With hurricane season 2018 well underway, Insurance regulators in Florida’s capital – Tallahassee – are underscoring the basic need for mortgage holders to ensure they’re carrying enough homeowners protection, including flood coverage.
Hurricane Irma should have caught all of our attention and highlighted the need for homeowners from Pembroke Pines to Boca Raton / Delray Beach, north to Stuart have enough insurance, but many put off getting proper homeowners coverage until a hurricane is barreling towards us.
Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier recently said that “As we approach the time of year when tropical activity is at its highest, complacency is not an option…”
Most homeowners policies go into effect 30 days after they are purchased, so with the 2018 tropical storm season nearing its crest, there’s no opportunity to squander, according to a recent statement by insurance authorities.
CFO Jimmy Patronis overseer of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, reminded us of the heavy damage Irma caused up down the length of the state last summer.
“Last year, reports indicated a vast majority of Florida’s residences were inadequately insured,” he said.
“Floridians must review their insurance policies, understand their coverages, and make the necessary adjustments to ensure they are adequately covered. Prepare now, and protect your property for when the next storm arrives.”
“The images of the flood damage and losses I saw when traveling the state following Hurricane Irma will forever be ingrained in my memory,” Patronis said.
It is true that flooding isn’t only a beach front concern, but is a statewide issue, from the coastline to the interior.
State legislators have been urging private insurance agencies to offer flood coverage, frequently at equivalent or lower costs than offered by the National Flood Insurance Program.
The quantity of insurance companies qualified to write these types of policies expanded from 20 to 26 between June 30, 2017, and March 31 this year — and, as of April, they’d issued in excess of 30,000 homeowner’s policies.
Basic homeowners insurance policies often do not cover property damage from flooding.
Here’s a link to the Florida Hurricane Season Resources website, and Patronis has his own Hurricane Disaster Preparedness webpage – https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/storm.