One Of Few Remaining Florida Flood Insurers Is Dumping +/- 10,000 Policyholders, Most In SW

[hatrack]

This was probably in the works well before the recent torrential rain event in Ft Lauderdale, but underscores the fulminating problem. In an area that is getting more and more flood prone, insurance is getting harder and more expensive to get. Taxpayers may be left holding the bag.

NBC 2 Ft Meyers:

Thousands of flood insurance policies are being canceled in Florida. TypTap is one of only a few companies that still sell private flood insurance. NBC2 has learned the company plans to shed nearly 10,000 policies.

Reid McDaniel with McDaniel Insurance Solutions confirmed TypTap is getting out of the flood insurance business. “Unfortunately though due to the reinsurance and the issues Florida is having it’s a product they can’t offer anymore,” McDaniel explained.

It’s unclear how many policies exist in Southwest Florida; however, various agencies confirmed the company had many active policies in the area. “They are letting people know that you will have a waiting period if you NFIP plan. So you need to shop early,” McDaniel urged. The likely option for most customers will be The National Flood Insurance Program, which residents like Brian Freeman of Cape Coral currently have policies with.

EDIT

[jimfields33]

1. TypTap sounds very boutique

Very small companies can’t survive Florida. It’s better to go to a legitimate company which are thriving in Florida.

[hatrack]

2. The legitimate companies (Farmers, State Farm, etc.) don't offer flood insurance there any more . .

And even existing non-flood coverage isn't getting the job done for FL residents facing storm damage.

On a recent trip, I ended up talking to a lady from Florida from the north side of where Ian hit last year. Her home was seriously damaged, and their "coverage" was offering about 20% of actual costs to repair the property. This wasn't flood insurance, but standard property/casualty coverage, and they weren't going to be made whole.

There was an infuriating article about this in the Washington Post maybe a month ago, which is somewhere in the E/E group.

On flood insurance, it's down to a few small companies or the feds. As far as the private insurers are concerned, whether big or small, if it doesn't make them money, they aren't going to offer it.

[jimfields33]

3. I should have read flood insurance

I actually don’t have flood insurance in central Florida. I guess I should be more careful reading. Thank you for your informative post.

[Brenda]

4. Video says flood insurance now required for EVERYONE in state. nt

[jimfields33]

7. That's interesting. I'll Have to call my insurance company

to see what they are going to do about this.

[cachukis]

5. Another surprise cropping up is the contractor lien.

Homeowner damage is adjusted and the claimant expects the adjusters' payout. The homeowner engages the contractor.
The insurance company overrules the adjuster and shorts the homeowner.
The homeowner is on the hook for the contractor.
The contractor files a lien when the homeowner can't come up with the dough.
Weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[hatrack]

6. Or the insurer rewriting the adjustors' estimates to minimize payouts . . .

EDIT

The home, which belongs to retired couple Terry and Mary Sebastian, sits on a canal in Rotonda West, Fla., a coastal community that bore the brunt of Ian when the storm made landfall on Sept. 28. The entire place would need to be dehumidified, the roof completely replaced, the insulation torn out and the tattered pool enclosure rebuilt. It would be about $200,000 to repair the damage, the licensed adjuster calculated in his estimate for Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co.

But when Lee checked in on his report about 10 days later, his stomach dropped, he said. It had been drastically whittled down, with entire portions, such as the one detailing issues in the primary bedroom, removed. The amount of insulation that needed to be redone was cut by half, and his estimate now said that one-third of the roof should be fixed, instead of it being fully replaced. The homeowners were slated to receive a total of $27,000. The changes were made without Lee’s knowledge or consent, he said, but his name was still on the final report, according to documents seen by The Washington Post.

After major disasters like Ian, insurance companies often bring on third-party firms like Tristar Claim Solutions, an independent adjusting company that Lee worked for as a contractor, to help with the hundreds of thousands of claims. During the insurance claims process, it’s standard for field adjusters, who are trained to assess damaged homes, to collaborate with those back in the office to make minor edits, discuss aspects of the claim and alter line items if, for example, the carrier has evidence that damage was from a prior event, according to adjusters and insurance industry experts. That is how the system is supposed to work.

But that’s not what has been happening in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Lee and others said. Instead, Lee and other adjusters contracted by regional insurance carriers say that managers have been changing their work by lowering totals, rewriting descriptions of damage and deleting accompanying photos without their approval. These actions to devalue damage are the latest example of the insurance crisis in Florida. After years of more frequent and intense storms, national carriers have pulled back from the market and smaller, regional carriers with smaller financial reserves jumped in. In the wake of Hurricane Ian, those companies have been aggressively seeking to limit payouts to policyholders by altering the work of licensed adjusters, according to a Washington Post investigation. As a result, homeowners are left footing much of the bill for repairs, exposing an untenable gap between the cost of storm damage and what insurers are willing to pay to fix it.

EDIT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/11/florida-insurance-claims-hurricane-ian/

[brush]

8. I have relatives who moved there from NY a few years ago.

Me and my wife move to Vegas. It's hot but there's AC...and no hurricanes and floods.

I think we made the right decision.