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Florida Insurance - What You Can Do About the Coming Home Insurance Rate Increases

By Michael Letcher

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 19Jun2009 Word count: 730 Viewed: 270 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

The recent Florida property insurance law passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Governor Charlie Crist was an important step towards improving the financial stability of the Florida insurance system. It allows Florida's state run insurance company - Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to start raising its rates as much as 10% per year starting in 2010 as part of a multi-year process to move the company towards more actuarially sound rates. Private Florida home insurance companies will also be able to get rate increases in the future as they purchase more reinsurance from the private market instead of from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

The good news is that if Florida can continue the recent history of limited hurricane activity, the entire Florida insurance system should become stronger financially in the coming years - something that has to happen to improve the chances that most Florida home insurance companies can make good on their promise to pay your hurricane claim quickly and fairly.

The bad news is the fact that all of us will be facing up to a 10% increase in Florida homeowner insurance rates. A rate increase of 10% might not sound like much of an increase in other states but in Florida the situation is much different. These increases come on the heels of significant rate increases that followed the 2004/2005 hurricanes. Even without the 10% increase, Florida home insurance premiums are already the highest in the country.

The timing of the rate increases is not good either. For starters Florida continues to suffer during the current financial crisis with a depressed real estate market, ongoing foreclosures and significant job losses. These rate increases will also be occurring right around the same time that State Farm Florida will begin shedding up to 30,000 policies per month as the company exits the Florida home insurance business and begins cancelling policies. Our subscribers who are currently with State Farm are telling us that they could be facing as much as a 200% increase in their annual rates when they start to look for a new company to cover their home once their coverage with State Farm is cancelled.

So where does that leave you as a Florida home insurance consumer during these difficult times?

First you have to understand that while there are only about 40 Florida home insurance companies still writing new business, if you shop around you have a good chance of finding 5-10 companies that are still willing to cover your home - even if it is older or close to the coast.

It is very important for you to shop your Florida home insurance policy with more than one independent agent - someone who represents multiple Florida homeowner insurance companies looking for your business. Using multiple agents will help make sure that you can get a quote from all the companies interested in your home - not just the companies represented by a single agent.

In addition, you have to research the Florida home insurance companies that you are considering. The 40 companies still writing new business are very different in terms of their size, financial stability, number of years of experience in the business, and customer service history. It is essential that you work with your agent to make sure that you understand how each company stacks up in each of these areas.

As you narrow the field of companies, work with multiple independent Florida insurance agents to make sure that you are getting quotes from all the companies in your county who want to cover homes like yours. As you evaluate the quotes, don't buy the Florida insurance for your home simply on price. Find the right balance between strong financials, good customer service, and price. After all, what good is a low price on a Florida home insurance policy if the company is going to take forever to pay your claim at a value that won't begin to repair the damage your home will sustain after a Florida hurricane?

There is no doubt that the recently approved Florida home insurance increases are going to be difficult to absorb and the timing couldn't be worse. However, if you take the time to learn more about the available market and the companies willing to cover your home you might even be able to hold your Florida home insurance costs flat while everyone else pays a significant increase. Your research can save you thousands!

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