Citizens Insurance is the state run insurance of last resort only available to people who have no other options. From what I read on this forum, there is still property insurance available through private companies in The Villages. All the major insurance companies pulled out of the coastal counties in the past several years. When and if this happens in TV, your only option is Citizens. Citizens provides all the same coverage as normal homeowners; ie hurricane, sink hole, etc. for about the same price. Hopes this helps answer your questions.

Good question.

Assessment fees
 

Hot spot for sinkholes

Sinkhole claims to insurance from 2006-2010. Percent is percent of statewide total, which was 24,671. The Tampa Bay area had 72 percent of the total claims in the state.

Hernando 6,036 24.5%
Pasco 5,932 24.0%
Hillsborough 4,450 18.0%
Pinellas 1,466 5.9%


Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

OIR Business UnitsUpcoming EventsPublic Records RequestAssociations, Boards and Councils Consumer ResourcesAgents/Agency ServicesSearchSite MapHome

Sinkholes
Florida has more sinkholes than any other state in the nation. Section 627.706(2)(a), Florida Statutes requires authorized insurers to cover catastrophic ground cover collapse, but damage, outside a catastrophic ground cover collapse, caused by a sinkhole may not be covered by your policy if it does not specifically include sinkhole coverage. For more information on what every Floridian should know about Sinkholes and Catastrophic Ground Collapse, see the Department of Financial Services guide. For tips on settling your sinkhole claim where to find help, click here.

For more detailed information about Sinkholes and Catastrophic Ground Collapse in Florida, please see the following studies Web sites:


Sinkhole Data Call Report -- 2010
Deloitte Sinkhole Report -- 2006
Insurance Study of Sinkholes -- 2005
Sinkholes in Florida (County Maps) Fla. Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida
Areas of Sinkhole Occurrence: Florida, 2008
Dept. of Environmental Protection

Office of Insurance Regulation News Releases on Sinkholes:

/PressReleases/viewmediarelease.aspx?ID=3669 /PressReleases/viewmediarelease.aspx?ID=2657/PressReleases/viewmediarelease.aspx?ID=2550 /PressReleases/viewmediarelease.aspx?ID=2423

During the 2010 Legislative Session, the Office identified increased sinkhole claims as one of the cost drivers affecting homeowners rates. The Office heard from the industry that there has been a substantial increase in the frequency of claims, and that these claims are being filed outside the traditional sinkhole alley in Hernando and Pasco Counties. In August 2010, the Office issued a data call to commercial residential property insurers to collect claims data related to sinkhole frequency and severity of claims, and the geographic location of those claims. On November 8, 2010, the Office issued its report based on the data provided (see first Web site link, above).

PaPa Larry. Your header above "Hot spot for sinkholes refers to the Tampa Bay area. Correct???????????

Trying to keep people from seeing the doctor for blood pressure peaks.

Sink Hole site
 

Woke up one morning and looked across to my neighbors house and a sink hole was forming. Just happens. The Village people came out ASAP and filled it. here's a site that answers some question about sinkholes in Fla..:pray:

FGS - Frequently Asked Questions

here is a site that ans some questions about sink holes in Fla

FGS - Frequently Asked Questions

Could you tell us what village you live in or at least what county?

I was told by a Villages insurance agent this morning that it was NOT a sinkhole. And that it was covered by the regular home coverage. Not the sinkhole coverage.

Bob

Did they sing YMCA too?

Just kidding. I noticed that the sink hole in Sunset Point has been filled in. Does anyone know if the house has been condemned?

Which occurrence are you referring to? The one near Cane Garden?

Exactly WHAT did the insurance agent say was the cause of that huge hole - the one near Cane Gardens?

We are a new build South of 466A in Sanibel and our zip is 32163

Yes Gracie! But if you Google "Florida Office of Insurance Regulations" you can get much information. From what I can see, (and I am not a "pro") most sinkholes in Florida are south of The Villages. I'm sure this Thread is going to produce articles, down the road in all 3 papers. Makes me think twice about gambling without "sinkhole Ins". Right now I have it.

She said the one in Sunset Point. And it was not a sinkhole. It was called a ground catastrophe. Also said sinkholes happen slowly over time. A ground catastrophe happens quickly. I didn't go into detail with her and I may have mis-understood. I was focused on questions about my own policy.

Bob

Thanks for clearing that up. It makes sense...catastrophic ground collapse is covered under the main policy homeowners' policy.

The idea of self insure is not doable for many reasons.

Think about:

Who would collect the money? Who would record the properties in the fund? Where would the money be stored/saved? Who would arrange for audits? And pay for the audits? Who would do this work without getting paid? Who would manage the claims? Who would investigate the claims? Etc Etc!

There is a reason that insurance companies exist and a reason that most of them employ thousands of people. Even companies that I know of that self insure their health fund (for example) have to hire an insurance company to handle all the processing of money, claims etc.

Bottom line: Sounds simple and neat but not doable.

Gee, maybe TV could take it on...they do kind of have everything else wrapped up. Maybe they can put it under THEIR umbrella insurance? After all, it is in the best interest of TV to sell their houses and from what I have seen, they are problem solvers on the macro level. If none of their houses going forward can get sinkhole.. I really have no idea.

What I do know is that as of this writing, I have been told only ONE company is now insuring for sink hole. Going forward, that will change because understandably they will not want to be the only one to cover risk. So instead of starting from the premise of how difficult or nothing can be done, people who do not already have it need to start figuring out how to obtain this insurance.

With all due respect, it is a non issue for people who already have it; If they were facing the same dilemna, perhaps they would be using their thoughts and posts to discover solutions rather than discussing how difficult it will be. This issue is a perfect example of "Necessity is the mother of invention." Any positive ideas should be considered. And Tv should not be ruled out automatically; it affects their business model. :) mho

Agree.

New Sinkhole in Chatham
 

Drove down Legacy Lane at 9 am this morning-nothing unusual.. Returned two hours later and found flagmen directing traffic and about eight trucks just past the gate. A LARGE sinkhole had opened in a resident's back yard on Legacy just past the gate. It looked about 3-5 feet deep and was between the house and the road. It must be " sinkhole season." Hope they had insurance.

I had no idea we had a different zip code than the other TVers. Is the rest of TV 32162?

Sure hope zip 32163 is a good one for sink hole insurance.

Most of the rest of The Villages is 32162 except for the Lake County portion which is 32159.

Not to sure that was a sinkhole but it may be soon. Went by that area around 11:15 on the way to Oakleigh and the water was flowing down the road. Some workers were trying hard to get the water shut off and when we went back by there around 2 they had a large hole dug in someones yard. Looked more like a water main break to me.

Pre-inspection
 

Have you called a agent?

These and other posts have made others aware of limited or no sinkhole insurance in some new areas. That is something the Governor is working on now.

Some insurance companies will have you do the test first.

People should have insurance pre-quotes in hand before the build.

I know that in Tamarind there is at present only one company that will write for this new area.

Golf courses have wells?
 

The sinkholes that I know about are close to golf courses. Does anyone know if the golf courses have their own wells and could be depleting the aquifer?

Don't count on it.

Russ: Are you basing that on a fact, something you know, or just commenting?

Per today's paper, this incident was a water main break and not a sinkhole.

To Advo.... Golf course irrigation is primarily via reclaimed water in the various ponds.

Russ may be right!
 

I can't remember which thread(s) or where I read this but it was posted that sinkhole insurance in some new developements will not be available. ALso in FLa papers. Bill might have the links he is the good at that!

Fla legistation is at this moment working on this. Coverage once mandated has expired from the law.

It goes back to.

1: a non established record of activitity in the new developed areas.

2: insurance companies wanting to gouge and or ignore the homeowners

3: a past history of sink hole fraud in certain parts of FLA

The best advise I have is for all who are building new in TV to get to you insurance agent and get the facts straight from them. You can also spend under 500 and have professional companies test your land.

I do know for a fact that there are no multiple sinkhole carriers competeing for your business. This drives the price up and up!

When there is a tract record of few claims in five years or so the rates may remain the same and not go up much. IMHO

Russ has done his homework I agree with him.

We were very very lucky and got our insurance just under the gun.

Herv, rather than looking back for prior threads on whether or not someone felt sinkhole coverage will or won't be available in the new areas, I elected to contact our agent and get the scoop from her directly:

Rita Canty with Brightway Insurance out of Jacksonville - (904)646-1850.

Our policy on our patio villa in Duval was underwritten by Security First Insurance Co. through them just over a year ago. Brightway currently represents 41 of the 44 "admitted" (ie. approved by the state) companies that underwrite H.O. insurance in FL. Other insurance agencies only work with a few companies.

Here's what I got just a bit ago from my phone conversation with Rita:

- It is not necessarily easy to get sinkhole coverage added to a H.O. policy.....but it is not impossible if your home is considered viable to be covered. She did acknowledge that over the past two years, it has gotten more difficult. However, she was unaware of any companies refusing to write sinkhole coverage in any specific areas.

- Each request for coverage is reviewed on a case-by-case basis - a company wants to assess their risk in providing sinkhole coverage for your property. There is a process to go through - it is not as simple and straightforward as, say, calling your insurance agent and changing the deductible on your car insurance policy on the spot.

- Nearly all companies are now requiring some type of pre-coverage inspection which will help them assess the current condition of the property relative to sinkhole potential. She said most of the companies are using a third-party organization that specializes in such inspections - SDII was the company that did ours. SDII Global Corporation > Home The insurance company split the cost of the inspection with us so our out-of-pocket for the inspection was $75 (early 2011) - and this 'split' was mentioned up-front and voluntarily by Rita at the time.....no arm-twisting on our part. Your experience with another company might differ.

My suggestion would be to check with the agent of your choice about what the process is for the company/ies they represent IN ADVANCE of purchasing a property if you are locked in to wanting sinkhole coverage. We lucked out - the whole sinkhole coverage concept was new to us when we bought. Fortunately, our home passed inspection and we were able to get the coverage added a few months later......though it was not inexpensive (it added 19% to the total cost of our H.O. policy for this year!). If you find you're having problems, contact Rita for her input. I'd think if any insurance agency would be able to help, it would be them given that they're representing nearly all the companies able to write policies in FL.

Disclaimer: We have absolutely no affiliation, direct or indirect, with Rita or Brightway Insurance.

Bill :)

No fact. But unlikely that any part of Sumter County would be covered (In My Opinion) regardless of the zip. If the insurance company doesn't like the risk in 32162 then I don't think the new area would be covered. Same basic geography.

Tks
 

Thanks Bill, Your a good mentor and a " Go to Resource"

I did exactly what you recommend. Like you we went to our agent and we were lucky with getting our policies. In fact I had several close friends in Tamarind work with me also.

My Post was for all the new or soon to purchase buyers reading. I believe that we are not starting panic but as per the TOTV I feel it is a nice gesture to give people a heads up.

Some attack that we are starting a panic. I was shocked to find out how close we came to NOT getting coverage or a huge deductible.

As you most correctly stated. You and I both found that a call to your agent is priceless.

I would someday hope like a used home inspection a new lot would have the requirement to provide sinkhole inspection to give those peace of mind.

Good companies with technology of ground sonar and test drilling can determine a yea! or nay!

I am afraid that these rates are going to climb unless Fla law restores insurance sinkhole reasonable coverage.

I was told that these type of tests are many thousands of $$

Sinkhole coverage
 

So I'll definitely contact an agent before putting a deposit on a lot. But say I pick a lot and by the time they come to test it's sold to someone else.
Wonder if TV will give you a rebate if you back out of a lot cause you cannot get sinkhole coverage or the coverage has a very high deductible or high cost.

That's an excellent question for your sales person. Please let us know what he/she says in response.

You can't insure what you don't own. Inquire now. Do your due diligence.

And even if there is a danger anywhere in Florida of sinkholes, The Villages isn't having any trouble selling those lots.

Dance while you can still hear the music.

I think he was talking about a sink hole inspection. A very good idea. I will be doing same before dancing.

I thought I was following this line of thought.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...s/viewpost.gif
You can't insure what you don't own. Inquire now. Do your due diligence.

And even if there is a danger anywhere in Florida of sinkholes, The Villages isn't having any trouble selling those lots.

Dance while you can still hear the music.

"I think he was talking about a sink hole inspection. A very good idea. I will be doing same before dancing."Posh

How could they inspect a lot for sinkholes before you choose a lot and put a deposit on it??? Just asking. And my point is that sinkholes happen, they are fairly rare. Central and West central Florida has more than the rest of the state. That known and given, the lots are still selling here pretty fast and people are taking their chances. May I have this waltz, Posh? ;).

The cheery thought around here is that if you don't ever have a sinkhole, you have a good chance to be hit by a drunken golf cart driver.;)

OR...CAN YOU HAVE A POTENTIAL LOT INSPECTED.??AND HOW DO THEY DO THAT? AND WILL THEY CHARGE YOU FOR THAT? And even after that can you be sure?