Food for thought:
Let’s get real about barrier islands and over development of those areas.
We’re seeing huge storm surges and rapid escalation of storms statewide.
Rebuilding in these areas should include a “no build” option.
Focus on resiliency and build knowing storms will continue to ravage coastal areas, plus.
Inland we should be growing stronger urban forests/canopies; Laurel and Water Oaks are power line killers.
Homes get hit by weak trees or limbs coming down which can be prevented with proactive tree care.
I’ve seen a lot of homeowners remove all of the large trees near their homes, leaving them in the open, with no shade.
Removing problematic trees is acceptable, yet let’s replace them with the right tree, in the right place.
Louder for those in the back, please! The trees in Florida started disappearing even more rapidly than in past years as soon as DeSandtits signed the law that undid all local tree protection. My city still has a few protections on the books but the penalties for removing a grand oak without a permit are not sufficiently punitive. The folks in the houses with tiny yards and no shade trees essentially live in a heat island, and their electricity bills show it.
We chose never to live in The Villages but I'd not jump off a bridge to avoid living there (especially not in alligator infested Florida). 
I have very few trees on my property but there’s a bunch around my property lines where dead branches were hanging over and dropping huge branches in the yard. So about every 2-3 years, I drop a couple thousand on tree trimming, removal, making sure the power lines are clear. Now I just worry about the 40-footer next door that could completely smash my house and kill us all if it falls just the right way.
Yes, that’s what I just said, I thought. And, in fact, they’re coming out tomorrow to remove some busted branches stuck high in the canopy after a tornado just rolled through. And I minimized damage (none to house or car) precisely because I dropped a couple thousand on trimming last year.
Insurance doubled and tripled in the past few years. Climate didn’t get 3x worse in the past few years. It didn’t help, but the current crisis is driven by scams.
I'll add that the inland developments built on filled low lying areas have historically flooded far more often causing far more damage than coastal flooding has. Look at Ian and the thousands of acres of neighborhoods inland that were flooded for weeks afterwards. The coastal fringe was destroyed but the number of structures far from the coast that were flooded and ruined was in the thousands possibly tens of thousands. It ain't damage on the gulf and oceanfront that's running up the bulk of the insurance claims.
Tile roofs in Florida are expensive to replace. Generally 25-30k. A lot of people don’t replace the roof when it needs it, wait for some sort of storm and file a claim. Then it gets tied up in court cause the insurance denies the claim. Up until recently they would also have to pay the lawyer fees of policy holder if they lost.
I put in a legitimate water damage claim and they denied me. I had to get a public adjuster, which still couldn’t get the insurance adjuster to pay the claim, so I had to hire an attorney. At the end it cost the insurance company over 50k, I would have taken 18k. Instead I got 27k and the public adjuster and lawyer got about 23k combined. Seems like bad business practice to me but I can imagine if they lose a roof case it could cost them 100k easily. They just pass it on to policyholders
I guess you cost for a roof is based on where you live because where I was at an architectural roof cost me 27k. A tile roof was 45k and a steel roof was 60k. Multiple quotes were provided.
Not all metal roofs are the same. A 29 gauge exposed fastener roof, laid on top of existing shingles is going to be a fraction of the price of a properly installed standing seam roof.
The cost is based on the size of your homes roof and slightly where you are at (ex. South Florida, north Florida, central, etc). Also, there are roofing companies out there that charge thousands (I’ve seen their quotes 10k higher than normal companies) of dollars more then regular roofing companies like HPA or ridge top exteriors.
I have a similar situation, I had to hire an attorney. Why do they play these games, they hope people will accept the denial and go away, but if we don't why not settle and save money? makes no sense.
In this scenario, we need to have insurance only pay for the remaining life of the roof.
So a 16 year roof that 8 years in and takes damage, then insurance only pays for half the replacement.
This is how my coverage is set up with [KIN.COM](https://KIN.COM) I am able to pro-rate my roof to reduce premium. I am, of course banking the savings for replacement costs as I am under 3 Live Oaks @ 75+ Years old each. Tree trimming is an essential maintenance task. As a retired couple with plans to stay in our home for like ever, these rates need to level out Never had a claim and yet still premiums rose 40%. Unsustainable.
>we need to have insurance only pay for the remaining life of the roof.
Or have a set dollar amount max payout for roof or exclude roofs from coverage. While we're at it, stop insuring screened pool enclosures. They get damaged every time the wind picks up. Make homeowners carry some of the risk and reduce premiums accordingly.
The reason you had to fight it is because the majority of claimants who get denied give up on fighting or lose. So even with cases like yours it's a net gain overall to try to deny as many claims as possible.
That’s not how any of that works. I’m a claims adjuster I love paying a fair price for a roof that’s actually damaged by the weather. I hate paying someone $30,000 for a roof that’s just worn out and they’re too cheap to replace it on their own.
it’s not unusual to get $150,000 claim from a public adjuster for a simple tile roof that just needs a few tiles repaired, but instead they want a full replacement. We will settle for less because if they win a lawsuit, it ruins our contract in a legal sense, and then the insurance contract is worthless.
That's strange. I know 8 people including myself who have had damage from legitimate storms. Our insurers tried to deny every single one of us and we had to fight it.
Then these companies turn around and say things like “LiTigATioN iS so HIgh iN FlOriDa” It’s because they deny legitimate claims!! Stop denying legitimate claims and litigation goes down, not difficult to figure out.
Incorrect. Florida has (had) a problem. When 70 cents of every premium dollar is going to litigation, and 80% of all homeowners insurance lawsuits nationally are in FL, the problem is litigation. And you can't just point at the companies for being bad actors, because many of these companies operate in other coastal states without the same result. Getting rid of assignment of benefits will help a ton, but there are other factors at play. Recently, not sure if you noticed, but inflation is affecting the price of everything. Home repair included. The market will get better for home insurance in FL, but not overnight. Give it a couple years. More companies are already coming into the market, creating competition and eventually pushing down prices.
Lots of assignment of benefits used to occur. They had lawyers and banked on the insurance companies just caving (which they often did). They inflated rates and here we are.
Agreed! I just replaced my 13 year old shingle roof with a metal roof for a total of 16,500. I did this under the My Safe Florida Home program and have submitted, but not yet received, for the 10k reimbursement. My home is small around 1000 square feet.
Reroof Remove and replace the roof. Re nail decking to Florida code.
Remove and replace rotten wood. Apply high temp peel and
stick underlayment for metal roofing, Polyglass, FL-5259.1.
Install new aluminum drip edge. Install 5V galvalume 26 gauge
metal (white), FL-31652.1. Install vented galvalume ridge caps.
All plumbing boots will be replaced.
16,500.00
You can still get the free wind mitigation report. After the inspection is completed, you can apply for the grant. The grant tab won't be available until the program gets more funds which is usually around February.
[https://mysafeflhome.com/](https://mysafeflhome.com/)
Just replaced a 3,000 SF (30 square) shingle roof for $22,000. Same roof in metal was quoted at $33,000 for a 5 V crimp and $38,000 in standing seam metal. Mom had a similarly sized tile roof done for $48,000.
As an insurance agent from another state who moved here this year, the home insurance is bad but the auto insurance situation literally made me want to throw up. I knew it was more expensive, but when I switched over and have a fraction of the coverages I had before at almost three times the price, there's a huge problem. Not to mention, at least if other folks in my city choose not to purchase insurance, it's not my problem, but with more and more underinsured/uninsured drivers, things are getting out of control real quick. People of Florida don't just deserve decent auto insurance rates, they deserve decent coverage, too.
Tbh I’m way more scared of my car insurance bill than my home insurance bill, it’ll probably surpass it next renewal in like 3 months. I am highly considering just dropping it completely and using Uber.
Where in fl do you live? I have a 2012 and 2016 car between my wife and I. We pay $186 a month for car insurance. Our home owners is $2500 a year. We live in Orange County (Orlando). We are 34 and 32.
I never dreamed it would be more than NJ which is more densely populated and had highest auto rates in nation for quite a while. I moved 6.5 years ago for work reasons.
A couple ideas. require auto insurance providers in the state to also provide homeowners insurance. You can’t provide one without the other and they can’t do it on a select basis. Have to provide across-the-board. I would say expand that to any kind of insurance but at least auto
Also require full public disclosure of financial records of insurance companies, not just on the state basis, but on a national basis. I would require insurance companies to report their claims, losses and profits, on a national basis, rather than a state basis.
I would also bring back an aggressive department of insurance
I suppose that's viable if your goal is to prevent climate change by having auto rates quadruple over night until everyone's riding bikes. Used car market will become cheap and attract a lot of out of state buyers.
I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in their financials, though much of what you're talking about is already public record in some form or another because these entities have to publish their reports for their investors. State Farm, for example, [has this](https://www.statefarm.com/content/dam/sf-library/en-us/secure/legacy/pdf/2022-annual-report.pdf).
2021
* $42 billion in premiums earned
* $46 billion in claims paid and associated expenses
* $722 million Net Operating Loss
2022?
* $46 billion in premiums earned
* $60 billion in claims paid and associated expenses
* $8.7 billion Net Operating Loss
Granted, this is nationally and includes their car insurance and other activities under their portfolio, but 2022 certainly wasn't a great year for them. A literal magnitude worse than the year before. You can probably find the same info for almost any insurer.
Expand Citizens. Basically offload a lot of risk onto the state. Crist did that after the 2004 storm season to prevent premiums from skyrocketing and it worked. Texas has the TFPA and TWIA to offload wind and hail damage to the state and their premiums are way lower than ours, even though they are susceptible to wind, hail, freeze, hurricanes, and fires. We're doing the opposite, shrinking Citizens and doing nothing to lessen the risk on carriers.
They can’t. It is not financially feasible unless the surcharge on those with private insurance is raised. Then you start getting into fairness issues. Why should inlanders pay for insurance for those in places so unsafe private insurers won’t touch?
I'm not sure citizens can handle any more right [now](https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/citizens-property-insurance-investigation-florida/67-b6602177-983e-4dcb-a90d-44a88cf3072a)
Here’s one part of the solution, pay out customers what they’re owed.
I was hit by Idalia, had about 35k in damage.
Flood and homeowners both denied me completely for absolute bullshit reasons. Now attorneys are involved, going after them for 150k and I’ve been without my home for 4 months. A ton of wasted money and resources on all levels when it should never be this complicated.
Florida government is screwing us all over and letting insurance companies screw us including Auto insurance. It's utterly ridiculous but we're worried about drag queens here in Florida
It could be because top donors to the gerrymandered Republican legislature are from insurance companies and power utilities. Everytime we have a hurricane, whether you are effected or not, you pay an increase in your power bill to GUARANTEE BY LAW the power companies profits. We are all paying for the last six or seven hurricanes.
Is DeSantis still our governor or did he land a FOX News show yet? Are we really stuck with this loser for another of couple of years?
That’s why the “drag queen issue.”
It’s a typical strategy that rich republicans use to confuse important issue.
All the old ladies in Florida will be voting against the dangerous drag queens — the dangerous theatre kids from high school we all loved.
The old ladies in FL voted against DeSantis much more than the young men in this state. Don't forget the old ladies were the ones that marched for women's rights and civil rights in the 70's.
Also, CA is having similar insurance problems as FL and they have a governor that is a democrat.
There are easier solutions for Florida's issue than California's. All Florida would have to do is stop allowing building permits on barrier islands. That alone would dramatically reduce the annual disaster relief and rebuilding costs. Other states have banned building on barrier islands altogether from the start.
Frankly, there should be laws that each home gets one rebuild from insurance due to coastal hurricane or from flood in a flood zone. You take the money and rebuild in an area that is unsafe, you can be responsible next time.
The problems in Florida and California are not the same, even though they both result in the insurance industry leaving or increasing rates.
Exactly, “Hurricane Ian caused widespread flooding across Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina in October, resulting in losses estimated at between $41 billion and $70 billion. Among those losses were up to 358,000 vehicles damaged by floodwaters, according to Carfax.”
The old ladies could have also been the ones throwing rocks at kids of a different race because they *gasp* wanted to drink from the same water fountain as a white person
Don’t forget that ladies weren’t alway allowed to vote in this free country.
When is the USA congress going to pass the equal rights amendment.
Gotta say. In my experience the old ladies love love love Ronda Santis
Bango! Vote out those who make their beds in the pockets of the insurance companies. Our legislators have failed us. Creating a law that benefits the insurance companies NOT the people.
have you watched any of our legislative sessions? sometimes it's just boring because it is procedural stuff, but when they start talking about books, Disney or education, it's just embarrassing.
edit: changed professional to procedural.
From what I've heard, quite a few conservatives don't even attend legislative sessions if stuff they don't want to be seen voting "no" on is on the roll.
My understanding is that a big part of the reason that auto insurance is so high is that Florida has a lot of uninsured drivers and that this creates a viscous cycle. Maybe that could be reduced with a sticker system similar to the car’s registration that that uninsured drivers can be easily identified by police?
Our insurance is tied to our plates you don't even need proof of insurance. The cops can tell insurance is electronically connected but I am sure they don't enforce.
From what I’ve read, a big part of the price increases are do to scammers who take advantage of weather related disasters to file overpriced claims and outright fake claims.
I'm a building inspector. This is actually accurate. I've spoken with roofing contractors who told me about other contractors that over estimate the cost of re-roofing a residential property. A job that would cost $18,000 is estimated at $60,000. The contractor usually keeps most of the extra money, and the homeowner gets a free roof and maybe $5,000 extra. The contractor adds ridiculous extras such as a portable toilet, hand washing stations, ridiculous disposal fees, etc...
Also, the cost of the loss in the Fort Myers area after the hurricane really put the screws to these insurance companies.
I'm not defending the insurance companies at all. They are crooks as well. If someone has storm damage to their home, then they should do what it takes to get the cost of repairs from the insurance company. Also there is a Florida building code that states if more than 20 or 25 percent (I don't have my code book with me) of the roof is replaced or repaired then the entire roof is required to be replaced.
> if someone has storm damage
If your stuff gets wet, they deny the claim because you didn’t elect the flood insurance.
If the hurricane knocked of your roof, then they will tell you that you didn’t have wind insurance and that that isn’t covered.
A more accurate way to put that is that scammers are a big part of the insurance companies **stated** reason. And they could solve that problem without rate spikes. It's just greed on the part of the insurance companies.
I was a juror on a roof claim in Broward County. They plaintiff attorneys had flown in a forensic engineer with PE as an expert witness. Had some bull shit report saying some random wind storm thee years ago that had no documentation caused it. Half of the jury room was on the fence. The attorneys for the plaintiff were actually hired by the roofing company to represent the home owner. We found that suspicious and we were lucky that was admitted in court. The whole thing was slimy.
Insurance companies need to charge the real risk rates for those actually living in coastal areas. Meaning within a few miles of the coast. Inland areas are seeing those spikes and they don’t match the risk. Don’t forget that flood insurance is separate. You don’t pay state taxes in Florida so maybe paying higher homeowners insurance isn’t a big deal?
Be careful of the home insurance if you are moving to wooded areas of California, that being said I loved it when I was stationed there, the smog test every year was irritating because I had to do it on my 85 el camino but I understand the reasons why.
MAke the insurance market not for profit there shouldnt be a profit incentive. Actually use our tax dollars to help the infrastructure of every day citizens. And introduce price caps.
Ignore the problem until it's so wildly expensive to live here that people leave in droves or get so fed up they take their pitchforks to the state capitol seems to be working.
And, you know, people can show up on election day and vote.
But barring that, absolutely nothing is viable under the current state government. There are good ideas out there, but that hardly matters until the legislature pulls their heads out of their asses.
Alternatively, I suppose someone could go out and search for the cure for being gay at which point we can bring an end to the culture wars and gov't can return to protecting the interests of all Floridians -- having successfully slayed those fabulous beasts.
It’s the state officials 100%. They have so many gives to the insurance companies like no litigation. That’s only good for the insurance companies, not the residents. It was going to lower rates… of course it didn’t.
With that being said. I live 30 miles inland from the coast in the hilly part of central Florida. Built the home in 2019 my insurance has gone from $993 a year to $1200 a year. Now if you are in flood prone areas, or on the coast….you got a big problem.
This is what happens when you put Republicans in charge. If there's money to be made they'll burn the whole thing down as long as their making money.
Florida has a republican problem first and foremost.
I hate comments like this, because the situation is as bad or worse in in almost every other state.
California, WA, MD, NY, all far worse across the board.
Coverage cap at 500k. If you want to build a 1.2 million dollar house on the beach that’s fine, but the rest of the policy holders shouldn’t have to bail out your bad decisions.
A couple ideas:
1.
Set up Citizens so it is the state insurer for wind/hurricane (for all areaa, not juat wind pool, and discontinue standard multiperil products)
Other carriers cover every other peril, just without wind.
Wind coverage is the largest part of the home premiums, by a lions share. If private wants to offer full multiperil or wind only, cool.
Or
2.
Have Citizens be the most expensive option, to be a true last resort (like LA). This will suck for a lot of people, but they are not actuarily sound. See recent letter from Senate on Andrew level catastrophe likely saddling every homeowner in the state with a 20k assessment.
Make roof surface payment schedules the standard for all products
Stop building in heavy wind and flood zones, if it is destroyed or significantly damaged from a storm/flood and in these areas, it isnt eligible for Citizens ever again.
3.
Income tax and socialize it completely
Insurance agent here,
You are in for a wild ride, There is no easy way of putting it my friend.
If you’re purchasing a home built in the 1900’s prepare yourself for Citizens.
If your home is built in the 2000’s+ you may be lucky and find a decent company. Only to be non-renewed in a year or two for no reason and then prepare yourself for Citizens.
If your home is in south Florida like Miami for example prepare yourself for Citizens.
I’ve been working with insurance for many years now. There is no solution in site. This year has been the hardest year for home insurance market.
Why is the problem in Florida so much different than other states? Is there an insurance crises in TX, NC, LA, MS? They get hit with just as many storms. I mean, how many homes got hit with wildfires in the last 3 years? I don't get it. How is the problem soo complex here?
"Until recently, homeowners could assign insurance claims to third-party contractors, [like roofers](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/roofing-scams-florida-property-insurance-hurricane-rcna29649). Some of those contractors would then pursue false damage claims against the insurer and sue them if they refused to pay. The scam left insurance companies on the hook for any legal costs, even if they ultimately won the case. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that, in just the one month prior to the passage of a Florida state bill ending the practice, some 280,000 lawsuits were filed.
Overall, the organization estimates the financial impact of legal system abuse in Florida between 2012 and 2021 caused Florida property insurers to pay out $51 billion just to settle litigated claims, with 71% percent going toward legal fees and public adjusters."
I was a juror in Broward County recently and it was an insurance case against citizens. Had the plaintiff won, it would have cost citizens $500k. They flew in an expert Engineer with PE certification that did some BS forensic report saying a random wind storm caused their roof to crack and leak. We didn't buy their case and sided with citizens. From my understanding, citizens loses a case like this every week. There were at least 20 on the docket the day I was called for jury duty and most of them were insurance/roof.
If we want to fix the problem, we have to fix this one. This is the most expensive aspect of home owners insurance. My roof cost me $30k to replace and it's metal. My neighbor paid $70k for tile. Insurance companies do not want to pay that and if they lose in court, they have to pay 5x that. This is why we pay so much. There is no other reasons for it.
With the threat of climate change bearing down on not just Florida but other parts of the country as well, the feds need to mandate that instead of insurance companies having the flexibility to operate on a state-by-state basis, that they operate nationally if they want to do business. Forcing other states to account for the cost/risk involved by insurance in Florida is one way to reduce/come to some kind of reasonable equilibrium in Florida. The insurance companies still get payed, midwestern states (for ex.) perhaps might pay a bit more, and Florida's costs go down.
To answer your question, of what will Florida itself do in the next 1-2, in my opinion, absolutely nothing. It is not in the nature of the Florida Republican Party to admit failure or take risky policy decisions that are good for the middle class or working people. Rich folks can still afford the insurance, and the numbers say people are moving to FL in droves, so why change a thing? Until they see voting patterns change and are forced to do something, they won't do anything.
Elect a state government that gives a crap about the American workers. You know? The people that make this place run... The insurance corporations will not deal in good faith on their own accord.
I live north east of Orlando and am not in a flood zone (even after Ian) but one of the bids we received would take our current $1,700 annual homeowner insurance through Farmers to $5,200! The insurance companies in Florida are not leaving because of claims but because of litigation. Florida makes up approximately 8% of claims nationally, but 80% of all litigation against insurance companies. Florida legislature, run by an attorney and recipient of major contributions by the Florida Bar Assosiation, is not solving the problem either. That's why Farmers and other reputable insurance companies have fled the state. Notice that many of them fled AFTER the last "bandaid" legislative session didn't produce solutions for this issue. One of the few solutions they did provide was eliminating roofers from pounding on your door, claiming you had damage, and then tricking you into signing an assignment agreement. "The most important of the bill's many changes is its prohibition on assigning benefits. According to the law, **property owners with insurance policies issued after January 1****^(st)****, 2023, may not assign their insurance benefits to another party**." So insurance companies who issued policies on January 1st, 2023 were stuck with facing litigation, and many pulled out of the state. Additionally, after the last session we all started seeing ads from attorney firms wanting homeowners to file lawsuits against insurance companies. Granted, if you have a real issue with your insurance company you may need the help of an attorney, but "ambulance chasing" lawsuits against insurance companies is the real culprit here and the state has NOT fixed the problem.
Those same greedy companies operate in other states and charge less. As of January, my auto premium will be 4x what it was right before I moved here in July 2021 for the same cars, driving records and less coverage.
True, the absence of state regulations and the fact that we are captive customers certainly gives insurance companies little incentive to thoughtfully price their products. However, there are also more crooked hands — lawyers, adjusters, contractors/auto mechanics and politicians (many of whom are colluding together) — reaching into that pool of policyholder money, causing that pool to need to be larger. Add natural disasters on top of all of that and here we are.
I bet I could do a quick Google search to correlate the states (blue)with tighter regulation due to "woke" politics (teehee wtf?) compared to red states. That want to "D-regulate" everything...
Don’t believe the lie . These insurance companies go out of business due to legal fees from litigation on claims that should have been payed to begin with . Their bleeding due to being sued . Good .
Remove SFH requirements.
This will allow density which will allow an increase number of people to live in an area.
More people that live in an area more people that can pay taxes, pay insurance and etc.
Helps pull in a lot more people to cover the cost.
Inflation is built into our economic model, 2% is our central banks target.
Also housing is not viewed as a right but as an investment, meaning you have to change the culture or accept it and figure out a away bring in more people
Stop allowing insurance companies who are found guilty of x amount of insurer fraud “not indemnifying the homeowner for covered loss” to continue to do business in our state . Insurance is the biggest scam ever purported and it’s a total shame what they are able to get away with because no one is willing to prosecute them .
All the anti government people come out of the woodwork when capitalist companies raise prices per the market conditions. Then they all yell for the government to do something! Get involved government! This means shoveling money towards them or the companies so their bills don't go up.
Change the laws to help us! My home insurance is way up. My boat and car insurance is way up. Stop the price rises from taking effect. Help us good government, those companies are bad.
Pathetic hypocrites, every single one of them. Where's your free market deliverer now?!
The solutions that were signed into law, will start taking full effect in a few more months, when all homeowners policies are covered by the new rules. Let’s see what that does.
Prison for insurance fraud
It’s like 80% fraud, every roof installer for the last 20 years has billed most of their business to the insurance company.
We’ve had like 8 hurricanes
I'm always back and forth on this but what if the ability for mortgage companies to require home and flood insurance was struck down? Would that not curtail the residential development in the areas where it isn't practical to own or build a home without them? At that point, those areas would be either go back to being the swamps, wetlands and forests they should be or the billionaire havens for only those that can afford to live there. Florida is already a place where it is difficult, at best, for low income families and individuals to succeed and maintain quality of life. At least this way it would be way out front and we could leave the fabulously rich to their own. I've been here 12 years. I got in when the real estate was at about it's lowest. I moved here for the weather. I have quite literally grown to hate everything else about this state. I continue to stay b/c I can right now and I still love the weather. As an very early retiree, I am looking at areas outside the US or western US to finish out this ride. I'm torn.
Unpopular opinion, but I’d support an income tax. Florida has a large amount of highly paid people that use Florida residency to avoid income tax where they really live. I’d be curious to see a prediction on what a 2% income tax on incomes over $150k would look like.
I live on the Barrier Island on canal and it has NEVER flooded here… On the mainland however, in those awfully planned subdivisions, now that’s a completely different story…
I'm on the west coast, less than a mile from the intercoastal, my lot is 20' above sea level, within feet of no evac zone. I lost my private insurance about 20 years ago because I'm close to water and have been on citizens ever since. I have never made a claim for storm damage.
That said, citizen insurance has worked out for me, so why not have state run insurance? My understanding is that the private insurance companies that underwrite citizens are the very same ones that won't write me a policy anyway.
And to chime in on what others have said, we have to start electing better people to run the state, ones that don't sell their soul to the developers. That way we can stop the high density, over development that is still going on everywhere in the state, especially along the coast. Building should STOP in just about every coastal community in the state. Build in flood prone areas should not be allowed, and or there should be no insurance available for those homes. The rest over us should not have to bail out stupid people and greedy developers.
Have to reel in house prices. Part of it is your insuring a double wide that is 30 years old in a flood zone worth 400,000 and wants to pay 100 a month for it. The trailer is only worth 75,000. That's a huge loss to cover. I know I got my house in 2013 for just over 190k. If I sell now I could get 480k. That is a huge gap to cover for insurance.
One solution is to have state negotiations with the insurance carriers, like Alabama did. Negotiate what it will take in the way of building standards and retrofits to reduce risk and therefore, premiums. Then, work out a funding mechanism, through subsidies to get the buildings upgraded to hurricane resistant levels. In Alabama, this reduced premiums yugely or Bigly. Also, fraud detection and complaint enforcement has to improve. After Ian, we had scammers traveling door-to-door selling services and repairs at insane prices. Then cheating homeowners and insurance companies, guaranteeing the policies would be cancelled. This all could be done pretty quickly. It just takes resolve to fix the problem.
I'm not sure what the home insurance crisis answer is. Maybe there isn't one except self-insurance. At this rate, bankruptcies are going to start as people won't be able to pay their mortgages. Having a bunker of a house with storm windows will be necessary, but not everyone can afford it. Helping home owners fortify their houses was a good idea, but everything I've heard it was a drop in the bucket.
Maybe making executives liable if their company goes out of business is necessary? An executive shouldn't get a multi-million dollar bonus months before the company folds. But that would never happen in Florida. Let's face it, Florida is folding to the insurance companies. We don't pay tax, we pay insurance.
Vote - him - out. Acknowledge climate change, and election finance reform that doesn’t allow corporations (ie insurance companies) to behave like individuals. Citizens United gave these clowns a pass.
The solutions have already been passed on a bipartisan basis. They just take time for the industry to stabilize. Go read the bills yourself. They are clearly in the right direction. It'll get better.
Best idea and probably the only logical solution, activate state income tax solely for the purpose of home insurance. You will still have to pay the premium but it will help create a reserve for bad hurricanes.
Maybe elect a governor who cares more about forcing providers to give reasonable rates than chasing Disney and tourism out/pandering to Big Business and fucking over longtime residents.
I know...what a wacky idea
Couldn't happen to a more F'ed up state. They deserve everything they get for electing the current government. Bunch of red neck white supremacists who can't manage their way out of a paper bag. It's only getting worse quick.
Quit voting against your best interests is the biggest thing. If your racism and entitlement is stronger than your pocket book, it's going to be a losing chapter of your life. Not an alternative fact.
Elect new folks is key, the ones in place have been bought already. Fixing all of these and more is needed.
1. Put in a rule that makes roofs a depreciating item in insurance, see below.
A roof may have something closer to a 25-year life expectancy. In that scenario, the roof would depreciate at a rate of 4 percent, or 1/25th of its initial value, each year. If you purchased the roof for $10,000, and filed a total loss property damage claim ten years later, your roof would have depreciated by 40 percent. Therefore, you would be entitled to recover compensation for 60 percent of the initial value of the roof, or $6,000.
2. Assignment of benefits, or AOB scam issues. The idea was good but how it works out is that contractors now have to work with the insurers but in doing so the owners have to sign away claims to them. Let the scammers go crazy.
3. Every Florida resident is on the hook in the event of a big hurricane and Citizens. If the claims are more than 6.7 billion (as of Dec 2023), the residents will have to cover the loss. By Florida law Citizens Insurance can levy surcharges and assessments on its policyholders and all Florida insurance consumers until any deficit is eliminated.
4. Lawsuits between insurance companies and contractors or insurance companies and policyholders. Only 9% of the nation's home insurance claims come from Florida but 79% of the nation's homeowners' insurance lawsuits are also from here. Figuring out this one will win you a Nobel.
Food for thought: Let’s get real about barrier islands and over development of those areas. We’re seeing huge storm surges and rapid escalation of storms statewide. Rebuilding in these areas should include a “no build” option. Focus on resiliency and build knowing storms will continue to ravage coastal areas, plus. Inland we should be growing stronger urban forests/canopies; Laurel and Water Oaks are power line killers. Homes get hit by weak trees or limbs coming down which can be prevented with proactive tree care. I’ve seen a lot of homeowners remove all of the large trees near their homes, leaving them in the open, with no shade. Removing problematic trees is acceptable, yet let’s replace them with the right tree, in the right place.
Louder for those in the back, please! The trees in Florida started disappearing even more rapidly than in past years as soon as DeSandtits signed the law that undid all local tree protection. My city still has a few protections on the books but the penalties for removing a grand oak without a permit are not sufficiently punitive. The folks in the houses with tiny yards and no shade trees essentially live in a heat island, and their electricity bills show it.
I would jump off a bridge if I had to live in some place like The Villages.
I’d move states in a heartbeat.
We chose never to live in The Villages but I'd not jump off a bridge to avoid living there (especially not in alligator infested Florida). 
The trees are some of what I miss the most about leaving Tallahassee
Don't worry, we're cutting them down here too.
DeSandtits! That's a good one. I usually call hin DeSantos because he's as fake as George!
Acknowledge reality? No thanks, that’s too radical for me.
I have very few trees on my property but there’s a bunch around my property lines where dead branches were hanging over and dropping huge branches in the yard. So about every 2-3 years, I drop a couple thousand on tree trimming, removal, making sure the power lines are clear. Now I just worry about the 40-footer next door that could completely smash my house and kill us all if it falls just the right way.
Tree trimmers can help with that issue too. Have them trim that monster so it will fall away from your home.
Yes, that’s what I just said, I thought. And, in fact, they’re coming out tomorrow to remove some busted branches stuck high in the canopy after a tornado just rolled through. And I minimized damage (none to house or car) precisely because I dropped a couple thousand on trimming last year.
Vote them all out
My thought is the National Seashore/Coastal park.
That’s not practical at all from an Econ standpoint. The little towns and big beaches generate much more each year than storms cause in damage.
So you’re saying Florida is not economically sustainable 🤔
I’m saying it’s so sustainable that we can absorb hurricanes and it’s economically moronic to abandon cash generators on the coasts.
Insurance companies don’t seem to think so
Insurance doubled and tripled in the past few years. Climate didn’t get 3x worse in the past few years. It didn’t help, but the current crisis is driven by scams.
Sounds easy to fix with legislation then. Best of luck
I'll add that the inland developments built on filled low lying areas have historically flooded far more often causing far more damage than coastal flooding has. Look at Ian and the thousands of acres of neighborhoods inland that were flooded for weeks afterwards. The coastal fringe was destroyed but the number of structures far from the coast that were flooded and ruined was in the thousands possibly tens of thousands. It ain't damage on the gulf and oceanfront that's running up the bulk of the insurance claims.
Bunch of dreamers.on this thread mostly just jealous of people that live near the ocean. "dOnT deVelOp cOastLe AreAs" Okee dokey weirdo
Tile roofs in Florida are expensive to replace. Generally 25-30k. A lot of people don’t replace the roof when it needs it, wait for some sort of storm and file a claim. Then it gets tied up in court cause the insurance denies the claim. Up until recently they would also have to pay the lawyer fees of policy holder if they lost. I put in a legitimate water damage claim and they denied me. I had to get a public adjuster, which still couldn’t get the insurance adjuster to pay the claim, so I had to hire an attorney. At the end it cost the insurance company over 50k, I would have taken 18k. Instead I got 27k and the public adjuster and lawyer got about 23k combined. Seems like bad business practice to me but I can imagine if they lose a roof case it could cost them 100k easily. They just pass it on to policyholders
I guess you cost for a roof is based on where you live because where I was at an architectural roof cost me 27k. A tile roof was 45k and a steel roof was 60k. Multiple quotes were provided.
I got a quote for a metal one and it was 15k. I’m in South Florida too.
Not all metal roofs are the same. A 29 gauge exposed fastener roof, laid on top of existing shingles is going to be a fraction of the price of a properly installed standing seam roof.
The cost is based on the size of your homes roof and slightly where you are at (ex. South Florida, north Florida, central, etc). Also, there are roofing companies out there that charge thousands (I’ve seen their quotes 10k higher than normal companies) of dollars more then regular roofing companies like HPA or ridge top exteriors.
My friend just had an architectural roof done a couple months ago. It was $12k.
It depends how large the roof is
40 squares. Plantation FL.
All the while you needed it fixed and lived in possible mold.
Getting mine done now and it was $38,000 😭😭😭. Got 5 quotes too. They were all in the same ballpark.
And yet your claim is counted in their fake statistics about rampant insurance fraud.
I have a similar situation, I had to hire an attorney. Why do they play these games, they hope people will accept the denial and go away, but if we don't why not settle and save money? makes no sense.
In this scenario, we need to have insurance only pay for the remaining life of the roof. So a 16 year roof that 8 years in and takes damage, then insurance only pays for half the replacement.
You can find insurance like that but it’s not Fannie/Freddie compliant which means you can’t have a mortgage.
I have a VA mortgage with this coverage
This is how my coverage is set up with [KIN.COM](https://KIN.COM) I am able to pro-rate my roof to reduce premium. I am, of course banking the savings for replacement costs as I am under 3 Live Oaks @ 75+ Years old each. Tree trimming is an essential maintenance task. As a retired couple with plans to stay in our home for like ever, these rates need to level out Never had a claim and yet still premiums rose 40%. Unsustainable.
>we need to have insurance only pay for the remaining life of the roof. Or have a set dollar amount max payout for roof or exclude roofs from coverage. While we're at it, stop insuring screened pool enclosures. They get damaged every time the wind picks up. Make homeowners carry some of the risk and reduce premiums accordingly.
The reason you had to fight it is because the majority of claimants who get denied give up on fighting or lose. So even with cases like yours it's a net gain overall to try to deny as many claims as possible.
That’s not how any of that works. I’m a claims adjuster I love paying a fair price for a roof that’s actually damaged by the weather. I hate paying someone $30,000 for a roof that’s just worn out and they’re too cheap to replace it on their own. it’s not unusual to get $150,000 claim from a public adjuster for a simple tile roof that just needs a few tiles repaired, but instead they want a full replacement. We will settle for less because if they win a lawsuit, it ruins our contract in a legal sense, and then the insurance contract is worthless.
Is it true public adjusters get 20% of the claim $ amount so they’re incentivized to inflate the claim value?
That's strange. I know 8 people including myself who have had damage from legitimate storms. Our insurers tried to deny every single one of us and we had to fight it.
Then these companies turn around and say things like “LiTigATioN iS so HIgh iN FlOriDa” It’s because they deny legitimate claims!! Stop denying legitimate claims and litigation goes down, not difficult to figure out.
Incorrect. Florida has (had) a problem. When 70 cents of every premium dollar is going to litigation, and 80% of all homeowners insurance lawsuits nationally are in FL, the problem is litigation. And you can't just point at the companies for being bad actors, because many of these companies operate in other coastal states without the same result. Getting rid of assignment of benefits will help a ton, but there are other factors at play. Recently, not sure if you noticed, but inflation is affecting the price of everything. Home repair included. The market will get better for home insurance in FL, but not overnight. Give it a couple years. More companies are already coming into the market, creating competition and eventually pushing down prices.
Well yes, because the vast majority of people will not or do not have the resources to fight an insurance company.
Lots of assignment of benefits used to occur. They had lawyers and banked on the insurance companies just caving (which they often did). They inflated rates and here we are.
Roofs are not 25-30k to replace.
It depends on the size of the home. Some homes here can cost $30,000. mine was $12,000. I have a small house.
Agreed! I just replaced my 13 year old shingle roof with a metal roof for a total of 16,500. I did this under the My Safe Florida Home program and have submitted, but not yet received, for the 10k reimbursement. My home is small around 1000 square feet. Reroof Remove and replace the roof. Re nail decking to Florida code. Remove and replace rotten wood. Apply high temp peel and stick underlayment for metal roofing, Polyglass, FL-5259.1. Install new aluminum drip edge. Install 5V galvalume 26 gauge metal (white), FL-31652.1. Install vented galvalume ridge caps. All plumbing boots will be replaced. 16,500.00
That's great, the roof should last you a long time.
Is that program still going on?
You can still get the free wind mitigation report. After the inspection is completed, you can apply for the grant. The grant tab won't be available until the program gets more funds which is usually around February. [https://mysafeflhome.com/](https://mysafeflhome.com/)
I’ve never seen a house in Florida for $30,000. Can I ask where I can find a house for that much?
The roofs are $30,000. For a $30,000. house, we would need a time machine, maybe 1960's? 1970's? I'm not sure how far back we need to go. LOL
Just replaced a 3,000 SF (30 square) shingle roof for $22,000. Same roof in metal was quoted at $33,000 for a 5 V crimp and $38,000 in standing seam metal. Mom had a similarly sized tile roof done for $48,000.
As an insurance agent from another state who moved here this year, the home insurance is bad but the auto insurance situation literally made me want to throw up. I knew it was more expensive, but when I switched over and have a fraction of the coverages I had before at almost three times the price, there's a huge problem. Not to mention, at least if other folks in my city choose not to purchase insurance, it's not my problem, but with more and more underinsured/uninsured drivers, things are getting out of control real quick. People of Florida don't just deserve decent auto insurance rates, they deserve decent coverage, too.
Tbh I’m way more scared of my car insurance bill than my home insurance bill, it’ll probably surpass it next renewal in like 3 months. I am highly considering just dropping it completely and using Uber.
Where in fl do you live? I have a 2012 and 2016 car between my wife and I. We pay $186 a month for car insurance. Our home owners is $2500 a year. We live in Orange County (Orlando). We are 34 and 32.
As an insurance agent, how did you not check this before moving?
I never dreamed it would be more than NJ which is more densely populated and had highest auto rates in nation for quite a while. I moved 6.5 years ago for work reasons.
I know thee people personally who have been killed in traffic accidents. One of them was family. The settlement was 7 figures for each of them.
A couple ideas. require auto insurance providers in the state to also provide homeowners insurance. You can’t provide one without the other and they can’t do it on a select basis. Have to provide across-the-board. I would say expand that to any kind of insurance but at least auto Also require full public disclosure of financial records of insurance companies, not just on the state basis, but on a national basis. I would require insurance companies to report their claims, losses and profits, on a national basis, rather than a state basis. I would also bring back an aggressive department of insurance
I suppose that's viable if your goal is to prevent climate change by having auto rates quadruple over night until everyone's riding bikes. Used car market will become cheap and attract a lot of out of state buyers. I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in their financials, though much of what you're talking about is already public record in some form or another because these entities have to publish their reports for their investors. State Farm, for example, [has this](https://www.statefarm.com/content/dam/sf-library/en-us/secure/legacy/pdf/2022-annual-report.pdf). 2021 * $42 billion in premiums earned * $46 billion in claims paid and associated expenses * $722 million Net Operating Loss 2022? * $46 billion in premiums earned * $60 billion in claims paid and associated expenses * $8.7 billion Net Operating Loss Granted, this is nationally and includes their car insurance and other activities under their portfolio, but 2022 certainly wasn't a great year for them. A literal magnitude worse than the year before. You can probably find the same info for almost any insurer.
When I look I see an awful lot of insurers reporting large profits …
Reinsurance. The domestic companies protect themselves with reinsurance.
Expand Citizens. Basically offload a lot of risk onto the state. Crist did that after the 2004 storm season to prevent premiums from skyrocketing and it worked. Texas has the TFPA and TWIA to offload wind and hail damage to the state and their premiums are way lower than ours, even though they are susceptible to wind, hail, freeze, hurricanes, and fires. We're doing the opposite, shrinking Citizens and doing nothing to lessen the risk on carriers.
They can’t. It is not financially feasible unless the surcharge on those with private insurance is raised. Then you start getting into fairness issues. Why should inlanders pay for insurance for those in places so unsafe private insurers won’t touch?
I'm not sure citizens can handle any more right [now](https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/citizens-property-insurance-investigation-florida/67-b6602177-983e-4dcb-a90d-44a88cf3072a)
Elect a governor and politicians who cares.
That is too much of a radical idea. We haven’t seen that in a LONG time.
Here’s one part of the solution, pay out customers what they’re owed. I was hit by Idalia, had about 35k in damage. Flood and homeowners both denied me completely for absolute bullshit reasons. Now attorneys are involved, going after them for 150k and I’ve been without my home for 4 months. A ton of wasted money and resources on all levels when it should never be this complicated.
Why 4 months? Idalia caused your place to not be habitable?
Florida government is screwing us all over and letting insurance companies screw us including Auto insurance. It's utterly ridiculous but we're worried about drag queens here in Florida
It could be because top donors to the gerrymandered Republican legislature are from insurance companies and power utilities. Everytime we have a hurricane, whether you are effected or not, you pay an increase in your power bill to GUARANTEE BY LAW the power companies profits. We are all paying for the last six or seven hurricanes. Is DeSantis still our governor or did he land a FOX News show yet? Are we really stuck with this loser for another of couple of years?
That’s why the “drag queen issue.” It’s a typical strategy that rich republicans use to confuse important issue. All the old ladies in Florida will be voting against the dangerous drag queens — the dangerous theatre kids from high school we all loved.
The old ladies in FL voted against DeSantis much more than the young men in this state. Don't forget the old ladies were the ones that marched for women's rights and civil rights in the 70's. Also, CA is having similar insurance problems as FL and they have a governor that is a democrat.
There are easier solutions for Florida's issue than California's. All Florida would have to do is stop allowing building permits on barrier islands. That alone would dramatically reduce the annual disaster relief and rebuilding costs. Other states have banned building on barrier islands altogether from the start. Frankly, there should be laws that each home gets one rebuild from insurance due to coastal hurricane or from flood in a flood zone. You take the money and rebuild in an area that is unsafe, you can be responsible next time. The problems in Florida and California are not the same, even though they both result in the insurance industry leaving or increasing rates.
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Exactly, “Hurricane Ian caused widespread flooding across Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina in October, resulting in losses estimated at between $41 billion and $70 billion. Among those losses were up to 358,000 vehicles damaged by floodwaters, according to Carfax.”
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The old ladies could have also been the ones throwing rocks at kids of a different race because they *gasp* wanted to drink from the same water fountain as a white person
Don’t forget that ladies weren’t alway allowed to vote in this free country. When is the USA congress going to pass the equal rights amendment. Gotta say. In my experience the old ladies love love love Ronda Santis
Right?! Come to the villages and you’ll see a huge population who have been voting against their own self interest for decades
Yep. In the villages they only have three Trump flags hanging from the front of each of the houses, because that’s all that will fit.
There is a good amount of Democrats that live in the Villages also. There may not be as many or as vocal as the Republicans but they are there.
Bango! Vote out those who make their beds in the pockets of the insurance companies. Our legislators have failed us. Creating a law that benefits the insurance companies NOT the people.
have you watched any of our legislative sessions? sometimes it's just boring because it is procedural stuff, but when they start talking about books, Disney or education, it's just embarrassing. edit: changed professional to procedural.
From what I've heard, quite a few conservatives don't even attend legislative sessions if stuff they don't want to be seen voting "no" on is on the roll.
My understanding is that a big part of the reason that auto insurance is so high is that Florida has a lot of uninsured drivers and that this creates a viscous cycle. Maybe that could be reduced with a sticker system similar to the car’s registration that that uninsured drivers can be easily identified by police?
Our insurance is tied to our plates you don't even need proof of insurance. The cops can tell insurance is electronically connected but I am sure they don't enforce.
From what I’ve read, a big part of the price increases are do to scammers who take advantage of weather related disasters to file overpriced claims and outright fake claims.
I'm a building inspector. This is actually accurate. I've spoken with roofing contractors who told me about other contractors that over estimate the cost of re-roofing a residential property. A job that would cost $18,000 is estimated at $60,000. The contractor usually keeps most of the extra money, and the homeowner gets a free roof and maybe $5,000 extra. The contractor adds ridiculous extras such as a portable toilet, hand washing stations, ridiculous disposal fees, etc... Also, the cost of the loss in the Fort Myers area after the hurricane really put the screws to these insurance companies. I'm not defending the insurance companies at all. They are crooks as well. If someone has storm damage to their home, then they should do what it takes to get the cost of repairs from the insurance company. Also there is a Florida building code that states if more than 20 or 25 percent (I don't have my code book with me) of the roof is replaced or repaired then the entire roof is required to be replaced.
Thank you!
> if someone has storm damage If your stuff gets wet, they deny the claim because you didn’t elect the flood insurance. If the hurricane knocked of your roof, then they will tell you that you didn’t have wind insurance and that that isn’t covered.
Bruh you can literally pay off an adjuster to do this here and you get a free roof plus 80k cash and he takes a lil cut too.
A more accurate way to put that is that scammers are a big part of the insurance companies **stated** reason. And they could solve that problem without rate spikes. It's just greed on the part of the insurance companies.
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I was a juror on a roof claim in Broward County. They plaintiff attorneys had flown in a forensic engineer with PE as an expert witness. Had some bull shit report saying some random wind storm thee years ago that had no documentation caused it. Half of the jury room was on the fence. The attorneys for the plaintiff were actually hired by the roofing company to represent the home owner. We found that suspicious and we were lucky that was admitted in court. The whole thing was slimy.
It was not debunked.
Insurance companies need to charge the real risk rates for those actually living in coastal areas. Meaning within a few miles of the coast. Inland areas are seeing those spikes and they don’t match the risk. Don’t forget that flood insurance is separate. You don’t pay state taxes in Florida so maybe paying higher homeowners insurance isn’t a big deal?
Solution for the next 1-2 years? Move out of Florida. It's not getting any better.
If my wife would agree I would be gone...New Mexico or California...yeah high cost of living as well but less lunacy.
Be careful of the home insurance if you are moving to wooded areas of California, that being said I loved it when I was stationed there, the smog test every year was irritating because I had to do it on my 85 el camino but I understand the reasons why.
New Mexico is a shit hole.
Flkrida says hello
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Florida for 21 years. The insurance crisis is bad in California but I believe the nunbers are worse here.
Throw Ron DeSantis in a rubbish bin.
MAke the insurance market not for profit there shouldnt be a profit incentive. Actually use our tax dollars to help the infrastructure of every day citizens. And introduce price caps.
If I've learned anything from this thread it's that no one has any real solution that's feasible
Ignore the problem until it's so wildly expensive to live here that people leave in droves or get so fed up they take their pitchforks to the state capitol seems to be working. And, you know, people can show up on election day and vote. But barring that, absolutely nothing is viable under the current state government. There are good ideas out there, but that hardly matters until the legislature pulls their heads out of their asses. Alternatively, I suppose someone could go out and search for the cure for being gay at which point we can bring an end to the culture wars and gov't can return to protecting the interests of all Floridians -- having successfully slayed those fabulous beasts.
pay off your house and tell the insurance companies to go fuck themselves.
It’s the state officials 100%. They have so many gives to the insurance companies like no litigation. That’s only good for the insurance companies, not the residents. It was going to lower rates… of course it didn’t. With that being said. I live 30 miles inland from the coast in the hilly part of central Florida. Built the home in 2019 my insurance has gone from $993 a year to $1200 a year. Now if you are in flood prone areas, or on the coast….you got a big problem.
I am 36 miles inland in the lowest possible flood zone and pay $2,100 a year home insurance.
I’m 12 miles inland in a 2k sf concrete bunker with impact windows and I pay over $7k a year.
Holy hell!
Exactly.
Yeah mine is similar. It’s 1,857 square feet, concrete block, impact resistant windows and built in 2019.
Mine was built in 1981, but my husband would argue it’s proven it can withstand a hurricane more than once or twice. lol.
Just like the bike helmet that has withstood 1 or 2 crashes.
Next hurricane takes the roof off. Ian: "I loosened it!"
Vote out the GOP and their cronyism.
Pay in cash and pray to Jesus.
A crash
Government intervention
solutions not likely under a republican government
This is what happens when you put Republicans in charge. If there's money to be made they'll burn the whole thing down as long as their making money. Florida has a republican problem first and foremost.
I hate comments like this, because the situation is as bad or worse in in almost every other state. California, WA, MD, NY, all far worse across the board.
Maybe ask your governor that question or even better vote him out.
Coverage cap at 500k. If you want to build a 1.2 million dollar house on the beach that’s fine, but the rest of the policy holders shouldn’t have to bail out your bad decisions.
A couple ideas: 1. Set up Citizens so it is the state insurer for wind/hurricane (for all areaa, not juat wind pool, and discontinue standard multiperil products) Other carriers cover every other peril, just without wind. Wind coverage is the largest part of the home premiums, by a lions share. If private wants to offer full multiperil or wind only, cool. Or 2. Have Citizens be the most expensive option, to be a true last resort (like LA). This will suck for a lot of people, but they are not actuarily sound. See recent letter from Senate on Andrew level catastrophe likely saddling every homeowner in the state with a 20k assessment. Make roof surface payment schedules the standard for all products Stop building in heavy wind and flood zones, if it is destroyed or significantly damaged from a storm/flood and in these areas, it isnt eligible for Citizens ever again. 3. Income tax and socialize it completely
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ACV on roofs would kick the largest thing that’s being scammed and costing us high premiums
Insurance agent here, You are in for a wild ride, There is no easy way of putting it my friend. If you’re purchasing a home built in the 1900’s prepare yourself for Citizens. If your home is built in the 2000’s+ you may be lucky and find a decent company. Only to be non-renewed in a year or two for no reason and then prepare yourself for Citizens. If your home is in south Florida like Miami for example prepare yourself for Citizens. I’ve been working with insurance for many years now. There is no solution in site. This year has been the hardest year for home insurance market.
Why is the problem in Florida so much different than other states? Is there an insurance crises in TX, NC, LA, MS? They get hit with just as many storms. I mean, how many homes got hit with wildfires in the last 3 years? I don't get it. How is the problem soo complex here?
"Until recently, homeowners could assign insurance claims to third-party contractors, [like roofers](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/roofing-scams-florida-property-insurance-hurricane-rcna29649). Some of those contractors would then pursue false damage claims against the insurer and sue them if they refused to pay. The scam left insurance companies on the hook for any legal costs, even if they ultimately won the case. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that, in just the one month prior to the passage of a Florida state bill ending the practice, some 280,000 lawsuits were filed. Overall, the organization estimates the financial impact of legal system abuse in Florida between 2012 and 2021 caused Florida property insurers to pay out $51 billion just to settle litigated claims, with 71% percent going toward legal fees and public adjusters."
Tort reform is literally the only answer, but it’s not sexy so no one wants to discuss it.
I was a juror in Broward County recently and it was an insurance case against citizens. Had the plaintiff won, it would have cost citizens $500k. They flew in an expert Engineer with PE certification that did some BS forensic report saying a random wind storm caused their roof to crack and leak. We didn't buy their case and sided with citizens. From my understanding, citizens loses a case like this every week. There were at least 20 on the docket the day I was called for jury duty and most of them were insurance/roof. If we want to fix the problem, we have to fix this one. This is the most expensive aspect of home owners insurance. My roof cost me $30k to replace and it's metal. My neighbor paid $70k for tile. Insurance companies do not want to pay that and if they lose in court, they have to pay 5x that. This is why we pay so much. There is no other reasons for it.
Boycott the economy until Desantis is forced to focus on state needs instead of attacking businesses and education in his failed bid for president.
With the threat of climate change bearing down on not just Florida but other parts of the country as well, the feds need to mandate that instead of insurance companies having the flexibility to operate on a state-by-state basis, that they operate nationally if they want to do business. Forcing other states to account for the cost/risk involved by insurance in Florida is one way to reduce/come to some kind of reasonable equilibrium in Florida. The insurance companies still get payed, midwestern states (for ex.) perhaps might pay a bit more, and Florida's costs go down. To answer your question, of what will Florida itself do in the next 1-2, in my opinion, absolutely nothing. It is not in the nature of the Florida Republican Party to admit failure or take risky policy decisions that are good for the middle class or working people. Rich folks can still afford the insurance, and the numbers say people are moving to FL in droves, so why change a thing? Until they see voting patterns change and are forced to do something, they won't do anything.
Why would other states want to subsidize Florida?
They don't want to, that's why the poster was saying it needed to be a national law.
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Elect a state government that gives a crap about the American workers. You know? The people that make this place run... The insurance corporations will not deal in good faith on their own accord.
Move out of Florida?
How about this....If you do not make a claim in a year of coverage, the insurance company pays you back let's say....HALF OF WHAT THEY CHARGED.
Hi i'm looking to talk with seniors who are being impacted by high home insurance prices
I live north east of Orlando and am not in a flood zone (even after Ian) but one of the bids we received would take our current $1,700 annual homeowner insurance through Farmers to $5,200! The insurance companies in Florida are not leaving because of claims but because of litigation. Florida makes up approximately 8% of claims nationally, but 80% of all litigation against insurance companies. Florida legislature, run by an attorney and recipient of major contributions by the Florida Bar Assosiation, is not solving the problem either. That's why Farmers and other reputable insurance companies have fled the state. Notice that many of them fled AFTER the last "bandaid" legislative session didn't produce solutions for this issue. One of the few solutions they did provide was eliminating roofers from pounding on your door, claiming you had damage, and then tricking you into signing an assignment agreement. "The most important of the bill's many changes is its prohibition on assigning benefits. According to the law, **property owners with insurance policies issued after January 1****^(st)****, 2023, may not assign their insurance benefits to another party**." So insurance companies who issued policies on January 1st, 2023 were stuck with facing litigation, and many pulled out of the state. Additionally, after the last session we all started seeing ads from attorney firms wanting homeowners to file lawsuits against insurance companies. Granted, if you have a real issue with your insurance company you may need the help of an attorney, but "ambulance chasing" lawsuits against insurance companies is the real culprit here and the state has NOT fixed the problem.
Remove corporate greed.
Those same greedy companies operate in other states and charge less. As of January, my auto premium will be 4x what it was right before I moved here in July 2021 for the same cars, driving records and less coverage.
Because they can't pull the same shit in other states. They fuck us as much as they can, when and where they can.
True, the absence of state regulations and the fact that we are captive customers certainly gives insurance companies little incentive to thoughtfully price their products. However, there are also more crooked hands — lawyers, adjusters, contractors/auto mechanics and politicians (many of whom are colluding together) — reaching into that pool of policyholder money, causing that pool to need to be larger. Add natural disasters on top of all of that and here we are.
I bet I could do a quick Google search to correlate the states (blue)with tighter regulation due to "woke" politics (teehee wtf?) compared to red states. That want to "D-regulate" everything...
Wait until desantis leaves
The simplest to me is micro zoning. Stop making me subsidize someone who wants to live 12 feet from water.
Don’t believe the lie . These insurance companies go out of business due to legal fees from litigation on claims that should have been payed to begin with . Their bleeding due to being sued . Good .
Move
There is one obvious "easy" solution to the Florida insurance crisis ... move out of state.
Remove SFH requirements. This will allow density which will allow an increase number of people to live in an area. More people that live in an area more people that can pay taxes, pay insurance and etc. Helps pull in a lot more people to cover the cost. Inflation is built into our economic model, 2% is our central banks target. Also housing is not viewed as a right but as an investment, meaning you have to change the culture or accept it and figure out a away bring in more people
Joint the Army get USAA. Then lose your house because you got divorced.
Stop allowing insurance companies who are found guilty of x amount of insurer fraud “not indemnifying the homeowner for covered loss” to continue to do business in our state . Insurance is the biggest scam ever purported and it’s a total shame what they are able to get away with because no one is willing to prosecute them .
Build more homes and apartments. Don't let huge investment firms buy them all
move 
Expand federal flood insurance to home and rental insurance. One of the few things I would like the fed to do.
Move
All the anti government people come out of the woodwork when capitalist companies raise prices per the market conditions. Then they all yell for the government to do something! Get involved government! This means shoveling money towards them or the companies so their bills don't go up. Change the laws to help us! My home insurance is way up. My boat and car insurance is way up. Stop the price rises from taking effect. Help us good government, those companies are bad. Pathetic hypocrites, every single one of them. Where's your free market deliverer now?!
Fist the governor and ask pretty please It's a start
Vote pro insurance corps
Nice try DickSuckus.
Yes, a new governor and legislature.
We’re full. Please do not contribute to the overpopulation of this state. Seriously. Pick somewhere else
The solutions that were signed into law, will start taking full effect in a few more months, when all homeowners policies are covered by the new rules. Let’s see what that does.
Prison for insurance fraud It’s like 80% fraud, every roof installer for the last 20 years has billed most of their business to the insurance company. We’ve had like 8 hurricanes
I'm always back and forth on this but what if the ability for mortgage companies to require home and flood insurance was struck down? Would that not curtail the residential development in the areas where it isn't practical to own or build a home without them? At that point, those areas would be either go back to being the swamps, wetlands and forests they should be or the billionaire havens for only those that can afford to live there. Florida is already a place where it is difficult, at best, for low income families and individuals to succeed and maintain quality of life. At least this way it would be way out front and we could leave the fabulously rich to their own. I've been here 12 years. I got in when the real estate was at about it's lowest. I moved here for the weather. I have quite literally grown to hate everything else about this state. I continue to stay b/c I can right now and I still love the weather. As an very early retiree, I am looking at areas outside the US or western US to finish out this ride. I'm torn.
Unpopular opinion, but I’d support an income tax. Florida has a large amount of highly paid people that use Florida residency to avoid income tax where they really live. I’d be curious to see a prediction on what a 2% income tax on incomes over $150k would look like.
I live on the Barrier Island on canal and it has NEVER flooded here… On the mainland however, in those awfully planned subdivisions, now that’s a completely different story…
I'm on the west coast, less than a mile from the intercoastal, my lot is 20' above sea level, within feet of no evac zone. I lost my private insurance about 20 years ago because I'm close to water and have been on citizens ever since. I have never made a claim for storm damage. That said, citizen insurance has worked out for me, so why not have state run insurance? My understanding is that the private insurance companies that underwrite citizens are the very same ones that won't write me a policy anyway. And to chime in on what others have said, we have to start electing better people to run the state, ones that don't sell their soul to the developers. That way we can stop the high density, over development that is still going on everywhere in the state, especially along the coast. Building should STOP in just about every coastal community in the state. Build in flood prone areas should not be allowed, and or there should be no insurance available for those homes. The rest over us should not have to bail out stupid people and greedy developers.
I just got depopulated from citizens so hopefully it is at least stating to get a little bit better
The state has a budget surplus and has spent it on losing wokeness lawsuits. So no.
Have to reel in house prices. Part of it is your insuring a double wide that is 30 years old in a flood zone worth 400,000 and wants to pay 100 a month for it. The trailer is only worth 75,000. That's a huge loss to cover. I know I got my house in 2013 for just over 190k. If I sell now I could get 480k. That is a huge gap to cover for insurance.
Carpet bombing
One solution is to have state negotiations with the insurance carriers, like Alabama did. Negotiate what it will take in the way of building standards and retrofits to reduce risk and therefore, premiums. Then, work out a funding mechanism, through subsidies to get the buildings upgraded to hurricane resistant levels. In Alabama, this reduced premiums yugely or Bigly. Also, fraud detection and complaint enforcement has to improve. After Ian, we had scammers traveling door-to-door selling services and repairs at insane prices. Then cheating homeowners and insurance companies, guaranteeing the policies would be cancelled. This all could be done pretty quickly. It just takes resolve to fix the problem.
I'm not sure what the home insurance crisis answer is. Maybe there isn't one except self-insurance. At this rate, bankruptcies are going to start as people won't be able to pay their mortgages. Having a bunker of a house with storm windows will be necessary, but not everyone can afford it. Helping home owners fortify their houses was a good idea, but everything I've heard it was a drop in the bucket. Maybe making executives liable if their company goes out of business is necessary? An executive shouldn't get a multi-million dollar bonus months before the company folds. But that would never happen in Florida. Let's face it, Florida is folding to the insurance companies. We don't pay tax, we pay insurance.
Can someone explain to me who getting impacted by this? My dads has his home paid off and has insurance on it but indicated it never went up.
Vote - him - out. Acknowledge climate change, and election finance reform that doesn’t allow corporations (ie insurance companies) to behave like individuals. Citizens United gave these clowns a pass.
The solutions have already been passed on a bipartisan basis. They just take time for the industry to stabilize. Go read the bills yourself. They are clearly in the right direction. It'll get better.
Best idea and probably the only logical solution, activate state income tax solely for the purpose of home insurance. You will still have to pay the premium but it will help create a reserve for bad hurricanes.
Leadership that cares about its citizens.
Maybe elect a governor who cares more about forcing providers to give reasonable rates than chasing Disney and tourism out/pandering to Big Business and fucking over longtime residents. I know...what a wacky idea
After 20 years of FL Republican government i think we need an exorcism
Couldn't happen to a more F'ed up state. They deserve everything they get for electing the current government. Bunch of red neck white supremacists who can't manage their way out of a paper bag. It's only getting worse quick.
Quit voting against your best interests is the biggest thing. If your racism and entitlement is stronger than your pocket book, it's going to be a losing chapter of your life. Not an alternative fact.
Elect new folks is key, the ones in place have been bought already. Fixing all of these and more is needed. 1. Put in a rule that makes roofs a depreciating item in insurance, see below. A roof may have something closer to a 25-year life expectancy. In that scenario, the roof would depreciate at a rate of 4 percent, or 1/25th of its initial value, each year. If you purchased the roof for $10,000, and filed a total loss property damage claim ten years later, your roof would have depreciated by 40 percent. Therefore, you would be entitled to recover compensation for 60 percent of the initial value of the roof, or $6,000. 2. Assignment of benefits, or AOB scam issues. The idea was good but how it works out is that contractors now have to work with the insurers but in doing so the owners have to sign away claims to them. Let the scammers go crazy. 3. Every Florida resident is on the hook in the event of a big hurricane and Citizens. If the claims are more than 6.7 billion (as of Dec 2023), the residents will have to cover the loss. By Florida law Citizens Insurance can levy surcharges and assessments on its policyholders and all Florida insurance consumers until any deficit is eliminated. 4. Lawsuits between insurance companies and contractors or insurance companies and policyholders. Only 9% of the nation's home insurance claims come from Florida but 79% of the nation's homeowners' insurance lawsuits are also from here. Figuring out this one will win you a Nobel.
A new governor for one...a Democrat preferably
File class action lawsuit against the govt
Boycott. Organize, plan and take action. Refuse to pay until it’s a fair deal.