Florida Home Insurance Since Katrina

Since the aftermath of recent natural events left Florida with so many damaged homes and homes at risk, there were certain changes to the law and to regular insurance company practices in Florida in order to make home insurance cover better. Many Florida households found their insurance did not properly cover them for damage and destruction caused by flooding, storms and hurricanes. The peripheral damage and costs caused by occurrences like Katrina such as looting, action by emergency services and long-term re-housing costs have left many families in extreme financial difficulties.

Florida Home Insurance Since Katrina: Tips

Many Florida home insurance policies have experienced huge rate increases and there are many families who have been actually refused insurance or been dropped by their current Florida home insurance provider.

State law in Florida now requires that Florida home insurance providers renew a policy the moment a home has been repaired to code, instead of the previous practice of not renewing until 90 days after repairs were carried out. Insurers previously would only pay the lowest cash value for repairs, and not the actual repair cost that they are now obliged to pay, meaning that when repair prices go up due to wide scale damage, all homeowners are still covered for repairs. Because many older homes have to be rebuilt to more strict building codes than they met before being damaged, Florida home insurance agents must now pay up to 50% on top of the actual damage value in order to allow code compliance.

Policies must now be much more clearly laid out in writing in a short, checklist form stating clearly what is covered and what is not. Florida home insurance providers are required to provide policies in a standardized form allowing potential customers to properly compare policies across the market. Hurricane deductibles must now be properly described to the customer, and more recent law limited these to one per season only. Any Florida home insurance claims must be expedited, or contact made between the claimant and Insurance provider regarding the claim within 14 days.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the ombudsman of the Florida home insurance industry is now compulsorily funded by the insurance companies themselves, with staff reviewing any rate change decisions. Rate rises of more than 15% now require a public hearing.

All this is set to improve the coverage offered by Florida home insurance providers, but consumers should remember that the previous Florida home insurance legislation requiring items such as sinkhole damage clauses are still in effect as well.