UNF2007 Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 We have had vacation property in costal Florida for several years. The dwelling is insured by USAA, but the policy specifically excludes wind and flood. I have a separate policy for wind from Citizens. My two experiences with citizens have been awful, a few years ago one of the storms came through and did some damage to my roof, ripping off fascia and shingles. Citizen's came out and did an assessment, after about 3 months of waiting ended up denying my claim because their models(not actually measured) said the wind speed wasn't sufficient to cause the damage on the day the claim was filed. Then sent me a letter saying my policy would be canceled unless I could prove the roof had been repaired to their satisfaction, in a timeline they determined. I had another separate event where wind blew the flashing off my chimney during a thunderstorm and water leaked into the home and caused damage to the walls. Same story claims adjustor came out and 3 months later said it was a defect with the manufacturing of the chimney, and their model didn't show wind speeds needed for that damage. Letter in the mail saying all damage needed to be repaired or policy is canceled. My opinion is that Citizen's is insurance in name only, to allow for mortgage underwriting to continue. But they have no intention of paying claims, outside of maybe a major named storm direct hit, fortunately haven't had to experience that yet. Unfortunately the only recourse is to sue them, but then they have the right to cancel the policy, so outside a catastrophic event it doesn't make sense to pull that lever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 Thanks for the color on Citizens. Nothing like waiting 3 months to hear back when your roof is already partially gone. I guess USAA won't write the wind coverage for you? We have USAA coverage for all of our properties, wind, named storms, etc - everything but Flood which is FEMA. USAA has been wonderful when you need to file a claim. The mutual membership model makes the whole experience much less adversarial. Hell, a former tenant once sued us for a sprained wrist on a slip-and-fall during a rainstorm (documented on security camera footage) and USAA actually lowered our premium because they said they didn't know we had cameras before. I never served in the Military, but I've had USAA coverage since I was 15 because my Father had been in the Air Force. Not sure we could have purchased our home in New Orleans right after Katrina (when people were scared, prices were very low, and insurance was hard to come by) if it wasn't for USAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 (edited) Ultra Rich Pay $620,000 to Shield Mega Mansions From Disaster Risk - Insurance premiums are soaring as climate risk grows, pricing everyone but the wealthy out of some coastal areas. Edited September 8, 2023 by fareastwarriors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Home Insurance Is So High in This Florida Town, Residents Are Leaving In West Palm Beach’s Flamingo Park neighborhood, some homeowners are dropping insurance, and others who can’t are selling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinar Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Unless I misheard, on today's ELS earnings call, CEO said in response to a question that a very large proportion if not most of their Florida customers do not have insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregmal Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 That’s capitalism at work. Prices too high, people don’t buy. If you’ve got a home built pre 2000, and especially pre Andrew, why would you even bother with insurance? Just save and plan on rebuilding new and up to code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepupil Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) as an interesting data point, my parents church had an annual budget shortfall of $100K as donations did not come in as expected. they dropped their windstorm coverage ($100K of $120K / yr total insurance premium) in order to meet the budget and plan to forego coverage indefinitely. I'm sure there's a relevant bible verse to share here, but I guess I didn't pay enough attention growing up... Edited February 13 by thepupil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwy000 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 5 minutes ago, thepupil said: as an interesting data point, my parents church had an annual budget shortfall of $100K as donations did not come in as expected. they dropped their windstorm coverage ($100K of $120K / yr total insurance premium) in order to meet the budget and plan to forego coverage indefinitely. I'm sure there's a relevant bible verse to share here, but I guess I didn't pay enough attention growing up... That must be why it's referred to as an Act From God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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