House insurance ranges- Seminole/Safety Harbor/Palm Harbor (Clearwater: home owners insurance, how much)

[beckyb6789]

Hi everyone! My family and I will be moving to the Gulf Bay area next summer from the Chicago suburbs. Our target locations (due to school districts) are Seminole, Safety Harbor or Palm Harbor (area west of Lake Tarpon.) We will be spending between 200k-250k on a house there and are trying to get some good information/ranges on what we need to budget for home insurance/flood insurance. I've been contacted by some agents who are giving me very generalized info and am hoping some local residents can better tell me what to expect. Thanks in advance!

[The Villages Guy]

Our house was purchased in the low $300's in Palm Harbor. 4/3/3 pool home.

Home owners insurance costs around $1645, but that is with excellent excellent excellent coverage......not the poor coverage limits of the state run insurance called Citizens.

Our flood insurance is under $400, but we are actually over insured on that really.

Every house will be different, especially based on location. We eliminated everything west of 19 for insurance and traffic purposes.

[beckyb6789]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Every house will be different, especially based on location. We eliminated everything west of 19 for insurance and traffic purposes.

Thanks for the info. Do you remember how much more insurance was running west of 19?

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by beckyb6789

Thanks for the info. Do you remember how much more insurance was running west of 19?

Nope. Just knew that it "could" be REALLY expensive based on research and some rough quotes that I forget now and can always go higher.....especially as many private companies won't tough them. Too risky.

Traffic was also enough to stop us by itself. We always want to be east of 19. Beach access is still good from where we are, but traffic is so much easier.

[beckyb6789]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Traffic was also enough to stop us by itself. We always want to be east of 19. Beach access is still good from where we are, but traffic is so much easier.

Good to know, traffic will be a factor for us as well. Just curious, how long does it take to get to the beach from where you are? Are you west of the lake or east?

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by beckyb6789

Good to know, traffic will be a factor for us as well. Just curious, how long does it take to get to the beach from where you are? Are you west of the lake or east?

15-35 minutes depending on which beach we go to, Clearwater Beach being the furthest. We are on the east bank of Lake Tarpon. Simply drop dead gorgeous here. We feel very fortunate to have been able to move here when we did.

[beckyb6789]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

15-35 minutes depending on which beach we go to, Clearwater Beach being the furthest. We are on the east bank of Lake Tarpon. Simply drop dead gorgeous here. We feel very fortunate to have been able to move here when we did.

Thank you so much!


If anybody else has info on home/flood insurance prices west of 19 or in the Seminole areas let me know. I'd love to know what we're dealing with, we've never lived in FL before.

[spockcat]

You are really asking a question that no one can specifically answer without knowing exactly what house and where it is.

When looking at houses find out if they are in a flood zone. Before making an offer, get an elevation certificate from the seller. Get a flood insurance quote quote from an insurance agent. Lots of older homes that are below the 100 year flood level (FEMA calls it BFE or base flood elevation) are losing their subsidized flood insurance. In some cases flood insurance is going up 10 fold from what the old subsidized rate was. And this includes houses that aren't directly on the water.

[tinytrump]

insurance is never the same for anyone. what was bought 6 mo ago is not what is available today. good luck- you can call an ins agent and they can run some number for you, also the realtors

[beckyb6789]

Thanks for the info. If anybody else who lives in those areas has ranges/premiums they can share I'd appreciate it. Again, I'm just looking for ranges due to having no clue. I don't know whether to budget $1500 or 5000 annually. I met one person from Palm Harbor who pays $3000 a year but forgot to ask whether they were on the east or west of route 19.

I tried one insurance agency and the guy didn't want to give me information over the phone without an exact address. I also contacted 2 realtors and once they find out we aren't buying until next summer they seem to stop contacting me. It's hard to know what price house we want to get until we know (somewhat) what the insurance range is. Oh well. We may just have to wait for our first trip in January.