Florida Home Insurance Rates

Saving for a rainy day means more in the Sunshine State than it does elsewhere. Saving in the sense of preparation goes a long way in a hurricane-prone place.

Part of being prepared is buying plenty of coverage against the unfortunate damages hurricanes are capable of causing. After all, hurricane coverage significantly affects Florida home insurance rates.

It would be unwise to skip other types of damaging weather and events. Look forward to that further down this piece.

Be sure to use the FREE comparison tool located at the top of this page!

In addition to hurricanes, Floridians face their fair share of tornadoes, sinkholes, wildfires, winter weather and other sundry dangers.

Coverage comes in two major forms:

1. Property
2. Additional Living Expenses.

Additional areas of coverage to include are personal liability, medical coverage and an inflation guard, which ensures your coverage limits keep pace with inflation regardless of the housing market.

For more information about flood insurance straight from the State of Florida resources, read on here. Flooding is not covered under your homeowners insurance policy, but instead offered by the Federal government. The stipulation is that you have to live in a flood plane according to Federal maps.

The State legislature obligates insurance carriers to cover against hurricane-level wind damages in homeowners policies. For more information about Florida's minimum coverage, read all about hurricane wind damage coverage.

The upside to almost any part of a policy is the chance to save on insurance. The State also requires insurance carriers to offer discounts on insurance premiums to customers who install wind damage prevention measures.

It is worth looking into construction or add-on features that prevent wind damage in a hurricane because it can save you up to 42 percent on hurricane wind damage coverage.

To earn the discount, be prepared to have a certified inspector examine your home's wind- resistant features. You usually have to pay for the inspector, though it is often worth the money, considering you can save so much on the hurricane wind insurance premiums.

What qualifies for hurricane wind discounts?

1. Hurricane shutters
2. Impact-rated glass
3. Roof-to-wall connection
4. Roof-deck fastening
5. Building-code-equivalent roof covering
6. Hip roof shape

Did You Know?

1. If the Governor declares a state of emergency because of a hurricane, then insurers cannot cancel your policy for hurricane-related claims for up to 90 days after the storm.
2. Homeowners may apply for free inspections if it is their primary residence.
3. Homeowners may apply for grants (free money) to make improvements to their homes that qualify for hurricane wind discounts.
4. Hurricanes are officially determined by the National Hurricane Center.
5. Hurricanes are effective from when a watch or warning is issued and extend 72 hours following its end.
6. Wind damage from non-hurricane storms is subject to your policy's general deductible.
7. In a land with such a wide array of damages that mother nature may cause, it is enticing to buy every type of coverage, beyond what's required or reasonable. For instance, you could cover against perils such as volcanic eruption, but you might have trouble finding an honest insurance carrier who would do that.
8. It is most reasonable to consider what events typically cost the most expensive damage and occur at greatest frequency in Florida before buying protection against events.

The Insurance Institute keeps statistics on claims and is worth reviewing.

Consider whether you need or want coverage against the following damages:

1. Smoke
2. Fire
3. Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam
4. Hail
5. Weight of ice, snow or sleet
6. Explosion
7. Riot or civil commotion
8. Lightning
9. Aircraft
10. Vehicles
11. Vandalism or malicious mischief
12. Theft
13. Falling objects
14. Accidental and sudden tearing apart, cracking, burning or bulging
15. Freezing
16. Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current
17. Volcanic eruption

Figuring out How Much Insurance Coverage to Buy

you want to buy enough that you can file a claim and know your house will be rebuilt, without putting you into bankruptcy or forcing you to eat cans of cat food for 30 years. if you think that buying coverage limits that meet the remaining mortgage or that cover the housing market valuation of your home, you are dead wrong!

Also, while most insurance agents will only tell you the definitions of coverage, some might offer to help determine how much insurance to buy. still not the right answer. your insurance agent is both trying to make money and sell you an insurance policy, so they are not the best people to ask.

instead, hire a housing appraiser and a contractor you trust. both of these professionals together will tell you how much it will cost to rebuild your home from scratch in today's prices. it is money well spent because it is the best way to be sure.

Make a List and Check It Twice

Most households actually prepare an inventory of personal and household items for the purposes of insurance claims. It's not only good in theory, but it may be just what makes for a particularly efficient claims process. Take pictures, get serial numbers, collect receipts and keep your inventory in several off-site locations.

Perhaps send one to your sister in Washington State, keep one on the cloud and even mail a copy to your office for your desk at work. It could be a life saver later.

Effectively Compare Insurance Rates

Give yourself a pat on the back if you decided the kind of coverage you need and how much insurance to buy. Now it is time to go after those quotes to get the most competitive insurance rates. You can do it.

It might be overwhelming. Suddenly you have 15 insurance agents calling, emailing and calling again to get you to buy their products. What's more is they all provide their information in slightly different ways.

Rather than receive straight forward quotes, you might have one who supplies a cut-rate quote with a $10,000 deductible, another whose coverage leaves out some coverage elements you cannot live in Florida without and a third whose rates seem unbelievably high. It is hard to compare when they are all presenting different information.

To start out, make sure all companies who contact you are in good standing with an excellent credit rating. This is the only way that you can be sure they have the financial means to pay out on claims. Then, cross off any contenders who do not make the cut.

From there, dump any whose deductibles are so high that you would have to decide whether to pay the property taxes that year or make a claim. If that works for you, of course, then go ahead and roll the dice and try carrying a huge deductible. It's worth noting, homeowners insurance deductibles are paid every time you make a claim.

Though, hurricane wind damage deductibles are only paid out once per season if you need to file a hurricane claim.

Make sure that you have sufficient structural coverage, based upon the results your home appraiser and contractor provided. In addition, add up the value of the goods on your inventory. Make sure that the prices are up to date. For instance, you probably will have what is called replacement coverage, which means, today's prices determine the claims benefits on personal affects.

Actual value coverage, on the other hand, supplies benefits based upon depreciation and use and factor in fire and water damage, for instance. That's hard to justify when you probably cannot buy a dining room table for 20 dollars, for instance.

Instead, start by making your own list, know how much coverage you need and apply the value of your personal belongings taken from your inventory. From there, apply discounts for buying multiple lines of insurance with the same carrier. Make sure you are receiving no claims discounts and are being given proper credit for having hurricane shutters, for instance.

Once you have established all of this you are a lot closer to securing a homeowners insurance policy that works best for your home and family. You may not be able to stop mother nature, but you can prepare for her arrival. Compare insurance rates to get the most competitive pricing to secure you from hurricanes, fire, theft and other damages.

Use our FREE tool to start your search today!