Known as the sunshine state, South Florida home insurance is something else. The state has one of the highest homeowner’s insurance rates with an average of $2,000 more than twice the national average. Despite the other benefits associated with South Florida such as the good weather, low property taxes and no income tax, most homeowners are finding it difficult to sustain their homes due to the high levels of home insurance.
When purchasing South Florida home insurance, it is important to ensure that you are covered for the perils that are likely to take place. Do not jeopardize your coverage for the low rates because you may end up spending money if a disaster occurs. For instance, if you take a policy without windstorm coverage, when it strikes, you will end up getting money from your pocket to finance or repair your home. However, you can still get lower rates and at the best coverage by shopping around and comparing different insurers.
What is causing the high insurance rates?
Various factors determine the insurance rates, such as the value of the home, the location, levels of crime and disasters that are likely to occur. In the case of South Florida, the biggest contributor is its proximity to the coastal line. This puts it at risk of extreme weather conditions such as windstorms and hurricanes. Some of the causes of high rates of South Florida home insurance are:
• Water damage
Being near water, South Florida has high level of water damage claims. This means that you should opt for high coverage of water damage in your policy. This covers damage caused by water due to broken pipes, leaking roofs, problem with drainage and sewer system leading to water damage. This is different from flood insurance and therefore do not think that if you are covered for damage due to floods, you are covered for water damage. Make sure that your policy has coverage for water damage.
• Lightning strikes damage
In South Florida, lightning strikes are common and they combine with heavy storms and rain. It is therefore important to ensure you are well insured for fire because most lightning strikes cause fire damage. This coverage is usually on the standard homeowners insurance.
• Floods
Floods are common in the area. However, the standard homeowner’s insurance does not cover flooding. You will need to take additional coverage to protect against it. You should not confuse flood coverage with water damage coverage. Coverage for flood is provided through the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
• Theft
A high crime rate in the area can result to high insurance premiums. If your area is known for the crime, you should opt for a higher limit and low deductibles. A high deductible may result to you getting the money to cater for the theft out of your pocket, with the insurer producing the rest.
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