Hurricane Ian’s widespread damage is another disaster for Florida’s already shaky insurance industry. Even though home insurance rates in Florida are nearly triple the national average, insurers have been losing money. Six have failed since January 2022. Now, insured losses from Ian are estimated to exceed US$40 billion Hurricane risk might seem like the obvious problem, but there is a more insidious driver in this financial train wreck. Finance professor Shahid Hamid, who directs the Laboratory for Insurance at Florida International University, explained how Florida’s insurance market got this bad – and how the state’s insurer of last resort, Citizens...
Continue reading...
Florida's new laws on property insurance and condo safety may not give homeowners relief Some lawmakers and industry analysts worry the new laws don’t deliver relief fast enough and don’t go far enough for property owners to see a difference. When Lynn Haven resident Tori Lambeth bought her first home in 2019, it felt right. The payment—mortgage, taxes, and insurance—was perfectly affordable. But every year since the purchase, insurance costs have risen. “We were paying $1,360 and now it’s $1,586 a month because of our home insurance and flood insurance," Lambeth told WFSU. “I tried to shop around to see if I could get my property and flood insurance lowered, and the couple of...
Continue reading...
Providing exceptional customer service is one of the most important keys for home insurance companies in building lasting relationships with their clients, the latest survey from J.D. Power has revealed. The firm’s 2020 US Home Insurance Study found that more than two-thirds of home insurance clients planned to renew policies with their existing providers because of good customer service experience. Reputation and convenience, both selected by 64% of respondents, ranked next as the top factors driving customer retention, while price was among the least chosen motivators. The data analytics and consumer intelligence firm reviewed almost 12,000 responses from clients in the homeowners...
Continue reading...
The great Boomer migration from home ownership to renting is upon us. About two-thirds of all rental housing growth between 2004 and 2019 was driven by adults age 55 and older, and that group now accounts for approximately 30% of the total rental market. According to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Home Insurance Study, released today, home insurers have struggled to navigate that transition with products and services designed to maximize customer lifetime value. “The generational shift from home ownership to renting represents a significant customer retention risk unless insurers figure out a better way to maintain customer loyalty throughout this critical life phase,” said Robert M. Lajdziak,...
Continue reading...
What Is Homeowners Insurance? Homeowners insurance protects one of the largest investments in your life – your home. At its basic level, home insurance or house insurance covers the home’s structure in the event of a natural disaster such as a fire, tornado, or terrible storm. Homeowners insurance also provides liability protection for homeowners too. Whether someone fell and injured themselves on your property, your pet hurt someone, or you caused damage to someone, or something that leads to a liability, your homeowners insurance coverage may help. Many people confuse homeowners insurance with a home warranty, but they are quite different. Home insurance covers the cost of...
Continue reading...
TAMPA, Fla. — The cost to live here in paradise has gone up drastically since the pandemic began. Hundreds of thousands of people are moving to the Tampa Bay area, and home prices are rising faster than in California and New York, according to Case-Shiller Home Price Index. But there’s another cost to owning a home that’s been getting worse over the years here in Florida — insurance. Seven property insurance companies in Florida are now in liquidation and many residents are seeing bills nearly triple what they were two years ago. Most residents with homes under $650,000 have what’s called “last resort” state-subsidized Citizen’s Property Insurance. Hudson resident Elizabeth Roache's yearly...
Continue reading...
Buying a home comes with a host of financial responsibilities, such as paying your bond regularly and ensuring that you have selected appropriate insurance to cover your debt, should your circumstances change. In fact, your bank will probably insist that you have life insurance and homeowners insurance, to cover the bond debt if something happens to you, and to ensure that you are protected from the expense of repairs to the structure of your house if anything should happen to it. It is however worth knowing that you don’t have to take out your bank’s cover – you can buy insurance from anywhere, so shop around for a competitive quote. Below, Craig Young, ooba’s Managing Executive for...
Continue reading...
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a multinational conglomerate holding company, run by the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett. The Omaha-domiciled holding company owns more than 60 subsidiaries, including leading insurer GEICO, battery maker Duracell and food giant Kraft Heinz. Insurance subsidiaries make up a significant part of the Buffett empire. A brief history of Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway’s roots trace back to 1839, when Oliver Chace established a successful textile manufacturing company called the Valley Falls Company in Valley Falls, Rhode Island. In 1929, the Valley Falls Company merged with the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams, Massachusetts....
Continue reading...
You might not think much about homeowners insurance—at least not until something happens at your home. The 29 tornadoes that destroyed lives and property across the Deep South in January 2017, for instance, might have made you wonder whether you were properly covered. To find out which homeowners insurance companies are best, we surveyed 7,418 of our subscribers who filed a claim in the previous 3.5 years. We wanted to know how quickly their carrier responded and paid for repairs, among other things. Amica tops our latest homewners insurance ratings, with USAA, Erie, MetLife, and Auto-Owners also among the most highly rated providers. Top Companies Go Above and Beyond What separates a top...
Continue reading...
If you’re looking to buy a home in the Atlanta area, you might be wondering what the best Georgia homeowners insurance companies are. Choosing a company to insure and protect your home is a big decision – your house is probably your biggest investment, so it’s important that you have an insurance company that’s going to be there for you. If you’re trying to get Atlanta home insurance, we can give you some quotes from a variety of different insurance carriers. Here are our picks for best Georgia home insurance companies. Top 10 Home Insurance Companies in Atlanta Nationwide Nationwide is one of the largest insurance companies in the country. They’re also a Fortune 100 company. They started...
Continue reading...
