Katrina Filter

March 29, 2006 11:42 AM

We have a vacation home in Florida (33767), and we've been told that it is now considered 'uninsurable.' This isn't because it's right on the water, but because it's located in a certain zip code. Any advice on how I can go about getting a new policy? Everyone says NO as soon as they hear what zip it's in.
posted by richmondparker to Work & Money (14 answers total)

Everything is insurable for the right amount of money. Weigh the worth of the property against the cost of insurance.
posted by JJ86 at 11:51 AM on March 29, 2006

Call some insurance agencies that are located in that zip code. They've got to be doing something to insure houses right around there.
posted by SpecialK at 11:54 AM on March 29, 2006

What kind of policy? Fire? Flood? Storm? Theft? Liability? All of the above? I find it hard to believe that no one would insure you for at least fire, which is often state-mandated insurance.
posted by frogan at 11:56 AM on March 29, 2006

Oh, and a quick googling of 'florida uninsurable' got me this ... an article about Florida's insurer of last resort.
posted by SpecialK at 11:56 AM on March 29, 2006

If you're on friendly terms with them, contact some of your neighbors in the area of your vacation home and see who they're dealing with for insurance.
posted by Gator at 11:59 AM on March 29, 2006

Could you purchase it on an insured line of credit? If your bank gives you a line of credit for that amount and you have insurance on the line of credit, it might work. But you're paying a premium for an unsecured loan or else you're risking your collateral on a secured loan
posted by acoutu at 12:08 PM on March 29, 2006

Be prepared to do some searching. Due to the 2004 hurricanes, homeowners insurance went up across the board in Florida and many folks had their policies dropped.

I myself lost my coverage, despite being in a solid block condo smack in the middle of the state. Didn't have more than a power flicker in 2004.

All-State ditched a ton of policies, which were then picked up with offers by Universal. You might to try them for options.
posted by Sangre Azul at 12:15 PM on March 29, 2006

Lloyd's of London also stopped writing flood insurance anywhere in the U.S. following the 2004 hurricane season.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:23 PM on March 29, 2006

As a Florida resident, I am not the least bit surprised that you have an "uninsurable" property. Citizen's is probably your only option. Were you around in 2004? Because there is nothing in Clearwater that is not on the water when you are talking about hurricane damage. The winds and rain don't stop at the beach. I live deep into Central Florida, sixty miles inland, and I lost count of how many homes I saw without roofs in the wake of Charlie, Frances, etc. Being wedged in that little two or three mile strip between the Gulf and Tampa Bay doesn't offer anything in the way of protection, not from an insurer's point of view.
posted by Lokheed at 12:25 PM on March 29, 2006

My family has a vacation house on the east coast of Florida (33460) and we were worried about being dropped. Just this week we found out we can renew our current policy.

This article from the Palm Beach Post may help you - it mentions both the Florida Market Assistance Plan and Citizen's, as well as some other tips to find homeowners insurance in Florida.

Good luck!
posted by bCat at 1:25 PM on March 29, 2006

There are about 23,000 communities and not all communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. Your zip (most-likely) falls in such a community and therefore is listed as "un-insurable". Check with your community for more information on alternatives.
posted by cusecase at 1:31 PM on March 29, 2006

What you want is something called Fair Plan, it's government backed insurance for non-insurable areas.

"Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plans were created in the late 1960s to make property insurance more readily available to people who can't obtain it from private insurers because their property is considered "high risk.""
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:04 PM on March 29, 2006

The insurance companies well know that global warming is making living in Florida untenable. Frankly, your house is *almost certain* to be wiped out in, say, the next 20 years. Insurers can choose either ludicrously large premiums (like, say, 10% of your home's value every year) or they can choose not to cover you. If they choose ludicrously large premiums, they'll get bad press coverage - local TV news naming their name and premium amount, and accusing them of price-gouging. So they choose not to cover you at all. Perfectly reasonable response.

Florida is right at the edge of being uninhabitable, and within the next 20 years at the most, will certainly cross that line. Ask Metafilter can't change that for you; it is inevitable at this point.
posted by jellicle at 2:17 PM on March 29, 2006

Gloom and doom aside, you should be able to get insurance through Citizens. It's the state run insurance agency that was formed after Andrew hit, when a lot of carriers pulled out of the state. We live on the west coast of Florida, and that's who we have our flood insurance through.
posted by LoraT at 5:20 PM on March 29, 2006