Quite often you will hear this question come up when talking about Insurance Agents. Why do you need them? What exactly are the benefits? One of the first benefits you will get from a good agent is their experience. Insurance is loaded with questions and an experienced agent has the answers. Now I'm not going to act like every agent walking can answer question upon question but a good agent should be able to explain questions about your policy and questions you have about coverage specifics. A lot of times people think an agent's main use is saving you money. While that's a goal, the ultimate goal is protecting your money. Allow me to explain. A bad agent sells you whatever you want, no questions asked and provides little to no explanation about what you're buying. A good agent explains all the coverages, including the ones you don't have. They will explain by not having certain coverages you will save money, but open yourself up to certain risks and what those risks entail. A good agent will even point out when to use coverage and when to not use coverage.  

Insurance Agents can be dually licensed

There are Insurance agents that not only specialize in one field, but several. I'm talking about agents that have licenses in say Home/Auto as well as Health/Life. This is going to be more common with a small agency as they want to truly build a business relationship with you. Bigger agencies tend to specialize in more specific fields. Most people like keeping everything under one roof. While it may be hard to have all of your insurance under one agency, it's possible to have a good portion of it. If you trust your agent when it comes to ethics and experience, why would you want to waste time looking for additional agents? This is one of the biggest complaints I had from clients working under big companies that were so specific to roles. Finding an agent that can take care of your Home, Auto and Life for insurance just makes things a whole lote easier.

Insurance Agent Services 

This is a big one. If you have never heard of the term White Glove Service basically what it means is premium service. This is often one of the most frustrating areas for customers today. An agent is quick to sell the policy, but nowehere to be found when it comes to service. By service this means getting you your required documents, making sure you either have a copy or access to a current copy of all of your policies, providing you a receipt of payment (this is useful for tax purposes and overall record keeping) and making any necessary changes to the policy smoothly while explaining the effects of any changes to the policy. This mean the agent either returns your call, text, or email. This is often forgotten about at larger companies where the primary focus is obtaining new business. To a local up & coming agency your business means the world. They will also treat it that way.  This also involves helping you in the claims process. An agent cannot handle the claim for you or deal with the adjuster as they are not licensed to do so. However they can help guide you by handling the claims filing process and telling you what is and isn't worth putting a claim in for.

Florida Insurance Agents vs. Florida Insurance companies

When we compare dealing with the Insurance company to the Insurance Agency, it's not much of a contest. First off, it's far easier to have that one on one contact and personalized service working with your Insurance agent. Large Insurance companies will notate every single word you say and can literally monitor your account based off comments customers make when they get emotional. An Insurance agent emoployed by a smaller agency is not under the constant surveilance that an represenative is at a large company headquarters. This means they can approach things with more of a human element. They can also help you in ways that a represenative never could.  They work for you, the consumer. Not the Insurance companies. 

Conclusion

A good Insurance Agent can make a signifigant difference for you over a 10 year period. If you're one of the many people out there that doesn't have much of a relationship with your current agent or you are unhappy with their service, please feel free to reach out to me. I will leave my contact information at the end here. I can help you even if you have a current policy and just need help with your servicing. I can also find you policies if we need to shop you around.  I love what I do and I love helping my fellow Floridians out when it comes to their Insurance needs.  You can contact me here on my contact form or using my contact information below:

Office Line 305-614-4075 Ext. 108 Cellphone 772-882-5668  Email Tropicaletrade@gmail.com

      As we begin the new year of 2023 & millennials continue to chase the homeownership dream, this is a great time to discuss which cities will cost you the most to insure your home. This list is per insurance.com When looking to purchase a home you have multiple costs other than the home itself. Property taxes, Interest, and the biggest, Home Insurance.  So let's take a look at the list starting from the lowest to highest:

Tallahassee$2,650 ( $220) Gainesville$2,792 ($233) Jacksonville$3,328 ($277) Orlando$3,742 ($312) Port St. Lucie$5,235 ($436) Tampa$4,897 ($408) Miami$4,779 ($400) Hialeah$4,681 ($390) Fort Lauderdale$4,883 ($407)

These are the annual costs with the monthly costs in the parenthesis. As you can see, the further south you go, the higher the premium. My hometown of Port Saint Lucie ranks at #5 on this list. That's pretty surprising considering the city was originally a destination for retirees and families looking for a lower cost of living.  Some Port Saint Lucie residents are paying just as much for their Home Insurance as they are for their Home Mortgage. This is a big reason why I felt this list was necessary because most people don't take insurance costs into consideration when buying their first home and as you can see it can make a huge difference.

Always ask the seller what upgrades have been done to the home and when. They should be able to provide proof. These upgrades can be the difference between being accepted for coverage or declined. They can also get you some nice discounts! If a home has a new roof ask if it was paid for by the homeowner or insurance company. This can make a difference for you.  Outside of the roof look at the windows. Insurance companies LOVE hurricane impact-rated windows. These will get you a four-digit discount every year on your policy. Keep in mind if you're looking at a home that has a Skylight, this will negatively impact that discount. 

As most people know, a security system will also get you an annual discount of over $100. I reccomend finding a good deal for a service that includes direct monitoring by both Police and Fire. This will get you the highest available alarm discount.  Water mitigation devices that shut off your water automatically in the event of a leak are not only a lifesaver for a homeowner, but this is another discount most people don't receive. You can find a device usually in the range from $30 on the low end to $100+ on the higher end. It's an item that pays for itself because it saves you money on your insurance premium and it also protects you from water damage due to leaking which is something that happens more often than people realize. 

Floridians should be aware Home Insurance Premiums are going up.... again

Effective this past Tuesday, Floridians insured under Citizens Property Insurance holding a multi-peril policy (this is your standard homeowner's policy, so this affects most insureds) will see a rate increase of 6.4% across the board. Other policies under Citizens will see increases as high as 8.4 to 11 percent.  This comes as Homeowners have already dealt with rising rates in the past two years. This doesn't come as much of a surprise because Citizens has increased its book of business exponentially.  When you grow your book, premiums go up and your risk exposure goes up as well. Take these numbers into account... As of Oc. 31. 2020, less than two years ago, Citizens insured 521,289 homes. A year later in 2021, they increased that to 725,942 homes. Two years later, now in 2022, that book has now doubled to a whopping 1,098,762 homes insured under Citizens. That's pretty daunting considering this is one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States.

Possible ways to lower premiums

Before I end this Insurance update I want to mention a few ways you can save on your Home Insurance...

• Consider changing the primary applicant. This is one you don't always hear as much. Often our credit scores fluctuate, and this has a big impact on your premium. You may be able to lower your premium by changing the primary applicant to the co-applicant if the co-applicant has better credit.
• Home Upgrades This is another big one. A very important part of home upgrades is that you do them at your own cost. If you upgrade your roof by filing a claim, you're not helping yourself. If you can replace your roof or upgrade your windows to impact-rated windows, you can get a massive discount. Home security alarms, as well as water monitor (leak detection) equipment, can get you a nice discount as well. Let's say your roof was built without Hurricane clips. You can talk to a roofer about installing these on your roof without replacing your current roof. This must be done by a licensed contractor. In fact, most home upgrades require a licensed professional in order to accept the upgrades. But these are all things that can help you quite a bit in this tough market.

Peaking Home Prices, Rising Interest Rates are the trend

As you have undoubtedly heard by now, home prices are starting to trickle down a bit as interest rates continue to go up. If you do more research, you probably won't take very long to come across numerous videos predicting a housing collapse. I do not feel the same way. In this article, I will explain my views using Economic Factors as the basis for this theory. I do see housing at the beginning of a slowdown. With any economy as it grows interest rates eventually grow with it. Rising interest rates may slow an economy but crash the economy itself? There's more to it than that. 

According to the numbers, even after loan forgiveness programs have ended it's reported that households that are behind on their mortgage are at their lowest levels since the pandemic. This is great news. When a housing market collapses, it's not just the sales that stop. People start to lose their own homes, and eventually, streets fill with "For Sale" signs and people share stories about walking away from their homes. We are simply not at that point yet. While Mortgage delinquencies are on the rise, they're not at crisis levels.  Going back to home prices, keep in mind that since 2021 home prices have skyrocketed. This type of growth is not going to last forever and a slow down is inevitable. Again, this does not show that we have an impending housing crisis.

Another figure that has come out recently is the labor force participation rate.  While the numbers aren't growing at high levels it still shows enough people are employed and gaining employment. This is basically the backbone because when people have jobs, bills are paid. Without jobs, bills are not paid. Wage growth while lagging inflation is still going up. Keep in mind, I am not saying this economy is perfect or is going in a great direction. I'm merely reporting what's happening as we speak. Right now I simply don't see enough evidence to suggest a housing crisis. I think with rising rates and home prices where they are now we will see more of a long drawn-out decline over the next 2-3 years. 

I believe this is going to be the start of where banks start writing a lot more questionable mortgages due to a lack of buyers. Some market experts predict homeowners will cash out on their equity but many are wondering where they would go? Unless you're willing to be in a rural or once crime-infested location the pickings are pretty slim at the moment. What could end up happening is financial institutions end up buying homes in droves from buyers looking to get out of their mortgages. That's a nightmare scenario you or I would not want to happen.

          By now you may have heard that interest rates are rising, but you may be wondering how much so? To give you an idea of just how much and how quickly interest rates are rising, consider this. Interest normally move slowly, without volatility and they stay in a range before going up or down.  Since May of this year alone interest rates have made their biggest move since February of 2013. That's 9 years ago for folks not understanding that. Even with that big move, consider that since November 2021 interest rates have risen the most in over 20 years.  So that means borrowing a home is more expensive than it has ever been. That means borrowing a car will be more expensive than ever before. Your student loans will go up in cost as well.  I think we can all start to see the direction we're headed here.
             

    Today I read an article mentioning how Bank of America plans to make lending more "Accessible to minorities".  However, when one examines what they're actually doing it looks a lot more like a wreckless way of lending being defended by political reasoning. Keep in mind, they're pretty much saying the minorities don't need to show the capability of paying the debt or even have to put down a down payment. Sounds great right? Wrong, because once one reads the paperwork they'll see sky-high lending costs & more than likely a variable mortgage. Sounds like a recipe for disaster and also sounds like a financial institution looking for an excuse to unload bad debt. It's a sign of the desperate times, as home buyer applications are starting to drop.
            

    In Florida, even in middle-income areas average home prices have risen to over $250,000, home insurance is more expensive than ever before and property taxes are going up everywhere. It's an issue that really began at the end of 2020 and is growing more and more out of control. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end. This is more than housing, this is lending for anything, including those credit cards we've all become so used to. 

 Let's face it. When it comes to the home buying process setting up the insurance is one of the least exciting parts. However, it's something that is required to be there so putting yourself in the best position to deal with it is key. In Florida, we may not deal with state income taxes, but we deal with obnoxious Home Insurance rates.  It's such an important part of the process that there are literally homeowners paying more in Insurance than they are on their mortgage each year.  Combine that with variable mortgage interest rates and you have a volcanic eruption waiting to erupt.

So how can you best prepare for this? First off, the house itself. If you're going with an older home you need to make sure you know the age of the current roof, water heater, etc. A lot of folks end up buying older homes at inflated prices that require 10's of thousands of dollars in renovation.  Factor this over 20 years with what you're going to pay in insurance/taxes and you could easily accumulate an additional 100K on top of your mortgage and the interest. Think about that for a second.

I always recommend building rather than buying however that's not particularly easy right now when lots are going for almost 100K. At a certain point, this real estate market is going to pop and it's going to be due to issues such as this.  So what are the two most cost-effective upgrades a homeowner can give themselves? Your roof and windows. These can make a difference in your premium by thousands of dollars every single year. I would avoid any home with a ten year or older roof.

 
Also, a lot of properties in crime-ridden areas are being listed at high prices due to the market., Avoid these properties. Not just for your own safety, but also because you'll be living in a bad zone for crime which will increase your rates due to the threat of vandalism or theft.  I realize upon writing this that it's not easy finding an affordable home in today's market with upgrades throughout the home including the roof. Upgraded bathrooms and dining rooms are nice, but you will quickly lose the 20 thousand or so you gained by doing the renovations by ignoring upgrades that are absolutely needed for the home (Water Heater, Roof, Air Conditioning)

These aren't the most exciting topics when it comes to owning a home but addressing these issues will save you thousands in home equity. 

    Comparison shopping is crucial if you want to save money on car insurance. Here’s why: Insurers look at similar factors, but they have their own “secret sauce” when it comes to setting rates. So two companies can charge wildly different rates for the same driver. Auto insurance prices tend to inch up over time, but they can also go down. By shopping around, you might find that your current insurer offers the cheapest rate for you, or you might find that it’s time to switch.Several factors go into an auto insurance rate: ZIP code, marital status, annual mileage, driving history and vehicle make, year and model. In most states, your gender and credit history could also be used to determine rates.

When it comes to setting up your coverage, put your Liability to at least $100,000 for bodily injury to one person, $300,000 to cover all involved in an accident and $100,000 for property damage. If you purchase a separate umbrella insurance policy, you can ramp up your liability coverage across the board—and you can get a lot of liability coverage for a relatively low cost. The first $1 million of coverage generally runs $200 to $400 a year; the next $1 million is an additional $75 to $100.

Full auto coverage consists of three parts: liability, collision and comprehensive. Liability coverage protects you if you injure or kill someone or damage another person’s property,  you are required to have at least your state’s minimum recommended coverage. Collision coverage helps pay for damages caused in an accident involving another car or an object such as a tree, while comprehensive coverage kicks in if your car suffers a theft loss is stolen or your car is damaged by a fallen tree, a hailstorm, vandalism or another event.

You’re required to have full auto coverage if you have an auto loan or if you lease your vehicle from the dealer. When it comes to older vehicles, the amount of coverage you need depends on the numbers. If the value of your car has gone down enough, then it may be time to drop collision and possibly comprehensive coverage, too. Keep in mind if you buy a pre-owned vehicle that fits this description, your lender will require full coverage until the loan is paid off.

Discounts to look for:

• Multi-policy discount 
• Multi-vehicle discount 
• Homeowner discount 
• Good driver discount
•  Good student discount 
• Driver’s education discount 
• Distant student discountAuto-pay discount
•  Paperless billing discount 
• Military discount 
• Vehicle safety discount 
• New car discount
• Low annual mileage discount 
• Accident-free discount 
• Defensive driving course discount

         If you own a vehicle in Florida, you are required to have liability on your auto insurance. For many people, it is as simple as that, and they try to obtain the cheapest policy possible to meet the legal requirements. But sadly, many motorists in Florida are unaware that while your automobile insurance covers damages you may cause in an accident, your policy can also protect you and your loved ones.

 
   While there are many parts to an auto insurance policy, here we will only look at two major components of a policy: Liability Coverage, also known as 3rd party coverage, and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, also known as 1st party coverage. Both liability and UM/UIM generally have both bodily injury and property damage components. We will be dealing only with the bodily injury component for our purposes here.

 
   Understanding Liability Coverage 
When you apply for your auto insurance, you select the amount of liability coverage for your policy. 
 What is the minimum liability coverage in Florida?
 The state minimum in Florida is $10,000/$15,000 for liability coverage. Your selection of liability coverage represents the maximum amount of money that your insurance company will pay someone else for their injuries if you cause an accident. Your insurance company will pay a maximum of $10,000 to any one person injured in an accident that you cause and a maximum of $15,000 for injuries to multiple people in an accident you cause, with no one person receiving more than $10,000. Of course, you can select higher limits than the state’s minimum requirement. For example, you could choose liability limits of $100,000/$300,000 or $250,000/$500,000. Imagine trying to cover someone's hospital bill with only $10,000 or worse a couple's hospital bill at only $15,000. You would be responsible for the bill above this amount. 

   Why would you choose higher limits that cost you more in premiums?For many people, it is the peace of mind knowing that their personal assets won’t be at risk if they cause, for instance, $75,000 worth of damage or injuries. As a practical matter, it is very rare that a driver’s personal assets are ever at risk in a lawsuit anyway, but that is a topic for another post. The point is you would much rather be covered by more than the state minimum should you ever need to utilize your Liability coverage. 

   In short, your liability coverage on your automobile policy covers damages to other people in a car crash that you cause. This is why it is sometimes referred to as 3rd party coverage—because it covers a third party.

   Unfortunately, an overwhelmingly large number of motorists in Florida have liability limits of only $10,000-$15,000.

   Understanding Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage 
The second major component to bodily injury coverage in an auto insurance policy is the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage. Once again, this is selected when you are applying for your policy, and you can choose different levels of coverage. The caveat, however, is that your UM/UIM limits cannot be higher than your liability limits. It is possible to select UM/UIM limits that are lower than your liability limits, but you should not do this for reasons you’ll see below.

   Remember, your liability coverage protects other people from harm you might cause. The UM/UIM coverage protects you from harm that someone else might cause you or your loved ones, which is why it is often referred to as 1st party coverage. For example, hit by a drunk driver?  You're covered by your UM. By law in the state of Florida, anyone committing a criminal act in a vehicle is not covered by Insurance. So that means this accident is ONLY covered by the Uninsured Motorist coverage. These tend to be the most disastrous accidents as well.

  The reason for not allowing higher UM/UIM limits is to prevent person “A” from providing themselves with high levels of coverage while not covering other people who might be harmed by person “A”’s negligence. 

   UM/UIM coverage is something that, unfortunately, many motorists in Florida are not familiar with despite its importance. For almost all insurance policyholders in Florida, their UM/UIM coverage should be just as important, if not much more important, to them than their liability coverage. You pay for liability coverage to protect other people. You pay for your UM/UIM coverage to protect you and your loved ones. 

   Generally, if you are injured in a crash that is someone else’s fault, you make a claim against their insurance company, and that person’s liability coverage would cover your claim. But what happens if that person is driving without insurance? 
 

 What is uninsured motorist coverage?

 Uninsured motorist coverage is the maximum amount of money, depending on your selection, that your own insurance company will pay you, and in certain circumstances your family members if you are injured in a crash caused by someone with no insurance of their own. 
 What is underinsured motorist coverage? 
Underinsured motorist coverage is similar, but refers to coverage if you are injured by a driver whose liability coverage is less than your UM/UIM coverage. 
 

  As mentioned earlier, many people are driving around Florida with only $10,000 minimum coverage. If you are seriously injured, that is simply not enough to make you whole. Underinsured motorist coverage attempts to fill that gap. For example, if the person that caused your injuries has $10,000 in liability coverage, and you have $100,000 in UM/UIM coverage after the other person’s insurance company pays their $10,000 liability limits for your injuries, you can then turn to your own insurer, under the UM/UIM coverage and make a claim for the remaining $90,000 (the amount of your UM/UIM coverage minus the amount of liability coverage available to you). 
 An important caveat to accessing your UM/UIM benefits is that you can only make a claim under your UM/UIM coverage if your UM/UIM coverage is higher than the liability coverage of the person who caused the crash. So, let us look at two examples that show the importance of UM/UIM coverage: 
 

    Scenario: Driver A rear-ends Driver B. Driver B sustains serious injuries to her spine and requires spinal surgery to fix the damage. In addition to the pain and suffering, Driver B is out of work for several months and loses $25,000 in pay.
 Example 1: Driver A has liability coverage of only $10,000. Driver B has UM/UIM coverage of $250,000. Driver A’s insurance company agrees to pay Driver B the $10,000. Even though Driver B’s injuries and losses are far greater than $10,000, that is all the insurance company is required to pay. Driver B can then turn to her own insurance company and make a claim under her UM/UIM coverage for up to $240,000 ($250,000 minus the $10,000 that was available under Driver A’s policy). 

 So, in total, Driver A is afforded a maximum of $250,000 (her UIM limit) of coverage. While even this amount likely won’t fairly compensate Driver B for everything she’s lost—remember she will always have screws and plates in her spine and will likely have residual pain and issues for the rest of her life—it is at least a good start and a far better scenario than example 2, below
 Example 2: Driver A has liability coverage of only the state minimum requirement, $10,000. Driver B also carries the state’s minimum required limits of $10,000 UM/UIM coverage. Driver A’s insurance company agrees to pay Driver B the $10,000. Driver B has no other recourse. The most she will recover for these life-altering injuries is $15,000.

ConclusionIf there is one takeaway from your research about auto insurance and its importance, make it this—be sure you choose UM/UIM limits appropriate to protect you and your loved ones. Example 2, above, is a sad situation that we, unfortunately, see far too often.

The average cost of homeowners insurance is $1,249 per year, or $104.08 per month, according to the 2021 National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) report.

 Factors such as location, home value, coverage levels, and discounts will determine your quoted homeowners insurance price. In this review, we at the Home Media reviews team discuss these factors and help you find the best home insurance policy for your home.

 For the home insurance pricing in this article, we used the home insurance report from the NAIC that was published in January 2021. 

 In this guide, you’ll also learn:

Average Home Insurance Cost by Coverage Amount - The national average annual cost of home insurance in 2018 (the latest data available from the 2021 NAIC report) was $1,249, but sorting the premiums by the dwelling coverage amount you select can provide a more accurate prediction of what you might pay. Dwelling coverage reimburses you for any covered damage to the structure of your home, and a premium is the amount of money you pay to keep your policy active.

 In the table below, we’ve listed several dwelling coverage ranges and each range’s average monthly premium:

 Amount of Dwelling Coverage

 Average Monthly Premium

 $49,999 and under $645 

 $50,000–$74,999 $748

 $75,000–$99,999 $826

$100,000–$124,999 $937$

150,000–$174,999 $981

$175,000–$199,999 $1,018

$200,000–$299,999 $1,114

 $300,000–$399,999 $1,272

$400,000–$499,999  $1,482

$500,000 and over $2,148 

 Average Home Insurance Cost by Location

Insurance premiums also vary based on your location. For example, states at a higher risk for severe weather, hurricanes, and tornadoes will generally have higher premiums due to the increased risk of property damage. Here’s the NAIC data for the average premiums in each state.

Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Louisiana have some of the highest insurance premiums in the nation, while states like Oregon, Utah and Nevada carry lower premiums since hurricanes, flooding and tornadoes don’t pose a threat in those areas.

 Most Expensive States for Home Insurance 

Texas: $1,955 per year 

Florida: $1,960 per year 

Oklahoma: $1,944 per year

 Least Expensive States for Home Insurance 

Oregon: $706 per year 

Utah: $730 per year

 Nevada: $776 per year 

Additionally, your location within a state is one of the biggest factors that can affect your home insurance price. In densely populated urban areas, real estate prices and construction costs tend to be higher, and the coverage you need is directly tied to the value of your home.

If you live in an area with high real-estate prices, you’ll end up paying more for home insurance because it will cost more money to rebuild your home.

 What’s Included in a Home Insurance Rate? 

Home insurance coverage is divided into six categories. Here’s an overview of each type of coverage: 

 Dwelling coverage — This type of coverage (coverage A) protects the structure of your home, its foundation, its interior and exterior walls and other items built within the home. Other structures coverage — Also known as coverage B, other structures coverage protects structures that are detached from your home, such as sheds and fences. This coverage is typically 10% of your dwelling coverage.

 Personal property coverage — Personal property coverage (coverage C) protects your personal belongings, both inside and outside your home. If you suffer a covered peril that damages or destroys your belongings, coverage C will pay to repair or replace your belongings. This coverage is typically 50% of your dwelling coverage.

 Loss of use/additional living expenses coverage — This coverage (coverage D) pays for expenses if you have to temporarily evacuate from your home. It can pay for meals, hotel rooms, laundry fees and other living expenses.

Liability coverage — Liability coverage (coverage E) pays for liability costs if a guest is injured in your home. It also covers replacement costs for someone’s belongings that are damaged in your home. 

Medical payments to others coverage — This coverage (coverage F) pays for medical bills if someone is injured in your home and it’s not your fault. 

What are the Different Types of Home Insurance Coverage Levels?

Homeowners insurance policies have three different levels of coverage: actual cash value, replacement cost, and guaranteed replacement cost. You will almost always have the option to pay extra on your monthly premium for a higher level of protection.

 Actual cash value is the lowest level of protection and the most affordable. With an actual cash value policy, your insurer will pay you for what your belongings and/or home is worth, minus depreciation. Replacing what you’ve lost will often cost more than the amount for which you’re reimbursed. 

 Replacement cost This medium level of protection will carry a higher premium than a policy that pays actual cash value because the depreciation isn’t factored in. This will pay for the cost to rebuild your home or replace your possessions without depreciation.

 Guaranteed replacement cost This is the highest level of protection and is generally more expensive than the other two policies. In the event of a covered disaster, such as a hurricane or tornado, construction costs will often be more expensive than usual. This level of protection will rebuild and replace your possessions even if the cost exceeds your policy limits. Many home insurance companies also offer extended limits in exchange for a higher premium, which allows homeowners to receive more coverage.

 What Factors Can Affect the Cost of Home Insurance? Homeowners will receive a quoted rate for home insurance based on a variety of factors. Here are some factors that can drive your home insurance price higher or lower:

 Location: As previously mentioned, where you live will affect your home insurance price. If you live in a state more prone to natural disasters, your insurance rate will be higher. 

Credit history: Homeowners with good credit will enjoy a lower insurance rate.

 Price of your home: A more expensive home will cost more to rebuild, resulting in a higher quoted rate. 

Level of coverage: Choosing guaranteed replacement cost coverage will replace your possessions, even exceeding your policy limits, but you’ll pay a higher monthly premium. 

   Water damage from storms, floods, rising tides, and tidal surges is the largest and most damaging of all types of damage. Water damage in a home can cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair. Flood insurance is an important option in Florida to protect against the massive losses that flooding can cause.

A Florida flood insurance policy would only cover the flooding caused by natural disasters.  You need to add contents coverage separately. For homes, the National Flood Insurance Program covers a maximum of $250,000 in building damages and $100,000 for contents. Coverage amounts are higher for commercial properties. The government recently unveiled a new system for insurance pricing, called Risk Rating 2.0, which could lead to higher premiums for many in Florida. To figure out exactly how you’re affected, talk to an insurance agent. Renters can take out flood insurance policies to protect their possessions. Renters’ insurance alone usually does not cover flood damage, according to FEMA. Those who own large properties, they can receive a maximum of $500,000 in building coverage and $100,000 in coverage for the contents of the property.

There are proactive ways for you to protect your home. Homeowners can engineer their yards to absorb stormwater or direct it away from their houses. Swales, berms, and permeable garden beds, like mulch instead of concrete, can limit flooding.Before a storm bears down, take pictures and videos of all your rooms. Having proof of what it looked like will help you file an insurance claim. Look into getting an Elevation certificate it will inform you of how much at risk you are to flooding and could also help lower your Flood Insurance Premium.

Floridians are currently battling rising Flood Insurance premiums on top of rising Home Insurance Premiums. Home Owners are going to see more fluctuations in flood coverage than before and this means looking into the private market rather than the NFIP will be the best route to go for most of Florida's Homeowners.