[tophcfa]

Here are some points I wrote down while watching the news segment.

- Florida has the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the entire country
- Since 2020, the average home premium has increased 100%
- Since the beginning of 2022, 20 insurance companies have either stopped writing new policies or gone out of business
- The problem in Florida is not just the obvious reason frequently cited, hurricanes, but also litigation
- Florida accounts for 9% of all claims in the country but accounts for 79% of all property claim lawsuits
- The recent legislation passed to address the situation is viewed as a bandaid solution that will not help the problem in the foreseeable future

This is NOT GOOD! Insurers are in the business of diversifying their portfolio of risk. It is highly likely that the dwindling number of companies still doing business in Florida will soon not want any more exposure to the market, unless they are receiving outrageous premiums to compensate them for taking on more risk in such a dangerous market for them (both hurricanes and litigation). Buckle up when your policy approaches its renewal date! I think we better replace our perfectly fine 14 year old roof before our carrier dumps us? Ouch : (

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Here are some points I wrote down while watching the news segment.

- Florida has the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the entire country
- Since 2020, the average home premium has increased 100%
- Since the beginning of 2022, 20 insurance companies have either stopped writing new policies or gone out of business
- The problem in Florida is not just the obvious reason frequently cited, hurricanes, but also litigation
- Florida accounts for 9% of all claims in the country but accounts for 79% of all property claim lawsuits
- The recent legislation passed to address the situation is viewed as a bandaid solution that will not help the problem in the foreseeable future

This is NOT GOOD! Insurers are in the business of diversifying their portfolio of risk. It is highly likely that the dwindling number of companies still doing business in Florida will soon not want any more exposure to the market, unless they are receiving outrageous premiums to compensate them for taking on more risk in such a dangerous market for them (both hurricanes and litigation). Buckle up when your policy approaches its renewal date! I think we better replace our perfectly fine 14 year old roof before our carrier dumps us? Ouch : (

most depressing outlook for FL residents who have all moved down here from up north. . .

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

We have a manufactured home with a metal roof. We'll -probably- just not have homeowners' insurance next year, if the next year's rate goes up.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

We have a manufactured home with a metal roof. We'll -probably- just not have homeowners' insurance next year, if the next year's rate goes up.

You can get a renters policy which will insure the contents of the home, but not the home itself. With a manufactured home, the value of your land is typically worth more than the home itself. We almost bought a manufactured home on Turnberry Lane in the historic section and that was our plan. Good luck.

[badkarma318]

If an insurance company came into Florida, offered fair rates (good for us), and avoided the coasts (good for them), they wouldn't know what to do with all of the customers.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by badkarma318

If an insurance company came into Florida, offered fair rates (good for us), and avoided the coasts (good for them), they wouldn't know what to do with all of the customers.

Avoiding the coasts would reduce their hurricane risk exposure, but wouldn’t reduce their out of control litigation (roof scam) exposure. And insurers don’t want more customers than they know what to do with in any given geographical area, that does not add uncorrelated risk which diversifies their overall book of business.

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Here are some points I wrote down while watching the news segment.

- Florida has the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the entire country
- Since 2020, the average home premium has increased 100%
- Since the beginning of 2022, 20 insurance companies have either stopped writing new policies or gone out of business
- The problem in Florida is not just the obvious reason frequently cited, hurricanes, but also litigation
- Florida accounts for 9% of all claims in the country but accounts for 79% of all property claim lawsuits
- The recent legislation passed to address the situation is viewed as a bandaid solution that will not help the problem in the foreseeable future

This is NOT GOOD! Insurers are in the business of diversifying their portfolio of risk. It is highly likely that the dwindling number of companies still doing business in Florida will soon not want any more exposure to the market, unless they are receiving outrageous premiums to compensate them for taking on more risk in such a dangerous market for them (both hurricanes and litigation). Buckle up when your policy approaches its renewal date! I think we better replace our perfectly fine 14 year old roof before our carrier dumps us? Ouch : (

I think this is the segment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJYuQd58dU8

[TSO/ISPF]

Are Florida's laws so different from other states that litigation is more lucrative for the legal firms doing all the commercials claiming to get massive settlements for all the victims?

[mrf0151]

And Florida is not the most expensive state for homeowners' insurance. See this report.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=6b61c...dGF0ZXMv&ntb=1

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by TSO/ISPF

Are Florida's laws so different from other states that litigation is more lucrative for the legal firms doing all the commercials claiming to get massive settlements for all the victims?

To answer your question, yes. In a case where in an insured makes a claim and the insurance company denies the claim, the insured can file suit. If insured wins: 1. Insurance company pays the claim. 2. Insurance company pays the attorney fees for the insureds attorney. 3. Insurance company pays an attorney and attorney costs to defend the suit. In most cases, the insured gets more claim money than insurance company would have or did offer. New laws have been enacted and these new laws will stop some of this. Full Disclosure, I adjusted claims in Florida for 40+ years and have no experience with in other states.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by mrf0151

And Florida is not the most expensive state for homeowners' insurance. See this report.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=6b61c...dGF0ZXMv&ntb=1

Good article. Bet Florida will catch up to the high tornado, damaging hail states.

[JGibson]

The funny thing is other than the whole roof thing, how many people really had to use their insurance? The chances of a fire, flood, or hurricane damage in TV are so rare. It's not like car insurance which you’re more likely to use in a lifetime.
Insurance companies are passing on hurricane claims to folks who will probably never have a hurricane claim.

I know in NY the insurance companies have to show evidence to regulators for the justification for price increases.

[vlm790]

People need to quit ripping off the insurance companies too. False claims drive the cost up too. Quit trying to get something that you don’t earn or deserve!

[Whitley]

Originally Posted by kkingston57

To answer your question, yes. In a case where in an insured makes a claim and the insurance company denies the claim, the insured can file suit. If insured wins: 1. Insurance company pays the claim. 2. Insurance company pays the attorney fees for the insureds attorney. 3. Insurance company pays an attorney and attorney costs to defend the suit. In most cases, the insured gets more claim money than insurance company would have or did offer. New laws have been enacted and these new laws will stop some of this. Full Disclosure, I adjusted claims in Florida for 40+ years and have no experience with in other states.

If you would help me clarify a couple of points.
1)Those who insure homes or companies in Florida, then go and get their own insurance against the properties they insure. Is this correct? If so wouldn't it make sense to cut out the middle provider?

2) My insurance company USI has told me that of the cases brought to court, the insurance carrier loses over 50% of them. I told him that to me it would seem they are denying a large number of valid claims. I wonder how much of the annual expense goes to attorneys?

3) When our agent gets quotes, he sends out a request to every provider that sells in the state. There is a policy among providers that they will only quote a property once, ie to one agent. Once ABC agent gets quotes, I can go to a second agent and he will not be able to get quotes from any company that the initial agent went to. As the agent gets a percent of the premium, I doubt they are broken up over higher rates. If we want to go to a second agent and see if he can negotiate better rates (perhaps he does more research into our property), we would not be able to do so if our first primary agent has already gone to that provider.


Am I understanding how this works?

[Blueblaze]

The solution to the roofing scams would be unbelievably simple to solve -- just treat a roof like the depreciating asset that it is. Why is that so hard to understand? You don't expect State Farm to buy you a set of tires for your Ford every five years; why do you expect them to buy you a roof every ten? Other states don't have a problem with this idiotic issue, just states like Florida that are run by lawyers for their own amusement, full of crooked idiots who think a "free roof" is free.

30 years ago, I had half of my 3-year-old roof blown away by an Oklahoma tornado. Allstate replaced that HALF of my roof. But in Florida, you can get a new roof if some scam roofing company finds a loose shingle, because all of these dumb insurance companies insist on writing these idiotic "full replacement cost" policies, and then paying on a scam rather than fight a crooked lawyer. Want reasonable insurance rates? Quit demanding unreasonable insurance policies and free roofs!

And I will never understand why insurance companies don't group similar risks, instead of making sane people who don't buy houses exposed to 12' storm surges pay for those who do.

The Villages ought to have the lowest insurance rates in the nation. More than half the homes are built out of concrete with steel studs, for crying out loud! ALL of them are built to withstand winds that have never been seen in this part of Florida. They are surrounded by an unbelievably extensive flood control system of ponds and pumps, and every single house is less than 5 minutes from a fire station. The nearest potential storm surge is 60 miles away!

And, yet, my Florida insurance is TWICE what I paid in Texas, from the same damned company, even though that house was exactly the same distance from the Gulf of Mexico, and WASN'T built to any hurricane standard. I went through three level 5 hurricanes and two tropical storms in the house, and the only damage I ever suffered was a blown down privacy fence -- because even those hurricanes were barely level 1 by the time they crossed 60 miles of land. During Harvey, I had 36" of rain in 48 hours, and the flood water was literally lapping the foundation of my house. It was a week before the roads cleared enough to go to the store. And STILL my insurance was HALF what I pay to insure this (much smaller!) Florida fortress, the same 60 miles from the ocean, but surrounded by an extensive flood control system!

I used to believe the old adage "never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity". But the Florida insurance market has me rethinking that one. You don't get to this level of stupidity without an entire state full of stupidly corrupt people, dreaming up new ways to steal from each other!