IDSO Tampa Home Insurance Company(ies)?! (Miami: house, buying, construction)

[Island_Guy]

TIA mucho for any info and leads. And I apologize for bringing up this topic again without fully searching, but we're in process of buying and need to know the real deal.

Is Citizens the only underwriter in Hillsborough? We just got a troubling, scary quote and I want to be sure I've got correct info.

[ladyspeed6]

Try Homewise.

[No.44]

Island_Guy - not sure what your circumstances are, but I'm currently dealing with Citizens now.

They are not the only company writing policies in Hillsborough, but they are the only company that will insure older homes, or a lot of them that are in a flood zone. The interesting thing about Citizens is that most agents can quote Citizens policies on two things:

1. The Citizens cost replacement calculator. This is usually pretty expensive as Citizens likes to make you pay a bit more than needed to ensure your home.

2. The home's appraised value. This stinks to be because the appraised value of my new purchase is only insuring the home at around $70/sq ft, which is way below the cost to rebuild, currently at around $100/sq ft. Not sure if this is the case for yours...

The problem is, they will not insure you for any number in between. Thusly, in my case, I'm either way underinsured or way overinsured. It really stinks but is the reality I guess in FL. I'm trying to find other information but there doesn't seem to be a central repository.

I got a pretty good quote from Geico that wasn't outrageous, but still higher than I expected.

So in a nutshell, if you are willing to insure the appraised amount (which my bank accepted) but I would be crying the blues if I had a catastrophic loss (not covered enough to rebuild) so I'm going the more expensive route.

Citizens is indeed the only company that will underwrite older homes right now, to my knowledge.

I hope someone else has some input....

-44

[Island_Guy]

Great leads, thanks both of you very much. Will call asap!

Dumb question, is 2006 considered an older home as in not brand new?

[BrewfromPhilly]

It depends upon the building standards that were in effect at that time. I have a 2006 home that was built to the current Miami Dade building standard. If you are moving from another area of the country you will definitely find homeowner insurance prices here absolutely ridiculous. Mine are currently 3 times what I paid up north. I've never made a claim and I have a $2500 deductable. I also opted for sinkhole coverage because I am just north of Tampa where they seem to be more prevalent.

[Island_Guy]

I hear you, we're originally from Philly area too. Good tip on the sinkhole coverage. We'll pay to get that inspected and probably buy that insurance which we're told is separate.

Whew, on a heck of a rollercoaster ride. We just got a $3K quote from Geico in stark contrast from the $7400 quote from Citizens. Racking our brains trying to figure out what's missing or accounting for massive differential. Any ideas on that? Geico sounds better anyway compared to any gov't run option. Doesn't include flood as they don't offer it, is that the 4K answer?

[No.44]

Wow that is an insane difference!

Are the replacement costs about the same for each property (dwelling)?

I believe the latest building codes were as of 2003 so 2006 is nowhere near an older home. The original part of my house was built in 1940 - now that's an older home haha! (The major systems have since been updated - but still considered older).

I'm really surprised about the difference there. I've got a good guy at AllState that you can try too if you want. He had to put me with Citizens (again due to the age of the house) but has access to a bunch of different companies.

Also, make sure to get a wind mitigation certificate done on the roof (it costs like $50 bucks) and it can save a TON on the insurance!

-44

[Island_Guy]

Glad you're head's spinning too lol. I lined Geico and Citizens up side by side and can't find the difference. And Geico's rebuilding figure is 15k more!

Hurricane deductible both at 2%, loss, liabilities, personal, medical are equivalent. The only thing Citizens included was a 1K sinkhole, sounds woefully ridiculous.

The word flood isn't even mentioned on Citizens (then again the math doesn't even add up on the quote, as the total doesn't reflect the figures)

Thanks for another vital tip, will follow up on that wind mitigation certificate with home inspector. Think we'll get a sink hole inspection done too.

We love the character and uniqueness of older homes, we're just wimpy at knowing how to care for them. We admire those who do.

[imguytpa]

I have Homewise in Hillsborough, 2009 construction, reasonable(about same as my car), check out the Hillsborough/Tampa Bay sinkhole map, good luck

[TampaKaren]

This thread needs a lot of help and I'm not sure where to begin. Island_Guy, if you have representation on your purchase, your agent should give you this information. Citizens is not the only underwriter in Hillsborough and Geico is outrageous. Research the following link sponsored by the State of Florida; then find a GOOD insurance broker. There are many many factors that go into insurance premiums. Compare Homeowner's Insurance Rates.