Despite two years of legislation, Florida homeowners insurance is still very expensive and hard to find. All of the national companies have either left the state completely or have stopped accepting new business. Here's how you can create competition for your Florida insurance business among the limited number of home insurance companies that remain - and save thousands of dollars in the process.
Consumers in Florida are still facing a home insurance market with a very limited number of companies to choose from. Two years of legislation hasn't made the situation any better. Home insurance in Florida is still hard to locate and expensive - particularly for older homes and those that are close to the coast. Now that most of the national insurance companies have exited the Florida insurance market, homeowners have a limited number of smaller, newer, regional companies available to help them protect their most significant investment.
In this confusing market, what are the steps that you can take to create competition for your home insurance business and save the most?
For starters, you need to understand that while there are over 450 companies licensed to write homeowners insurance in Florida, only around 40 are actually writing any new business at this time. And of those 40, only a portion of those companies are willing to cover your home. Why? Because each company establishes underwriting guidelines for the type of homes they want to insure. The two biggest factors companies use to decide whether to cover your home is its age and how close it is to the Florida coast.
For the sake of discussion, let's assume that there are 25 companies of the 40 out their right now that are willing to insure your Florida home. The way to get the lowest cost homeowners insurance would be to get each and every one of these companies to quote your home. So how do you do that?
For starters each insurance company offers their insurance through agents that represent them. This results in a fragmented market where consumers like you run a high risk of not getting to all the companies that want to cover your Florida home due to the following:
Companies do not make their insurance available to each and every agent.
Agents do not want to offer insurance from all companies.
Some companies have captive agents that are only allowed to write coverage exclusively for their company.
Some companies sell directly to the public and bypass the agent network completely.
How does all of this affect you?
If you only contact one Florida insurance agent, you are guaranteed to miss out on many companies that are interested in covering your home. Getting quotes from only one agent limits the competition for your Florida home insurance business and dramatically increases the chances that you will pay a lot more to cover your home.
You could use quote generator websites that require you to enter personal, sensitive information. You will find some companies using this method, but you will not get to all the companies that want to cover your home. And you many get tons of unwanted phone calls and emails from multiple agents that are all representing the same company.
So what's the best way for you to get quotes from all of the Florida home insurance companies who want to cover your home?
Follow these steps to create the most competition for your Florida homeowners insurance business and you could save thousands:
Utilize Florida insurance agents that are independent - not captive agents that only represent one company.
Work with more than one independent insurance agent. If the first agent doesn't carry some of the companies that want to cover your home, the second agent just might.
Use independent agents that represent a large number of Florida homeowners insurance companies. An agent that has only four companies is too small for you. Look for agents that represent at least 10 companies or more that are actively writing new business.
Last but not least, don't ignore the Florida home insurance companies that sell directly to the public through their own agency. Contact these companies directly and get quotes from them either by phone or through their website.
The following items will improve your odds when it comes to finding all of the Florida home insurance companies who want to cover your home. Each additional company you find and get a quote from creates more competition and has the potential to save you thousands on Florida home insurance.
More Florida Home Insurance Companies Could Fail This Year
Many Florida home insurance companies are not in good financial condition at the present time.
Florida Home Insurance Premiums Are Going Up Again
You probably know that your Florida home insurance is going up this year. But you might not know about other developments that could raise your rates even further.
Don't Forget to Ask Sellers About These Items When Purchasing a Florida Home
If you are a buying a home in Florida you can't ask enough questions about the home you are considering. You could be in for a nasty surprise if you don't do your homework.
