Our sunny state of Florida is world-famous for our friendly winter climate and gorgeous beaches. South Florida property damage is special, too. That’s why we rank Number One among the 50 United States in cost of homeowner’s insurance premiums.
Ou
r average annual bill is $3,575, or $298 monthly. Louisiana, in second place, comes in with $2,979 per years. And the state with the lowest homeowner’s insurance premiums in the nation? Hawaii, at $703. Before you pack up and move there, however, be aware that everything else is much for expensive there!
A number of different factors influence insurance markets and premiums. One, of course, is the nature and frequency of the typical damages in a market.
WELCOME TO PARADISE
South Florida’s climate is, after all, sub-tropical. That’s part of why we’re a global destination for winter tourism, and for retirement. For anybody trying to get away from dark, cold, icy winters, anywhere. The plusses of our climate don’t come free of charge, though. Our environment is inherently more risky to property in certain respects.
STORMY WEATHER
Our hurricanes and tropical storms relentlessly threaten our property with water and wind damage, More generally, it’s our wild and crazy weather. After all, we average 55 tornadoes annually, too. Not to mention the hailstorms. Our elevation doesn’t help, either. Elevation above sea level, that is. Because we hardly have any at all.It averages only 6 feet.
Wind damage takes a variety of forms. The problem during a storm is not really that the wind is blowing. It’s
what it’s blowing. Our powerful winds pick up debris, lawn furniture, trash bins, all sorts of objects and hurl them like cannonballs. They cause damage like cannonballs would.
SOUTH FLORIDA PROPERTY DAMAGE- WATER
Which helps water get in to where we don’t want it to be. This leads us to mold, mildew, and termite infestation. Moisture promotes all these things.We can’t get rid of water fast enough during a weather event. Our drainage systems are overwhelmed. Flood waters rise.
Flooding can magnify a storm’s water damages by tenfold.
Ow, add in the deteriorating condition of the cast iron drainage and sewage pipes we used to install. Here again, our location and climate turned these into time bombs. We stopped using
cast iron pipes in new construction in 1975. The pipes were supposed to last 50-100 years. They do in other parts of the country. But not, it turned out, in sunny South Florida.
It’s the salt. The salt in the ground, which accelerates corrosion in underground piping. These pipes have been failing prematurely for years. Sewage backing up into homes and businesses has caused a tremendous amount of damage. Hence, Florida insurers have had to pay out huge sums in claims. And so, premiums go up.
AND THEN…
Oh, and then there are the fires. Coming in behind weather damage, fire damage is the second –greatest hit on South Florida property owners. If we’re not wet, we’re burning, it seems.
Living in paradise imposes certain special burdens on us. One of these is our high homeowner insurance premiums. Closely related is the need to be prepared to struggle with our insurers when we file claims for damages. They want to pay out as little as they possibly can.
Florida Loss Public Adjusters knows how to make them pay every cent their policyholder is entitled to. With an
experienced public adjuster on a policyholder’s team, the field’s still down near sea level, But at least it’s level.
