Florida insurance Archives - L & M Insurance Group

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1, and whether you’re a hurricane veteran or a newcomer to the state of Florida, now is the time to ready your home and family for the 2023 hurricane season. Here is some information to help.

Hurricane risks

The biggest risks a Florida homeowner faces from a hurricane are storm surge, flooding, and wind damage.

Experts emphasize that the deadliest hurricane risk is that of storm surge. A storm doesn’t have to be a monster like Hurricane Ian to be deadly and damaging. Storm surge from even a category 1 or 2 hurricane can be life-threatening. It takes only six inches of fast-moving water to knock down an adult, and only two feet to wash away a vehicle.

Even if you don’t live right on the water, during a hurricane, your home may still be at risk for flooding. Flood damage is not covered under a standard home insurance policy, so you’ll need a separate flood policy. Remember, flood insurance often requires a waiting period before coverage goes into effect, so don’t wait until a storm is bearing down on you to call for a policy. (If you need a flood insurance quote, click here.)

Both on the coast and inland, high winds from hurricanes (or tornados spawned by a hurricane), can cause wind damage your home.

Preparation basics

Before the storm season starts in earnest, take some time to review or prepare your plan to survive a hurricane. Some basics include (see below for links to detailed hurricane preparation guides):

Have a communication plan for your family. How will you get in touch with each other if you’re not together when a storm hits?

Understand the terminology of hurricane watches and warnings, and learn your evacuation route(s) if you’re in an evacuation zone.

Prepare your home. Trim trees and shrubs; make necessary repairs to your roof, windows or doors; and purchase storm shutters or cut plywood to fit windows.

Keep your vehicle gas tanks at least half full. Pumps won’t work if the power goes out.

Review your insurance coverage. Homeowners insurance covers damage from hurricanes, but there is a special deductible that applies only to hurricanes. This deductible is usually a percentage of your home’s insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. Review your policy and make sure you have money put aside to pay your deductible if you have to make a claim.

Prepare for a power outage. Have some cash on hand, stock up on ice if you’ll need to put perishables in an ice chest, charge electronics and portable power sources, and if you have a generator, make sure it’s in good operating order.

Connect with your neighbors before and after a storm, especially if they are elderly.

Check and update/replenish your emergency supplies and/or “go kits.”

Download the FEMA app. While you’re at it, you might also check that you have any apps for your bank and insurance companies downloaded to your phone. Also save the phone numbers for your insurance companies (home and auto) and your insurance agent’s phone number in a safe place, along with your insurance policy numbers.

(Own a business? Click here to learn how to prepare your business for a hurricane.)

Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for a hurricane. Spending a little time now could prove life-saving later.

Turn to L & M Insurance Group for all your insurance needs

L & M Insurance Group is your source for all types of insurance, both personal and commercial. If you need homeowners insurance, flood insurance, or business insurance, please give a L & M Insurance Group agent a call at 813-672-4100, or click here to contact us online.

For more information:

Tampa Bay Times Hurricane Guide

https://www.noaa.gov/hurricane-prep

https://www.ready.gov/hurricane-toolkit

https://www.floridadisaster.org/planprepare/hurricane-supply-checklist/

https://www.stateofflorida.com/articles/hurricane-preparedness-guide/

L & M Insurance

L & M Insurance Group is an Independent Insurance Agency based in Riverview, Florida. We can shop, compare and recommend the home, auto, commercial or life insurance policy that’s best suited for you, your family or your business. Call 813-672-4100 or visit landminsurancegroup.com for more information.

landminsurancegroup.com

Almost every day we receive calls or emails from upset clients whose insurance premiums are going up, even when they’ve never made a claim. Some policies are going up by hundreds of dollars per year—what is happening?

The Florida insurance market is in crisis, particularly the homeowners and auto insurance sectors. A perfect storm of factors is contributing to today’s skyrocketing premiums and a market in which it’s getting harder to find insurance at all. In addition to rate increases, insurance companies are pulling out of Florida and tightening their underwriting guidelines. Florida consumers are facing insurance premium sticker shock and are finding it harder and harder to get the insurance coverage they need at a price they can afford.

Why insurance premiums are skyrocketing

As a locally-owned, independent insurance agency, L & M Insurance Group is committed to helping you find insurance that fits your needs and that you can afford. We also want to help you understand the factors contributing to this crisis. Here are the main reasons Florida insurance is seeing such steep increases:

Catastrophic losses. In 2020, Florida insurers lost nearly $1.6 billion dollars, and are reporting even greater losses in 2021. These losses mainly stem from litigation and reinsurance costs (see below), as well as continued payouts for hurricanes Irma and Michael.

Reinsurance costs. It might seem odd that wildfires in California or Australia would affect the price of insurance in Florida, but they can. That’s because disasters all over the world affect the cost of reinsurance for everyone. Reinsurance is “insurance for insurers”—a way for insurance companies to limit the extent of their own losses in case of disaster. The cost of reinsurance has been rising, and experts expect it to continue going up.

Skyrocketing construction and repair expenses. With the price of everything from car parts to lumber going up, it costs more than it did in past years to repair your vehicle or rebuild your house in case of a loss.

In addition, the value of vehicles and homes is also going up, which means in order for you to receive replacement cost in case of a loss, your insurance company will have to pay out more. It follows that if a covered item is worth more, then the cost of insuring it will be more.

Labor shortages are also affecting the price of construction, home, and auto repair. (Read more about how supply chain issues and labor shortages are affecting car insurance premiums.)

Lawsuits and fraud. For years, bad actors have exploited both policyholders and property insurers. Homeowners have been talked into filing claims and lawsuits by third parties like attorneys, contractors, or water remediation firms. Often times, homeowners don’t understand the claims process, or are relieved to have someone else take over. Unfortunately, every insurance consumer in Florida is paying the price for inflated or fraudulent claims and lawsuits.

Florida has, by far, the largest number of lawsuits related to homeowners insurance claims. For instance, in 2019, only 8.15 percent of all homeowners claims in the U.S. were filed in Florida, but more than 76 percent of property claim lawsuits were filed here. And what’s worse: only eight percent of the fifteen billion dollars that property insurance companies paid out in claims costs between 2013 and 2020 went to consumers. Seventy-one percent went to attorneys!

What can you do?

Much of what is happening in the insurance industry is out of individuals’ control, but here are three things you can do:

Review your insurance needs with an L & M Insurance Group agent. We can help you make sure you have the appropriate coverage for your situation, and that you’re taking advantage of all discounts available to you. We can also discuss whether or not an option such as switching to a higher deductible to lower your insurance premium is right for you.

If you have a claim, be sure to contact your insurance agent and/or your insurance company yourself. Do not sign anything without talking to your insurance agent or directly to your insurance company.

Contact your elected officials and tell them that continued insurance reform is still needed. Though recent legislation has helped to reduce assignment of benefits lawsuits, other types of lawsuits are still going up, at a cost to all of us.

We at L & M Insurance Group understand your worries and frustrations about the cost of home and auto insurance. We promise we will do the best we can under these difficult circumstances to provide you with the best coverage at the most cost-effective price. Please call us at 813-672-4100 if you need to discuss your insurance options. If you prefer, you may also contact us online.