

That’s my understanding

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Life as I know it

Why can’t Insurance companies simply prorate the coverage of the roof based on age?
The deductible for the roof should be increased every year (without raising the premium) so at the end of of the life of the roof payout would be based on the age and condition. The deductible would start after the roof is 10 years old and it increases as it ages.
Or why can’t the Insurance company sell roof coverage in a separate policy like sinkhole coverage? When ever I see several roofs going on in one Village you have to wonder if they are being put on at our expense. I know of several friends and neighbors who have gotten these “free” roofs and are so happy that they got one. They should know that people know what they did.

The problem is that an old roof can blow away, and the entire house is destroyed. Insurance companies want their customers to have a good roof to prevent that from happening.

I agree that the problem needs to be fixed, but it needs to be done by the state. They write the rules for insurance policies and the insurance companies have very little flexibility when writing policies. They need to cover what the state tells them to cover.

[westernrider75]

Just an fyi, Progressive is not quoting on homes in Florida right now.

[Chitown]

I have State Farm insurance. I just went over my policy with my agent. I have both catastrophic ground collapse insurance and sinkhole insurance as part of my policy

[terenceanne]

Only thing that is certain is that insurance companies will try and find a way not to pay you. If they pay you for a broken sprinkler they will go ahead and drop you the following day. Insurance is one of the best scams ever invented by man.

[jrref]

Check your policy i believe the sink hole insurance rider Only covers "covered" areas meaning a roof over the area. It's designed to cover your home if it has damage from the house severly settling from a sink hole under it. If you get a sink hole in your driveway it's not covered. Catastrophic ground collapse is 10% of the value of your home so it's a very large deductable. Many will disagree and believe they are covered differently but you need to read the policy and not just listen to the agent.