Brevard Home Insurance – Home Insurance Quotes

Whether you live in Cocoa Beach, Viera, Rockledge, Merritt Island or Melbourne you may be getting a letter from your mortgagee, requiring that you secure a flood policy on your home.  So what’s the reason?  FEMA who runs the National Flood Insurance Program has stepped up its on going program of remapping the flood plains of Florida and other parts of the country.   This program has the potential of reclassifying your home from a preferred risk which does not require you to secure a flood policy, to a standard risk which does.  All this translates to added expense to you the home owner.  So what can you do about this?

We at BrevardHomeInsurers.com recommend you visit the NFIP web site www.floodsmart.gov  to see if you may be affected by a flood plain remapping .  Click on the flooding and flood risk link and then the flood map update schedule link for your community.   You may also contact your local government official to confirm if your specific location has been identified for a change.

If you’re presently not in a standard risk zone and there is a scheduled change to your location that has yet to take affect, you can still purchase a preferred flood policy (i.e. zone X) at a very low rate and lock in that zone for the next three years before being reclassified as a standard risk, with its subsequently higher flood insurance rates.

It’s a fact that more than a third of all FEMA requests for financial aid for flood victims came from people who did not live in a mandatory flood insurance area.  Don’t let yourself become part of these statistics.  Buy a preferred policy today.  Preferred flood insurance policy rates are very low.

Prior to moving back home to Brevard FL I spent seven years of my insurance carreer as an underwriter and underwriting manager for one of the top five property insurance companies in the U.S.  In the insurance industry there are four major disciplines that function together in order to provide insurance protection.  These disciplines are sales, underwriting, claims and pricing actuaries.  By now you may be asking “So what, and what does this have to do with scheduling my jewelry or fine arts?”  I’m almost there but for now I need to get back to the discipline of underwriting.

The job of the underwriter is two fold.  First they are to make sure that any new business bound by the agency force (that’s me now!) is properly classified and that it  is eligible for the coverage based upon the premium charged.  The second function of the underwriter is to review the company’s existing business (that would be you!) to make sure that it is still eligible for the coverages and currently charged premium.  This process requires the underwriter to review an insured’s claims history, classification and pricing.  The resulting actions available to the underwriter include, adjusting coverages (e.g. requiring a driver to be excluded), reclassification (e.g. lowering premium by moving the entire risk to a lower priced tier), or sometimes canceling a policy altogether (e.g. three theft claims within two years of coverage on a home insurance policy).   

This last example is underlying reason to schedule your jewelry or fine arts under a separate inland marine policy.  Here in Brevard as it is throughout Florida there has been a lot of press about the financial strength of all of these smaller state domiciled carriers.  They are struggling to turn a profit and that is without and major storms since 2006!  Since the regulators routinely turn down their rate filings, these carriers have been very selective as far as writing new business and have turned to the disciplines of underwriting and claims in order to be profitable.  As I already mentioned underwriters look at claims history very closely.  Too many claims on your home insurance will result in canceling your entire policy.  Since lost jewelry, known as mysterious disappearance, is very common you can protect yourself from having your home insurance policy cancelled for this type of claim by insuring your fine arts and jewelry on a separate inland marine policy.    That way if you end up having multiple claims for your jewelry the company will only be allowed to cancel your inland marine policy, not your home insurance!  Other reasons for insuring these items separately include, more comprehensive coverage for almost every cause of loss, world wide coverage, and lower deductibles. 

So weather you live in Viera, Melbourne Beach, Cape Canaveral or Rockledge, you should consider this advice particularly if you own a lot of fine arts or jewelry.  Please feel free to call us with any questions.

Here in Brevard County, as it is in all of Florida, there are many folks who choose to live in a condominium.  As witnessed in the very active 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons all too many people are not aware of the need and differences there are between a condo unit owner’s policy and a regular homeowner’s policy.  In fact until recent legislative action taken to require condominium associations to obtain proof of a unit owner’s insurance policy by its residences, many in the condominium communities thought that they had all the protection they needed if the association had a master policy. 

So what is a condominium unit owner’s policy, what makes it special for the average condo dweller in Viera, Melbourne Beach, Cocoa Beach, Rockledge or Palm Bay?  What are some of the common mistakes made in getting a policy?

The insurance industry calls the condominium unit owner policy a HO-6 contract.  Like a regular homeowners policy it is a package consisting primarily of the three basic coverage needs of structural property, content property and liability insurance.  Common and important options include loss assessment, water back up and in many cases scheduled inland marine property.

Because all condominium residences live under the association’s rules and bi-laws, the special areas of concern also address the most common problems for the condo residents, as the unit owner’s policy is designed to work in harmony with the association’s master insurance policy.

Often over looked and undervalued is the structural coverage requirements for a unit owner.  Most policies identify this as Coverage A, or sometimes Additions and Alterations or Improvements and Betterments.  All too many people believe that the association is responsible for the structure and that they are only responsible for their personal content and general liability insurance.  This assumption is by far the most common mistake.

The association is only responsible for the “shell” of the building when it comes to property insurance.  The individual unit owner is responsible for the interior of their unit, essentially from the paint in.  This includes flooring, cabinets, built in appliances, indoor air handling units, even the doors!  Additionally, any improvements made to the interior are also the unit owner’s responsibility.      At the time of this writing the going replacement cost for the average interior build out is about $38 per square foot.  For example if you had a 1000 sq ft interior, your structural coverage should be about $38,000.  Again, most people way under insure this coverage.  After the storm is a bad time to realize this fact.

One other area of contention and too often over looked is a unit owner’s loss assessment coverage.  In this day of high hurricane deductibles that associations have on their master policies, the individual faces potentially high financial assessments through the association, for these otherwise insured losses. Loss assessment was designed to address this exposure, so be sure you add this coverage in the amount that you feel most comfortable with.

As a long time native insurance agent here in Brevard county FL, here are the three important insurance things to remember:

1.  All homeowner insurance policies require the insured to take reasonable efforts to minimize further damages to their property after a covered loss such as storm damage.  Having been in the business for 25 years I’ve seen a lot of hurricanes from the insurance perspective.  That being said, I strongly suggest that you have temporary roof repair materials on hand before the storm hits.  Tarps, nails and lumber are very difficult to find after the storm.  Secondly, if you are not physically capable of doing the temporary roof repairs yourself, I suggest you make arrangements in advance with a trusted neighbor or local handyman to do the repairs for you.  Make sure you make these arrangements at the beginning of each storm season.
2. Never insure a vacant home under a regular homeowner insurance contract.  Doing so puts you at risk of having an otherwise covered claim denied, essentially having you pay good money for nothing.  The only exception is if you moved and just placed your home up for sale.  That being said, do not renew your regular home insurance for another year knowing that it is vacant and up for sale.  To properly protect your now vacant home, you need to purchase a vacant dwelling fire policy from your agent until the house sells.  This advice also applies to homes that have been recently moved into an estate situation because of a recent death. 
3. Regularly review (at least once a year) your insurance policies with your insurance agent.   Insurance policies have been known to adjust coverage at renewal.  Your insurance needs also change over time.  Be sure you have the right protection.

In closing, all three of these recommendations are based upon an often unknown fact about property and casualty insurance.  This classification of insurance, in which your home and car insurance fall into, requires that the policy holder must not only prove their insurability at the time of application, but also at the time of a loss.  That being said, it’s in your best interest to keep up with your insurance policies.

So remember, whether you live in Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Viera or Melbourne FL, keep these three points in mind when thinking about your Florida home insurance.

If you have any questions about insurance in general feel free to call me at the number provided on our home page.

The 2010 hurricane season is in full swing.  For the Western Atlantic ocean, NOAA has predicted 18 to 21 total storms, 5 to 6 being hurricanes, and 2 to 3 being major storms making land fall.  Whether you live in Viera, Rockledge, Melbourne or Titusville you need to be prepared for hurricanes here in Brevard county Florida.    Here are some helpful tips:

1.  Keep video records of your property exterior along with the interior and your personal property.  Simply walk and talk.  Make sure this recording is current and is kept in a safe place at all times.

2.  After the storm hits, take photos of all the damages as soon as it is safe to do so.

3.  Make temporary repairs and save your receipts.  All homeowner policies require the insured to do so in order to minimize the damages and honor the contract.  If you are not physcially capable of doing these temporary repairs yourself, we suggest you purchase repair materials in advance, and make  arrangements in advance with a qualified handyman for any needed help.  DO NOT make any extensive or permanent repairs or dispose of any damaged items until your insurance company’s adjuster has been out to inspect the property.

4.  Begin to make a list of all your personal property that is damaged.  Present this along with your video to your adjuster.

5.  If your home is not fit to live in, save all receipts associated with your additional incurred living expenses.

6.  Report all additional or newly discovered damages to your adjuster as soon as possible. 

As a Brevard county homeowner,  we must be ready to deal with hurricanes!  One final reminder, flood is not covered under your home insurance.  Even if your home is NOT in a required flood insurance zone,  it’s a good idea to have a flood policy.  As native of Brevard county and as a 25 year insurance professional, floods are far more frequent than you might think.  So even if your home is in Rockledge, Melbourne or Viera, consider purchasing a flood policy.  It’s not just Merritt Island and the brevard county beaches that are vulnerable to floods.

Here in Brevard county as in everywhere else, most home insurance (HO-3) policies have a coinsurance provision endorsement.  This endorsement is intended to keep insurerds from underinsuring their home as a way on saving premium.  Insurance carriers want you to be insured to the full value of the home, so this provision actually increases the under insured’s deuctible amounts for partial losses.  Homes that are NOT insured for at least 80% of the replacement cost of the the home are subjected to this penalizing provision.  The formula used to determine the insured’s share of the loss payments is:

(amount of insurance divided by 80%) x amount of loss – deductible = amount paid by the insurance company

Most insurance companies deviate slightly from the standard HO-3 contract as to what will trigger this provision if it is being applied in their contract, so be sure to check with your agent about your specific policy.

Home insurance in Rockledge, Viera, Melbourne and Titusville all use Florida OIR approved home insurance forms most of which have been slightly changed from the HO-3 ISO contract so be sure to review this with your agent.  Naturally at BrevardHomeInsurers.com we are happy to do so.