From the mayhem that Hannah caused, another problem has arisen. If you had a water damage claim and submitted it to Citizens you have now precluded yourself from going with a standard carrier for at least the next 5 years. Water damage and dog bites are the big no-no’s when it comes to applying to one of the standard companies.

 So, if you have the option you should go with Universal or St john’s or the like. Use Citizens as truly the Carrier of last resort as it’s supposed to be.

Can’t believe some of the blame games going on for  those affected and un-insured. Please don’t blame the Insurance guys. They were not standing there telling you not to buy it. The mortgage broker might have said it is not lender required, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have it. Most hazard Insurance carriers now require a signature saying you acknowledge there is no flood coverage.

I’ll make a prediction. Out of all the HomeOwners in Lamplighter Village less than 5% had Flood Coverage. I’ll make another prediction. Those un-insured HomeOwners will still not buy Flood Coverage because it won’t happen again and they will still have to wait the 30 days. Anyone take me up on that?

Give us a call for a quote.

What do you think?

Do we need to prepare, sure. Do we need to panic! Of course not. Bottled water, batteries for the flash lights, lots of canned goods and of course my favourite Ramen noodles. Have some cash of course.

I had an interesting conversation with my neighbour yesterday. We were out in our drives fireing up our generators and discussed what we do with the stored fuel needed for our back-ups. He was going to fill up his 5 gallon containers this week and have them ready to go. Storing them in his garage. As his Insurance Broker, friend and neighbour (not necessarily in that order) I suggested it may not be the safest thing to do to have 30 gallons of gasoline stored in a hot garage for months on end. I like to fill mine up as soon as the projected path of a storm comes over Florida. Is that prepared enough, I think so. Maybe the price of gas will have come down by then, too!

The answer is YES. If you live in Indialantic, Satellite, Indian Harbour, Melbourne or Cocoa Beach  there are several A Rated companies that will write your home.

If you were non-renewed by State Farm or Allstate you may have been told or received a letter from your agent that Citizens was your only alternative. Far from the truth. In fact some of the mis-information going around about that subject from State Farm, borders on mis-representation or even lies! I’ve seen some of the letters sent out to State Farm customers and the supposed facts in those letters is preposterous. You can understand why they are doing it of course. When you see that you may lose half of your customer base in 1 year, you are going to get desperate.

Citizens was never meant to be a primary carrier. It is supposed to be a last resort,not the company that an agent goes to first. If you live in a manufactured home beachside, then yes Citizens may be your only option. If it is a single family detached home then you have many options. Universal Property and Casualty, St Johns, Olympus will all write a standard HO3 (HomeOwners Policy). If the home is a higher value home then Lexington Insurance Company (AIG), and Beazley USA (Lloyds) would love to write the home.

There is really no place for a State run monopoly like Citizens to even be in the standard market.

When Allstate started non-renewing a few years ago they put (or tried to put) all of their customers with Royal Palm. That’s great except for the fact that Royal Palm’s rates are up to 30% higher than Universal’s or St john’s. If you were rolled into Royal Palm or Security First get a quote fast from Universal or St John’s.

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2. Select Higher Deductibles
Simply put, the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Indeed the cost of an accident will be that much more expensive; however, if the damage is minor (grey zone in making accident claim), you’ll be spending the same out-of-pocket amount regardless.

3. Make a Cheaper Policy Even Cheaper: Don’t Pay in Monthly Installments
Additional administrative fees are commonly applied to payments when you split your premium in to installments (i.e. monthly, semi-annual, annual). Be aware that a monthly fee of even $7 can add up to $84 over 12 months.

4. Look for Multi-Line Insurance Discounts
The most under recognized car insurance discount results from the multi-line insurance policy: buying your auto insurance and your homeowners insurance from the same insurance company. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a multi-line policy can save you up to 15% on both premiums.

5. Collect on Your Good Driving
Most insurance companies reward good driving with lower premiums. In fact, in some states a good driving discount is required by law. If you haven’t had any accidents or tickets in the last three to five years, shop at InsWeb.com and see whether you are missing out on this money savings discount.