I received some interesting responses to today's blog on homeowners insurance in the South. Keep 'em coming!
From RLB:
Hurricane shutters are a great idea; costly but great. I've got sets on 2 of the six properties I own. But of my situation, and many other investors, they are incredibly expensive. And with break even rents (due to the high cost of taxes and yes, insurance) I can't afford to buy them now. And if that’s not a enough of a hurdle, the insurance rebate you spoke of is miniscule. I believe I save about 12 dollars annually for them. 12 bucks will pay for them in about a hundred years. (A joke, but certainly long term.) And to kick this insurance thing even further in the pants.... I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA PROPERTY TAX ON THEM. Yup, that’s right. I have to pay a higher property tax (to the tune of about a 100 dollars per) down here in florida to have them. It's considered an improvement. (Yes, I've written my local officials, as well as county and city.)
Kristen R. writes:
My dad lives 12 miles inland on the SW coast of Florida. He has a two year old home, built to the highest hurricane safety standards. He received a letter that his insurace carrier would be dropping them at the end of December. This is AFTER his rate TRIPLED a year ago. I don't think this is the fault of homeowners, as you report. It's the insurance companies. They are doing this to people in "high risk" areas up the entire east coast. I can only imagine it will get worse as their capital positions shrink from losses in their investment portfolios.
Jay G. says:
I live in Eastern NC where we have just endured a 25% rate increase. Our state sets rates for better or worse. I live in Washington, NC approximately 100 miles inland as the crow flies, and we do have a good amount of water around. We were hit with the same rate increase that those living ocean front got. Seems to me that there is a higher probability of damage on the ocean front versus at my house which is a mile from the river, and on property that is 25 feet above sea level. Why is it that the masses always have to subsidize the few. In this case we are subsidizing people who can afford million dollar ocean front homes.
And from one Florida Homeowner:
Florida legislature(who refuses to limit the Insurance companies ability to increase their yearly price increases) is driving the people out of Florida due to Home insurance price increases and home taxes(property taxes are at the overpriced mkt price)......I would love to only see 25% increase in my home owners insurance rate ...what really happens is they double it for last two years then cancel your policy. The catch-all happens in Florida when your policy is canceled, then the state can cover you with Citizen's State Insurance (this causes our state taxes to increase that covers the new policies the state now insures).
Questions? Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.com