[villages07]

I've only been here just short of a year. Received my homeowners renewal today from Travelers of Florida (through Villages Insurance). Premium has increased 50% (from 1,000 a year to over 1,500). I'm close to the tornado swath but had no damage or claim history. They state they are anticipating another bad hurricane year and are jacking up premiums to pay for future claims (hmmmmm.....).

Coverage: house 295K; 2% hurricane deductible; 1,000 other deductibles; otherwise nothing special.

I expect this thread will generate some animated discussion. What kind of increases have others seen recently? Have you shopped around before renewing? Does Villages Insurance use a bait and switch...get you in the first year with "reasonable" premiums only to jack them up dramatically the second year? Any other insights?

Thanks.

[darbyduff]

We also are moving to the Villages and really hope a whole bunch of you weight in on this issue!!!!!

You would help a bunch of us on the outside looking in (so to speak)

[bamafan]

My wife and I are planning on buying in the villages in the next month. We were concerned about insurance so I called the Villages Insurance and spoke with a nice lady in the office. I told her we were looking at buying a Gardenia around 300k. She said insured for @250K with a 2% deduct for a named storm (hurricane) would run around $900 to 950.00 this would also cover a golf cart. If we went with a hurricane deduct of $500 instead of 2% add around $100. In talking to Citizens First Mortgage their good faith estimate for insurance on a 300K home is @ $80.00 per month. All of this is no where near the $1500 I told the lady at the insurance office that I had heard horror stories. She said not to worry. $1500 is real high, of course Travelers insurance in my book has always been high. I think I would shop around

[villages07]

Bama,

Thanks for your insight.... when I first went to Villages Insurance last year, they gave me quotes from 3 companies and Travelers was right in line with the others and a more well-known name so I picked them. I think I will check with other carriers outside the Villages Insurance umbrella.

[JohnZ]

I've had USAA insurance (homes and autos) for a long time and they've always been terrific and I highly recommend them :bigthumbsup:. We did not see a rate increase due to the storms in FL. However, we did receive a communication that USAA will not insure 2nd or vacation homes in FL. They will only insure your primary residence. USAA insures those on active duty in the armed services, veterans and their immediate family members. Definitely worth looking into if your a vet. An annual premium of $1500 is way high. Sounds like Travelers is intentially pricing themselves out of the Florida market. My guess is that Travelers took a big hit the last few years and they don't want a deja vu experience BUT don't want the bad publicity of terminaing policies.

[jjdees]

Anyone have experience with State Farm?

[bamafan]

John Z

Hello Is USAA insurance available only to Vets or military, or can anyone get it ? How do you get in contact with them. Like you I think Travelers is trying to back out of Fla. by getting you to drop them. Fla law probably prevents them from just dropping you without cause. Thanks much Bama


Here in Alabama State Farm is high. A lot of people in Mississippi and Louisana probably would not speak well of them. They balked on a lot of claims, got taken to court are now having to pay some 2 years later

[JohnZ]

USAA once insured only former and active duty officers when I joined. The've since expanded to include those on the list below. If you're eligible....become a member.....you won't regret it. USAA's main number is 1-800-531-8080 for home and auto.

USAA Membership is open to:

Children of USAA members.
Active-duty officers and enlisted personnel.
National Guard and Selected Reserve officers and enlisted personnel.
Officer candidates in commissioning programs.
Recently retired or separated military personnel.
Former USAA members.

[Lil Dancer]

We have a gardenia, insured for $243000, and our premium is $630. (We renewed on 4/17/07). We're with AAA Insurance Agency, and have ASI insurance. $500 hurricane deductible. We did some checking around when we originally got insurance, and AAA was the cheapest at that time. We did have some tornado damage, and we were very pleased with their coverage and service.

[bamafan]

Lil Dancer

Thanks where is AAA insurance agency. Is that a local, in the villages agency?
Thanks Bamafan

[noleguy]

Concerning insurance with USAA.... As of April, USAA is no longer taking any new homeowner policies in the state of Florida...I just moved here and was quite disappointed when USAA gave me the news when attempting to transfer my homeowners policy.

[needleptdoc]

What is your deductible for AAA?? Also are you are aware you have a seperate ded for hurricane. What you are paying sounds like No hurricane coverage. I sold insurance for 12 years for Mutual of Omaha. Your premium does not sound right??? Unless you have a very high ded.
We have State Farm. $199,000 coverage for structure the same for contents. with 2% ded for hurricanes and $500 ded for anything else. We pay $1293 per year. We moved here from Boynton Beach, Fl ( So Fla) The same coverage with State Farm was $4300. That gave us a $3000 savings. We are happy.
Our car insurance dropped $400 a year.

[JohnZ]

noleguy: We were able to transfer our policy with USAA a couple of months ago. We had our villa insured for several years by another carrier. USAA would not extend a second policy at the time we bought four years ago because our villa at that time was a 2nd home and/or "rental". If USAA does not know if your home here in The Villages is your primary residence, that could be the reason for their decision. I wonder how USAA is handling requests for new coverage for active duty military members assigned to bases/posts in FL.

[noleguy]

JohnZ...USAA was well aware that this was to be my permanent residence and I was told that they would no longer write new homeowner policies in Fla. Not sure how they are handling policies for active military. Still have my auto insurance with them but had to go hunting for homeowners.

[Lil Dancer]

Bamafan - AAA is located on Bichara Boulevard. Our total premium is $1532, but they deduct for a new home, for hip roof, for concrete block structure, for senior discount, etc.... and our premium ends up being $$630. $500 hurricane deductible, dwelling coverage $243,000, liability $300,000. Many of our neighbors also insure thru them - worth a shot getting an estimate.