Homeowners Insurance Lowdown

Mobile Homeowner Policy Holders in Florida Forced to Pay Higher Premiums

A number of mobile home residents are either facing cancellations of their homeowner insurance policies or a raise in premium by 100 percent or more. Insurance companies took this decision after many states were hit by hurricane that led to severe destruction. This decision came as a shock for the residents of Florida as many of them can’t afford this cost owing to their fixed retirement incomes.

According to the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, none of the private companies is making new mobile home policies at present. Only Citizens Insurance Corp. is offering homeowner insurance policies, that too at double the old rate for many mobile home owners. This is indeed a crisis for the 800,000-plus residents of mobile homes. Heraldtoday.com reports:

Florida's chief financial officer, Tom Gallagher has recently proposed a complete package of insurance reforms planned to deal with Florida's problems of access to and affordability of homeowner insurance policies. But, there is no recognition of the mobile homeowner insurance problem till now.

Upgrading Homeowner Insurance Policies

Storm ravaged images of homes in Louisiana and Mississippi have instigated fear in Americans. According to Ron Cuccaro, President and CEO of Adjusters International, more and more people are buying all-risk policies. Consumers are re-examining their homeowner insurance policies to upgrade them to ensure that they can recover in case of any such disaster. A number of consumers are under the impression that homeowner’s insurance is dependent of a house's market value. Infact, it is directly related to replacement costs. Phylliburbs.com reports:

Instead of upgrading their homeowner insurance policies when neighborhood market values rise, consumers can call the insurance agent at the time of their home renovation to increase the coverage.

How To Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Costs?

If you are thinking of buying a homeowner insurance policy just take care of a few things to get the best available policy suiting your requirements and that too at lower cost.

It is a good idea to get more and more information about the policy through different sources. This can save you a good amount of money. You can ask your friends and relatives, check Yellow Pages, or contact your state insurance department. In addition to this, you can also get information from National Association of Insurance Commissioners to choose an insurer in your state.  Before selecting any homeowner insurance policy, it is advisable to check consumer guide, insurance agents, companies and online insurance quote services. This will give you an idea of price ranges and tell you which companies have the lowest prices. Higher deductibles can help you save more money on your premiums. Most of the insurance companies nowadays recommend a deductible of at least $500. Just by doubling this amount you can save as much as 25 percent on the policy premium.

A very good way to bring down the policy rate is to buy a combination of two or more policies from one company.  But make sure this combined price is lower than buying the different coverages from different companies. One way saving on your premiums is by making your home more resistant to any kind of natural disaster by adding storm shutters, making the roof stronger and so on. In addition, you can also improve your heating, plumbing, and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage.

It is very important to maintain a good credit record to cut down your insurance cost. Insurers are increasingly using credit information to price homeowners’ insurance policies. A good credit record can be maintained by paying your bills on time and keeping your credit balances as low as possible.

Last but not least, one good way to save money on your homeowner insurance policy is to stay with same insurance company. Insurance companies give discounts to long-term policyholders. Some insurers reduce their premiums if you stay with them for long. But make certain to periodically compare this price with that of other policies.

Tower Hill Select Insurance Co. to Raise Premiums

Tower Hill Select Insurance Co. is likely to increase statewide homeowner insurance premiums. According to Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the insurance company has filed for a statewide average increase of 25.2 percent. A large number of consumers in Broward County and Palm Beach County might end up paying higher premiums as the agency covers more than 1,700 homes in Broward County and more than 3,400 homes in Palm Beach County. Sun-Sentinel.com reports:

The increase in homeowner insurance premiums is a result of increased expenditures on products such as reinsurance. Reinsurance refers to the insurance for insurance companies to help them pay disaster claims.

Homeowner Insurance in Florida: A Must

Homeowner Insurance in Florida is very essential. Florida is a place with warm climate and sandy beaches but it is very prone to tropical storms. Every year the place has to face severe storms which if turn into hurricanes can be disastrous. That's why it's important to consider home insurance if you live in Florida.

In Florida, storms do a lot of damage to homes. If you live in Florida and your home suffers from water damage, then all the repairs will be covered under home insurance. The same applies in case of flooding since Florida is a prone to hurricanes. You will be doing yourself and loved ones a favor when you decide to invest in home insurance for Florida.The homeowner insurance policy in Florida not only covers damage done by water as mentioned above but also protection against theft and many such things. Though you may not be home, you can rest knowing that your home insurance in Florida is protecting you from danger.

State Farm Florida Insurance to Raise Premiums

State Farm Florida Insurance Co. received approval to raise homeowner insurance premium by an average of 8.6 percent for South Floridians. Due to this approval given by the regulators, the premium given by some of the State Florida customers of Broward County can go up by as much as 40 percent. The insurance premium can be as much as 35 percent for the customers in Palm Beach County.

Allstate Floridian Insurance Corp. has appealed against this proposed hike. Instead it has proposed a hike between 20 and 30 percent in Broward and Palm Beach counties and has already started collecting higher premium without any approval. If the panel upheld this proposed hike, Allstate Floridian Insurance will refund the excess money to all the homeowner insurance policy holders. Sun-sentinel.com reports:

The increase in the premiums will not be more than 42.5 percent a year as stated by State Farm Florida spokesman Jose Soto. The new home owner insurance premium rates will take effect from February 1 for new business while for the new renewals the same will be applied from April 1.

Drop in Homeowner Insurance Likely

The recently announced requirements of new equipments and additional firefighters by the Waco Fire Department are expected to raise the property taxes. If Waco’s ISO rating gets improved with better equipments and human resource management, there will be a considerable drop in home owner insurance rates ranging from $60 to $70 a year.

Waco's present ISO rating is 4. By acquiring new equipments and workforce Chief Johnston would like to bring the rating down to 3, which will be a step towards betterment.

Does Your Homeowner Insurance Cover Home Fire Insurance?

A standard homeowner insurance policy covers home fire insurance. If any homeowner insurance policy holder has complete ownership of the home, then he or she can apply for home fire insurance. A number of agencies have come forward to make people aware of home fire insurance through home owner policies and to encourage the consumers to know more about their current house fire insurance and what all is offered under their current policies. 

By reading their house fire insurance policies and completely understanding what the home owner insurance policy covers, consumers can get the maximum benefit out of there policies. Home fire insurance or homeowner’s insurance cover any loss caused by fire, but house fire insurance will also cover a burglary and vandalism to the home. Home fire insurance through a homeowner's policy also includes liability coverage in case a person is harmed on your property or in your home.

It is always a good idea to make an inventory list of all your personal belongings and the value of each and every item to make a house fire insurance claim in case of disaster. Preparing for a situation ahead of time can make a devastating situation less stressful and chaotic.

New Coverage Includes Debris Removal

Homeowner insurance policy holders can now avail the benefit of the coverage to pay for debris removal. The residents of Abita can now simply call Abita crews to remove the storm-generated debris instead of waiting for the insurance representatives to take care of the matter. People interested to avail this service simply need to fill a form at Town Hall during normal working hours on all weekdays.

The residents are required to reimburse FEMA the cost of removing this debris to the extent covered in the homeowner insurance policy. The amount covered under homeowner insurance policy paid to FEMA will be used to reimburse Abita Springs for its work done on the private property.

How to get Homeowner's Insurance Policies at the Best Prices in California?

Home insurance is a very competitive market in California. Due to such severe competition among the different agencies, consumers should always compare the insurance rates before buying any policy. By gathering information on how to get the best-offered rates on home insurance in California, any consumer can challenge the standard insurance quotes to get the best available homeowner’s insurance policy.

The insurance policy standards of California may differ from the guidelines of other states. Consumers should gather more information about the differences in policies and legislation. A thorough research about variety of policies and their rates before buying the policies in California can be profitable. 

Consumers should keep a few things in mind to get lowest home insurance rates in California. First and foremost is to compare the rates of the policies before buying one. For example, getting three or more home insurance policy quotes can offer a range to choose from. Second, consumers should be well informed to ask for discounts on the policies related with age in case of senior citizens, and discounts for using the same insurance company to insure other owed assets as well. The best possible idea is to ask the home insurance agent about all the possible discounts available on the policies.

In addition to this, homeowners interested in home insurance in California should review their credit report before submitting any application to any insurance agency. This is very important as personal credit report can directly affect the rate quote for home insurance in California. People with a poor credit report can end up paying higher home insurance rates while good credit rating can demonstrate the homeowner as responsible. It is advisable to log onto the Internet to discover more about getting the best rates and policies for home insurance in California.

Zero Tolerance against Discrimination

Every person seeking homeowner insurance should know the fact that an insurance company cannot deny, refuse to renew, limit, or charge more for coverage because of your race, color, religion, or origin. Similarly an insurance company cannot in any way discriminate on basis of age, gender, marital status, geographic location, disability or partial disability.

However, the exception to this rule is that a decision, which might otherwise appear discriminatory, is based on sound underwriting or actuarial principles. This means that the company needs to show valid statistical evidence that the housing property in question presents a far greater risk for a loss than others it is willing to insure.

Also, an insurer cannot refuse to insure a home based solely on its age or low value. However, insurers can offer discounts for newly built homes and require updates to the wiring, plumbing, and heating systems before agreeing to insure an older home. A general tip to make your home more insurable is to modify aspects that insurance companies interpret as signs of potential risk. Read More: Your Rights against Unfair Discrimination

EasyLink Enhanced

Loan Protector, a leading independent outsourcer of servicing technology and services, outlined that it has enhanced its Electronic Insurance Interchange service and renamed it EasyLink. Since the service was introduced two years ago, it has saved lenders time and money by providing up-to-date, digital homeowner insurance information from more than 85 insurance carriers. Washingtonpost Reports:

EasyLink gathers homeowners' insurance information from all major insurance carriers and allows lenders to access the information electronically. With this service, lenders remain in control of their insurance function.

Citizens Property Insurance to Hike Premiums

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policyholders will start paying higher premiums starting from February 1 2006, in a two-phased hike in rates. It is likely that after the two price hikes take effect, the total boost in premiums is close to 100% for homeowners. As per law, Citizens customers pay rates much higher than the 20 largest insurers writing in Florida to encourage homeowners to find coverage on the private market. 

As policies renew, starting February 1 2005, rates for Citizens standard policies, which offer full coverage, are scheduled to increase. The average increase for residence of Tampa is about 15.6%, the average increase for people in rest of Hillsborough County is about 24%, about 16% to 20% in Pinellas County, and 9%to 10% in Pasco County. Sun-sentinel Reports:

Further, Citizens' wind-only policies, which protect policyholders in areas near the coast from storm or hurricane wind damage, are to go up by 14.6% in Pinellas and by 15.1% in Pasco. Additional so-called ex-wind policies, which cover other types of damage, will go up by 16% to 20% in Pinellas and 4% to 13% in Pasco.

Homeowner Insurance: Focus on Texas

Homeowners insurance offers protection from financial losses caused due to damage to an insured housing property. A usual policy covers the housing property for damages caused by storms, fire, theft, and other events outlined in the policy. It is imperative that you understand your policy document and have a clear idea about your rights. Many people wait till the time they have an actual claim to review or understand their homeowner insurance policy and rights. As a very general tip, ensure you have enough coverage to avoid a major financial loss if your home is severely damaged or destroyed. This means keeping a realistic dollar amount of coverage on your house.

Texas has a Consumer Bill of Rights for homeowners and renters insurance. Your insurance company must send the Bill of Rights with your policy or renewal. Focusing on the homeowner insurance sector in Texas, companies offer various types of policies, each with a different type of coverage. The three of the policy types available in Texas are the HO-A, HO-B, and HO-C. These policies are standardized products, which means the policy terms and coverage provided by these policies are the identical, irrespective of the company writing the policy. Although, an HO-B policy written by one company will be exactly the same as an HO-B policy written by another company, the two companies might as well charge different rates.

There is also scope for companies to offer alternative policy forms - that is if prior approval of the Commissioner of Insurance is obtained. The highlight of such policies is that they are not standardized and usually offer different and varying coverage. So in such cases, it is vital to read the policy documents in detail to understand the level of coverage and related clauses.

There might be companies that offer more than one policy form. But usually, a company would offer just one policy form to its customers. Further, there are ways to add additional coverage by buying endorsements to the base policy. Read More:Texas Homeowners Policies

Surcharge Levied on Homeowner Insurance Policy

It is being reported that every homeowner insurance policyholder under Citizens Property Insurance will have to pay a surcharge of about 10% to 11% to make good the deficit caused because of Hurricane Wilma. This newly proposed surcharge is over and above the already levied surcharge of 6.8% on Florida homeowners. bonitanews reports:

However, the most affected by the levy of surcharge will be the nearly 800,000 Citizens policyholders. The news follows the announcement by Citizens officials that the insurance company would run an estimated $950mn deficit due to Hurricane Wilma.

Fredonia Residents may see a decline in Homeowner Insurance Rate

A recent audit by the Insurance Services Office has improved the city of Fredonia’s fire rating. As a result, the residents of the city may witness a decline in the homeowner's insurance premium rates next year. Insurance Services Office is a private risk-analysis firm. Fredonia's fire rating has been improved from a 9-10 rating to a rating of 7-9.

The new classification will take effect on January 1, 2006. Property owners should check with their insurance agents at that time to make sure that the new classification is applied to their policies. The audit was based on a point system used by the ISO in which the city was rated on its fire department, water department and area water supply. The report has identified the areas in which further improvements can be made to achieve better classification. "The Times Leader reports"

The fiscal court voted Tuesday to transfer a rescue truck previously used by the Princeton Fire/Rescue Department to the Fredonia Fire Department. The pickup is no longer needed in Princeton, fire officials said, because of the department’s new heavy rescue truck, which was delivered last month.

Homeowners Insurance Rates may Rise

The hurricane Katrina played a major role in changing the financial conditions of many people. This hurricane season is projected to be the most expensive ever for insurers. Policyholders can expect a rise in their premiums in 2006. Florida has formulated a government-based insurance program that provides windstorm coverage for homeowners.

The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation had a deficit of $515 million because of hurricane. It is owned by the state of Florida. To recover the deficit, Florida recently announced a Florida Property Assessment Notice. The assessment is levied against all insurance companies writing property insurance policies in the state. zwire.com reports:

According to Klipstein, the assessment will be paid by all Florida property insurance policyholders. Both admitted and surplus lines property insurance carriers will be affected.