With Home Insurance prices on the rise in Florida, what should you do?

Home Insurance prices will increase from 5% to as much as 27% when your policy renews and even Flood Insurance is going up about 10%!!  What should you do??  First, shop with an agency that represents a  lot of companies. Some agencies represent 1 company, some 4 , some 10 and some 15 or more. Whoever you shop with should have at least 10 and if your home was built in the 1980’s or older they may need help from the newest companies that focus on older homes.These companies include Argus, Federated National,Sawgrass Mutual and Prepared Insurance.Asking your agents what companies they represent  is a very important question to ask and get a strait answer. An agent is not liable for  giving you only what they have available to them and if they only have 3  companies this may not be the best scenario for your home. We have seen prices range as much as $1500/ year on a home from 8-9 differant companies. This does not seem lodgical, but it is how the system works. Also, if your home was built in the 1990’s or later or has a new roof from that time, you should be doing a wind Mitigation inspection. These inspections range from $75-$125 and they guarantee you save at least that much, but most save hundred’s or thousands!!!! Lastly, please consider the customer service you receive as well. Our agency shops out rates on renewals that increase  at least $300 per year or whenever a client calls in for any reason. Most agencies do not do this and should. In conjunction with this, please do not accept Citizens Insurance as an Insurance company unless there are truly no options. In South Florida, the reasons would be, living east of I -95,having a rental property, or smaller homes with coverages below 100K.

Thanks,

Lee S. Gorodetsky,LUTCF,CLF

President L & S Insurance & Financial services, Inc.