Hurricane season affecting insurance rates

If you haven’t looked at your home insurance policy for awhile, you might be surprised at how much coverage has been snatched away.

The start of hurricane season on June 1 is traditionally a good time for Florida homeowners to review their coverage — both for changes you might not have known about, and to ensure you have enough

While no one likes paying for something they hope they never need, this year you’ll likely notice you’re paying more for less.

That’s because state insurance regulators, lawmakers and insurance companies have all worked together to make your coverage less attractive to third-party repair contractors and plaintiffs attorneys eyeing your house as a potential money- spilling piñata.

They’re tightening requirements specifically for older houses with at-risk roofs and plumbing systems.

Roof coverage scaled back

For example, if your roof is over a certain age — as low as 10 years old for some insurers — your policy might not cover the cost to replace it if damaged in a hail storm. You might find that your policy at some point changed from covering the full replacement cost to what’s called Actual Cash Value — what the old roof is worth today.

And that means to replace the roof, the homeowner will be forced to pay whatever the insurance company decides is not its responsibility.

“You don’t get a free roof,” said Jeff Grady, president and CEO of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents. “The customer has

to decide whether to make that claim.”

The limits stemmed from contractors using roof repairs to bill insurance companies. They canvass neighborhoods for homeowners wiling to let them climb up to their roofs, where inevitably, they find or create enough damage to justify replacing the entire roof, insurers complain.

A Google search for the terms “Florida insurance roof replacement” turns up a web link from a Southwest Florida roof repair company titled: “1 Broken Shingle or Tile = New Roof — Here’s How!”

Not all companies have switched to “actual cash value” roof coverage, and some companies will reinstate full replacement value coverage if you agree to pay a higher premium.

Some insurers won’t cover homes with roofs over a certain age. Others require roof inspections before they will renew existing coverage. If in doubt, make sure you read your policy.

Limits on nonweather water damage

Another potential surprise, specifically awaiting owners of older homes, will be how much insurers will pay for non-weather-related water damage. That’s not damage that could result from rain entering your house if a tree falls and ruptures your roof. That damage would be covered by the windstorm portion of your policy. Nor is it damage caused if your neighborhood floods and water flows into your house. Flood insurance is responsible for that.

Non-weather-related water damage results from problems inside your house: A ruptured pipe inside a wall or under a sink. A corroded connection to a water heater. Or a dishwasher hose comes loose, spewing water throughout your cabinetry.

Stung by increases in such water damage claims over the past decade, most insurers now limit water damage coverage to $10,000 for homes built more than 30 years ago, while some companies offer no water damage coverage at all unless policyholders pay extra, according to the Boca Ratonbased Cronin Insurance Agency.

Others insurers, including state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp., capped all water damage coverage at $10,000 unless homeowners elect to use repair contractors selected by the insurer. That change was intended to dissuade shady contractors from inflating claims while still protecting homeowners whose damages exceed $10,000.

Make sure you can rebuild

Meanwhile, property owners should also check their policies to ensure they have the right amount of coverage in case a catastrophe destroys your home completely.

That means finding out the rebuild value of your home and making sure your coverage matches it. This is vital because three of five homes in the United States are insured for an average of 20% less than full value, according to analytics firm CoreLogic.

Determining your home’s true value should start with a call to your insurance agent to make sure your policy accurately reflects such details as your home’s square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, type of flooring and the materials used such as marble or wood.

You can hire an appraiser or use an online software tool to determine the replacement value of your structure. Estimates should reflect the cost of rebuilding the structure to comply with current codes. For older homes, that typically means stronger roof connections, hurricane resistant doors, including garage doors, and impact glass windows.

Make sure your policy carries an “ordinance or law” endorsement to ensure your insurer will pay more than the coverage limit if upgrades are needed to bring the rebuilt structure into compliance with current codes. Typical endorsements cover 25% increases, but you can pay for more.

Also check to see whether your policy includes Inflation Guard Coverage, which automatically increases your coverage limit each year to account for normal price increases, and Enhanced Replacement Coverage, which protects you in case a postcatastrophe market drives up costs of rebuilding.

But just as many homeowners are underinsured, others have too much coverage. Make sure the cost of your land — which won’t have to be replaced — hasn’t been calculated into your home’s replacement value.

Sometimes Inflation Guard Coverage works the other way, generating yearly increases in coverage that ends up exceeding the replacement value of the structure, said Dulce Suarez-Resnick, vice president of sales & marketing at NCF Insurance Associates in Miami. When that happens, homeowners can lower their coverage and save money on their premiums, she said.

You’ll also want to determine whether your home’s contents are insured for actual cash value, which is the depreciated value, or replacement cost, what it would cost to replace an older item with a new one. As you might expect, actual cash value coverage tends to be lower.

Other coverage

You’ll also need to look at your flood insurance coverage, if you have it, and determine whether it will cover the cost to replace your home. Flood coverage is separate from homeowner insurance, and if you don’t have it, most insurance experts suggest you get it.

Your windstorm coverage, also known as hurricane coverage, is also separate from your homeowner policy even though they are typically packaged together.

You should think about how large of a deductible you can handle in case of a total loss. Homeowners can choose a flat $500 deductible or a percentage of the policy’s structure limit. Options are 2%, 5%, or 10%. Choosing a higher deductible lowers the policy price, but you should make sure you have a plan for covering the shortage.

One way is to buy a supplemental policy that’s often called parametric insurance. It can cover not only the deductible but other assets not covered by traditional policies such as fences, sheds, and pool enclosures. You can also buy policies that cover evacuation costs including gas, food and lodging.

WILFREDO LEE/AP South Florida residents who remember scenes like this after Hurricane Wilma in 2005 know how important it is to review their homeowner insurance policies every so often to avoid costly surprises.