homeowners insurance

Top Ways To Reduce Your Homeowners Insurance Cost

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Homeowners insurance isn’t an option. If you have a mortgage, you are required to have homeowners insurance. If you own your home outright, having homeowners insurance isn’t required, but it is smart. It protects you from all the things that could financially harm you if your home and its contents are damaged or destroyed by things like fire, hurricanes, wind, falling trees and break ins.

It also protects you from someone who gets hurt on your property and could possibly sue you. But your insurance costs don’t have to be high to give you good coverage.

Here is where and how you can save.

First, guard your credit.

Insurers give better rates to people who pay their bills on time. Regularly check your credit reports and fix any errors. By the same token insurers also check your claims history. If you’ve had a lot of claims in the past, you are a bigger risk. So before you file a claim for something minor, think. If you can afford to take care of a minor claim yourself, do it.

Be a smart shopper

Compare not only prices, but coverages. Not all policies are the same. Get quotes from more than one company and agent. Also be aware that not all companies and agents operate the same way. Different types of companies and agents pay more for commissions. Be aware of it and find the best policy with a strong company. Be sure to check companies with Moody’s and AM Best.

Be willing to go for a higher deductible

If your bank account can take a $500 or $1,000 hit, think about taking that higher deductible than paying more for lower or no deductible. Do other smart things like having smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of your home. Most insurers give discounts for this safety measure. Same with fire extinguishers, deadbolts on doors and other safety measures. Look at multi-policy discounts. That is when you insure your home, auto and other policies with the same company. Most companies give a discount of 10% to 20% for this move. They reward loyalty too. Finding a company you can stick with can mean loyalty discounts or discounts for being claim free for longer periods of time.

Don’t be afraid to ask about discounts and the ins and outs of your policy. No need to overpay for great coverage.

Why You Might Not Be Able To Get Homeowner’s Insurance In Clearwater Florida

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Looking for a great home in Clearwater? If you are moving from another state, one with much higher home prices, Florida real estate seems like a bargain investment. The problem comes in after you buy Florida real estate and try and procure homeowner’s insurance to protect your investment from fires, people hurting themselves in your home or theft.

Its not all Sunshine

Let’s face it, while the Sunshine State has plenty of sunshine, it also has some darker sides to it as well. Things like hurricanes that destroy properties, flooding and sinkholes that pop up all over the place. In fact, a few years in a row of rather destructive hurricanes sent many large insurance companies running. They had large losses paying homeowners for claims from the hurricanes. Then they packed up and left.

Smaller insurance companies

Now there are a number of smaller insurers who do insure in Florida. Premiums are high because of the risk involved. The smaller number of companies, along with a state run insurance program, are the only choices. In this case, competition is not keeping prices down, due to the smaller number of companies. Larger companies, who have brand recognition and the ability to spread the risk nationwide, bailed. They are now only 17% of the market in Florida.

How larger companies do it

Larger insurance companies have the ability to keep prices lower because they can have their customers share some of the risk. After Hurricane Isabel in 2003, many homeowners in areas that were not hit as hard found their insurance rates going up. For example, while parts of Maryland were hit hard, and areas like Baltimore City and Annapolis were badly damaged and flooded, other western counties only had minor wind damage.

However, those western customers had their rates raised the next time they renewed their policies… whether they had a claim or not. It may seem unfair, and it is, but it is one way that bigger insurers stay in higher risk areas and keep premiums for those customers reasonable.

Citzens Insurance Company

If you can’t get private insurance and you have a hard time finding a big carrier to insure your home, you can always check out Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Citizens was formed in 2002 from the merger of two other entities to provide both windstorm coverage and general property insurance for home-owners who could not obtain insurance elsewhere. It was established by the Florida Legislature in Section 627.351(6) of Florida Statutes as a not-for-profit insurer of last resort, headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, and quickly became the largest insurer in the state.(1)

So Florida home prices may not be as high as some other places, and you CAN find insurance, but be prepared to have to look around to find coverage.

If you are thinking about buying a waterfront home in the Clearwater FL area and would like to learn more about some of these and other issues, give Deb Ward a call today! 727-410-0336

Super Neat Tool to Determine Homeowners Insurance Costs for Florida

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Finding the right homeowners insurance for your home can be tricky. Finding it in Florida adds some extra trickiness. Because of the constancy of hurricane season and sinkholes some companies have decided not to insure homes in Florida, but that still leaves a lot of insurers who do. Taking the time to contact each and get quotes is time consuming. How can you be sure that comparing the policy quotes are comparing apples to apples? Now, there is a tool for Florida homeowners that can help.

Different factors involved

The cost of homeowner’s insurance can and will vary depending on a few different factors. One factor is the type of home construction. Not only the style, but the materials. An all wood home will cost more to insure than an all brick or stucco. Another factor is the value of your home. Obviously if your home cost more to buy, it will cost more to insure. Why? Because it will cost more to replace if it is destroyed.

Factors that mitigate the cost

There are ways to lower your bill too. There are factors that will mitigate the cost, such as sprinkler systems, home alarm systems, multi policy discounts and the like. You can also lower your policy by agreeing to higher deductibles. Asking your agent about discounts is smart. The problem is, how many agents are you going to ask?

There is a way to narrow the field

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has a website where you can start getting information on homeowner’s insurance cost. The site allows you to choose the age range and closest value of your home, and county where your home is, and it will provide you with a list of companies and their rates. Then you can choose from the list and call an agent to further narrow the cost with mitigating factors and deductibles.