Citizens to hike insurance rates 56%

[Herman Munster]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16033075.htm

If you have windstorm insurance from Citizens, look out -- yet another rate increase is coming your way. Rates will jump 55.8 percent early next year for the nearly 247,000 homeowners in South Florida who buy windstorm coverage from Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer of last resort. That's on top of another increase already approved to take effect Jan. 1. The total hit for many homeowners: rate increases of more than 100 percent. And that's just for next year.

You can thank most of the state lawmakers for this one: The rate hike is necessary to comply with a provision in the insurance bill they passed in May. The bill requires Citizens to set rates high enough to cover all possible losses from the type of catastrophic storm that could hit once in 70 years.

''It's absolutely preposterous. Who can handle this type of thing?'' said Peter Otto, a Bayside resident, who was chased out of Coconut Grove two years ago because of rising property taxes and insurance costs. ''Quite frankly, when this becomes too painful for me, I will just leave,'' he added. ``Atlanta is looking far more attractive now.''

The flat increase of almost 56 percent will also apply to another 149,000 homeowners around the state, outside the tri-county area. It will be even worse for about 8,000 small businesses in coastal areas around the state who buy hurricane coverage from Citizens. Their rates will soar an unthinkable 513 percent to 678 percent. That means the average premium for many of these businesses will be well over $20,000.

[RockaFowler]

1. Thank God I don't have Citizen's

I was able to get insurance through Universal. I am paying $2000 a year, but it is $2000 less than Citizen's offered us.

[rzemanfl]

2. Citizens is a fucking rip-off. They make us insure the contents of

our home for way more than they are worth or they'd ever pay. We also have to insure "outbuildings" that don't exist. Their response is "tough shit." Charlie Crist will be too busy hiding in the closet to protect us from this bullshit. Before Jeb, Florida was a nice and inexpensive place to live.

[ChiciB1]

9. I Know What You Are Saying... Ran Into EXACTLY The Same Thing

with my mother-in-law's place. She lives with us because she has Alzheimer's but we can't sell her place until she passes away. She's been with us for over 7 years now! We had to OVER insure her place too, and Citizens is the ONLY insurance company that will insure her place!

A couple of months ago I spent almost a whole day making phone call after phone call trying to find something else. Even went so far as to see if we could get some sort of help for the elderly! The guy in Tallahassee told me to contact my Congressman.... want to guess who she was???

Yep, good old Cruella, who was instrumental in getting this stuff rammed at us in the first place!!

[kdmorris]

3. Citizens was all I could get

when Poe went out of business. My house was built in 1987 and, even though it's CBS and VERY solid, we never got passed the actual age of the house with anyone else.

Our insurance went up 100% after the 2004 ($981 -> $1912) season and another 100% ($1912 -> $3200) after the 2005 season. We didn't make a claim in 2004, after Frances and Jeanne, but had to have the roof replaced after Wilma.

I cannot afford another "56%" increase. There's just no way I can absorb that much. If they keep raising the rates, we will have to start looking at moving out of state, I think.

[Herman Munster]

4. You don't have to look out of state

Just get the hell out of South Florida. It's turning into a horror show for working people.

Check out North Central Florida. Ocala and Gainesville are very pretty and have very reasonable insurance and real estate compared to South Florida.

[kdmorris]

5. Good point!

I have a habit sometimes of thinking of "the state" as where I live, even though it takes 6 hours to get out of the state if I drive straight north. We had actually looked at North Florida before, like in the Live Oak area. My sister lives a little north of Tampa and her homeowner's insurance isn't even close to being as bad as mine.

[Herman Munster]

6. I think you might like Gainesville and the surrounding area

Alachua County is solid blue thanks to the University of Florida. It's like a little blue island in a sea of red unforunately.

This is what $300,000 gets you up here.

http://www.fsboingainesville.com/60601/

[Vorta]

11. St Pete

My rate was something like $700 three years ago. The they "inspected" the property and magically decided it would cost twice as much to rebuild, so it went to $1200. So Poe got to rip me off once more before they went out of business. Citizens is $2100 and Universal was $1900. This on a solid house on high ground (though 12 blocks from water) that hasn't had a claim of any kind since it was built in 1947.

This crap of beating up on older homes is a joke. WHen Jeanne came through here, the older homes sustained NO damage, while stuff was flying off these cardboard and plastic McMansions around here.

Citizens is our company, why can't we control it?

[ChiciB1]

8. Sarasota County Is Gonna Get WHACKED Big Time!!

My insurance is due for renewal in Feb., and we've already been told that our current insurance company is leaving. They sent a note saying that they have found a company that will insure us, but didn't say how much HIGHER it will be!!

[ChiciB1]

7. My Local Paper Reported Last Friday It Could Go Up As High As

1,126%! I felt my heart in my throat! My rates have skyrocketed already and my mother-in-law's place can't get ANY OTHER insurance UNLESS it's with Citizens!!

THANK YOU CHOWLIE CRIST and YER Effin Buddies who "bought' you the your new home in the mansion!!

This was a predictable as the nose on ANYONE'S face BEFORE the election! But hey, who was listening?? I'm gonna get BUSTED Big time! Taxes went through the roof here too!

[Lowell]

10. Insurance and homeowner's taxes are crazy there

We paid our house of ten years ago. Now our insurance premiums and homeowners taxes are more than our mortgage ever was. I don't know how anyone survives the cost of just living here anymore. If I was paying a mortgage as well I'd just have to sell and move out.

[Vorta]

12. I'm selling my house.

At the moment it's not because of the insurance, but now is as good a time as any. I'm selling this house and paying off another one with the proceeds so we can tell the insurance company to go to hell when they try this again. I know it might not be the best financial plan, but I can't stand being extorted by my insurance company and my mortgage company.

[recoveringrepublican]

13. We plan on doing something similar

We have a 15 year mortgage. Hoping to pay it off early. Once it's paid off I'm refusing to have insurance. Fuck it. If my house crumbles I'll clear my land off and get a manufactured home or something, which would piss off the rich assholes down the street, which is just a bonus for me!