(07-12-2023, 11:08 AM)homebiscuit Wrote:

(07-12-2023, 10:18 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: If they still offer coverage, like several other companies they are increasing FL rates on the catastrophe related portions of policies to a point that most consumers will not purchase from them. 

I'm not sure the letter of the law on how they are allowed to offer, or not offer coverage based on flood zoning and historical hurricane impact in an area, but insurers seem to just be prohibitively inflating the cost to properly insure properties deemed most at risk if they'll insure you at all. 

This is the story I heard from a recent homebuyer on the gulf coast of FL anyway ^ 

Interesting sidebar on the insurance landscape after a Hurricane:
One of my jobs is based in SWFL and the area was greatly affected by Hurricane Ian about 10 months ago. 
I need to rent a telescoping boom lift to make an improvement on the site of my business there. 
Prior to the hurricane -  I have rented one of these fairly basic 45 ft booms for about $500 per day. 
In the wake of Hurricane repairs - the demand and knowledge of insurance funding has driven this cost to $1400 per day and rental shops cannot guarantee when or if one will even be available. 
They have the really big ones that come on a full flatbed trailer behind a semi available, but none of the models that were formerly reasonably priced. Gotta decide how long I can put off this fix unless I want to plunk down $2K for a 6 hour rental on an overkill piece of equipment.

My agent explained to me several years ago, and it may have changed since then, that insurers are not allowed to tailor coverage for specific areas of Florida. It’s all lumped in together. 
It’s a complicated issue, no doubt, and was exacerbated by roofers exploiting the system and driving 8 or 9 insurance companies insolvent. 
Inflation isn’t helping either. The cost of everything is going up. I just received an email from my pest control company that their prices are going up and will be passing it onto the customer.

The inflation of repair costs by disaster relief focused contractors is a big, big factor in all of this. 

I've had several friends and acquaintances working with out of town contractors since the hurricane in SWFL.
They tell me stories of wild, wild expenditures by their employers and no one bats an eyelash. 
One guy I know well got hired to just use his personal Chevy 3500 series truck to take dump trailers to the county landfill and was getting paid $4000 a week plus gas and vehicle wear-and-tear compensation. And the company put he and one other guy up in a four bedroom vacation rental that cost the company $600 per night for 2 months. 

A roofing contractor came into the concert venue one night and we were auctioning off an artist signed guitar for the scholarship fund of a little girl who'd lost her father. 
We were up to 3K and he waltzed up and handed over a check for ten grand. 
I spoke with him at length afterward and he told me flatly "I've got six crews down here installing roofing. I'm gonna leave here with 2 million dollars in my pocket. Ten grand a'int [BLEEP]."  I'm very grateful to him for helping that little girl, but I can't imagine what the bills to insurance companies must be from his jobs.

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