As home insurance rates increase, look for savings, adequate coverage
Many Florida homeowners will get a surprise in their mailboxes before the end of the year: Home insurance premiums are increasing.
Your first instinct might be to look for ways to cut your bill to make up the difference. Insurance experts say you might be able to find hidden savings by taking a close look, along with your agent, at what you are covering, how much coverage you have, the amount of your deductible and whether you are getting all of the discounts you have coming.
But be careful, they say, that you don’t put yourself at risk of facing a deductible you can’t afford to pay or getting too little money to rebuild your home if a catastrophe hits.
Already this year, 16 home insurance companies have secured approval for widespread rate increases. Higher rates are in effect at eight companies, and increases by seven others will kick in by Sept. 1. Nine more companies have asked for state approval of increases that would take effect by the end of November.
We asked Florida insurance experts to identify ways homeowners can save money at renewal time or at least make sure they are getting maximum coverage for their premium dollar.
Here’s what to consider: ■ Read your policy and know what it covers. The most important thing policyholders can do is review insurance applications and declarations pages, says Nancy Dominguez, executive director of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Is the information correct? Does it list all upgrades and storm-hardening improvements such as storm shutters, impact windows or hurricane straps on roofs? ■ Get a home mitigation inspection. For $100 to $150, a mitigation inspector will come to your home, check out any feature that can qualify you for a discount
and then give you a report to submit to the insurance company. “You may be eligible for discounts with construction features that already exist,” says Lynne McChristian, Florida representative for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry supported organization. “Plus you will get ideas on home improvements that can earn additional discounts and ... better protect your family.”
■ Before renewing, review your policy and options with
your agent. “See if anything needs to be changed,” says David Thompson, education instructor for the Florida Association of Insurance Agents. “For example, the policy could have been endorsed [additional premium] for a home-based business that has since been closed.” Your agent can tell you which insurance companies are willing to cover your home. An agent can also tell you how insurance companies differ — not only in what they cost and cover, but how they respond
when you make a claim. ■ Make the easy improvements. Do you have storm shutters for all of your coverings except a side door? Say goodbye to a big potential discount. The same is true for roof-truss tie-downs, Fulton says.
■ Claim your discounts. Discounts are available for having a centrally monitored security system that might come close to offsetting the monthly monitoring cost, McChristian says. Have you upgraded your plumbing, electrical or air conditioning, or install a new garage door or siding?
■ Check into bundling. Some insurers offer price breaks by combining home, auto or other insurance products. ■ Only buy the amount of insurance you need. This will differ depending on how much you are willing to spend out of pocket if a catastrophe happens.
You have to decide on two different deductibles: A hurricane deductible and the multiperil (non-hurricane) deductible.