Homeowners Insurance tips
A few things that insurance agents take into consideration when evaluating the home are-the age of the home, style of roof(hip roof is best), how close the home is to a natural body of water or fire hydrant, how the roof is tied on, if the home has hurricane shutters or impact resistant glass, if the home has a Miami-Dade rated garage door, if the home is frame or block. These are just a few of the criteria they use to give an insurance quote. There are more but these are some of the biggies.
It's important to have a wind mitigation report done on the home. This usually costs around $150 and some home inspectors include it in the home inspection. I'll give you an example of how this can effect your insurance. I have a home North Port (southern Sarasota county). My home was built in 2003, has hurricane shutters, 2127 under air, hip roof, concrete block, close to a fire hydrant, no pool. Before the inspection my insurance was $1987 per year and after the inspection it was $727. Big difference.
Sarasota and Charlotte county are really hit or miss when it comes to flood. Generally west of US 41 and on the islands would be more likely to require flood insurance. The only way to determine the amount of the insurance is to have an elevation certificate. This would show the elevation of the home and what flood zone the home is in (if any). If the previous owner had home owners insurance and had a mortgage they probably have an elevation certificate. I always recommend getting flood insurance even if your home is not in a flood zone. If it's not, the price would be much cheaper for the insurance. If you're looking in Sarasota county you can use this website to help to evaluate if the property needs flood insurance or not: https://ags2.scgov.net/sarcoflood/ Here is another handy website for insurance: http://www.floir.com/choices.aspx
It's important to have a wind mitigation report done on the home. This usually costs around $150 and some home inspectors include it in the home inspection. I'll give you an example of how this can effect your insurance. I have a home North Port (southern Sarasota county). My home was built in 2003, has hurricane shutters, 2127 under air, hip roof, concrete block, close to a fire hydrant, no pool. Before the inspection my insurance was $1987 per year and after the inspection it was $727. Big difference.
Sarasota and Charlotte county are really hit or miss when it comes to flood. Generally west of US 41 and on the islands would be more likely to require flood insurance. The only way to determine the amount of the insurance is to have an elevation certificate. This would show the elevation of the home and what flood zone the home is in (if any). If the previous owner had home owners insurance and had a mortgage they probably have an elevation certificate. I always recommend getting flood insurance even if your home is not in a flood zone. If it's not, the price would be much cheaper for the insurance. If you're looking in Sarasota county you can use this website to help to evaluate if the property needs flood insurance or not: https://ags2.scgov.net/sarcoflood/ Here is another handy website for insurance: http://www.floir.com/choices.aspx
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