Readers Share Their Insurance Nightmares
By: Source: AARP Bulletin Date Posted: 2007-07-06 17:00:00-04:00
The following are unedited stories submitted by our readers...
We moved to Florida from NY. Our insurance was $500 a year on an older home (1966). We are on a fixed income and thought the house was reasonable, even though it wasn't in a great location. After Ivan hit, we needed a new roof. With our deductable, they would not cover the expense and it ended up costing us $4000.00 out of pocket to have our roof replaced. Our insurance went up to $1,000.00 a year. The next thing we knew we received a notice from our insurance agent that the insurer would not carry policies in Florida any longer and they had found a carrier for us. Now it was up to $5,000.00 a year. Not bad for disabled people on a fixed income. We shopped around and found a carrier for $2,300.00, but with the housing market going up on appraisals and the insurance going up our house payment has doubled. It eats most of what we make.
Brenda Nalepa, Pensacola, FL
Nationwide Insurance had all my insurance including homeowners. I received a notice they were not going to renew my policy. I've never had one claim with them even during the hurricane seasons of 2004 - 2005. I have since cancelled all my other policies with Nationwide and would suggest others do the same if their carrier doesn't renew their homeowners.
Agnes M. Aicher, New Port Richey, FL
During the past five years my insurance premiums have doubled. I blame this on all the heavy losses in coastal areas. If people want to live in coastal areas, they should build houses that are correct for coastal areas. Plus they should be willing to pay high insurance rates. Why should I subsidize their coastal living lifestyle?
Herbert Ehlers, Anderson, SC
After the storms in Florida, my insurance with a local company was canceled. Another company picked us up but with less coverage for more money.
Elizabeth Lufkin, Marion, MA
In 2006, North Carolina enacted wind damage insurance not supported by Insurance companies. Great for insurance companies but terrible for us. My insurance doubled in one year and increased again in 07. It is difficult to keep up with 100% increases in insurance by state and yet it's mandatory. Someone should do something. These increases are killing us on fixed incomes. We don't get a 100% increases in our finances.
Johnnie Knox, Midway Park, NC
I moved to Tallahassee from Fairfax, VA in August 2006 and was shocked to discover my home owner's insurance in Florida was $1103.00 per year for a home valued at $200,000 less than my home in Fairfax where my insurance was only $538.00 per year. I will be moving back to Virginia May 6, 2007. Florida is too expensive for me.
Betty Whiteaker, Tallahassee, FL
I just got a letter last week from Allstate that says they will no longer include wind damage in my homeowners' policy. They didn't mention a decrease in premiums for less coverage.
Nancy Ghere, New Orleans, LA
My condominium was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I am scheduled to close on a new home locate several miles north of the beach. Insurance coverage with wind coverage is not available in a single policy. Coverage for damage from wind has been shifted to the homeowner and offered almost exclusively from the wind pool at a cost of more than $4000.00 per year.
Gus Rivers, LCSW, Gulfport, MS
We own a two bedroom condo in Murrells Inlet, SC. Our wind and storm damage insurance went form $450 in 2005 to $3300 in 2006. I just read where the insurance industry had record profits this year. If you look at our increase, how can we, as a society, let that happen?
Thomas Albright, York, PA
I used to have coverage with Atlantic Preferred. I paid about $3200. When they went under I was transferred to Citizens and my premium went to $8300 in Oct. 2006. I just received notice that this coming Oct. my premium will be over $13,000. So much for rates being lowered in Florida!
Henry Katz, Boca Raton, FL
We retired five years ago in northwest Florida. We carry three separate policies, homeowners, wind and flood. We just received our premium today for homeowners. It has increased 400% in five years. Selling and moving out of state is not an option as real estate is at a stand still.
Carlene Whiteside, Inlet Beach, FL
I've had Allstate for more than 30 years in one form or another. Then I get a letter saying they will not be renewing my insurance because I have an older home and they are scaling back and not doing the older homes in the area. I have never made a claim either. Now I can't find coverage.
Virginia Breh, The Villages, FL
I'm on the 3rd floor of a 3-story condo. I had to start buying flood insurance because - as my broker told me - insurance companies have been denying claims for losses due even indirectly to floods. My neighbors are being cancelled by Allstate. State Farm backed out of the local condo market several years ago, so the condo insurance is with Citizens (last resort). My neighbors are going that route. While my company kept me, my one-bedroom condo premium went from $390 to $690 this year.
Pat Carpenter, St. Petersburg, FL
I've been an Allstate customer in excess of 20 years. Katrina destroyed home and I had no problem with settlement. Allstate furnished insurance on a new home. After 9 months though, Allstate cancelled my windstorm and hail coverage. I was sent to LA Citizens for coverage. No consideration was given for prior Allstate customer status. The reason stated was "the policy was less than 3 years old".
Gerald Palliser, Covington, LA
We've lived in Lady Lake for over 15 year's paying a reasonable amount for our Park Model. Our insurance company (Safeway) sent us our annual bill and it tripled from paying $300.00 annually to $892.00 for the year. We live in a Park Model as do several of our friends, and find it is increasingly harder each year to make ends meet on a fixed salary, and now to have to face the possibility of not having insurance on our small manufactured home because of the horrific increases. Where do we turn at our age? And, will we have to loose coverage at our age because of the increases?
Carolyn Tobias, Lady Lake, FL
We live in a small condo association half a block from the beach, but elevated 50 feet above sea level. When we bought here in 2002 our association insurance was approx. $2000/yr shared between 3 owners. In 2006, it had increased to almost $7,000/yr. We've never had a storm-related claim!! Of course each owner also pays for an individual policy to cover their own unit and contents. It is getting prohibitive for people on fixed incomes to live on Aquidneck Island any more.
Shirley Lally, Middletown, RI
I purchased my house in 2003 and almost had to delay closing due to difficulty obtaining insurance. I had to accept an insurer I didn't want just to get my mortgage. Because I live on a barrier island I am also required to have flood insurance. Last year my insurer pulled out of the market & again, I began a desperate search for coverage. My coverage dropped but my premium almost doubled. I pay over $5k a yr for homeowner & flood insurance - 3 times what the prior owner paid and I don't even live on the water. We are literally at the mercy of the few insurers who will write a policy here. If you add my taxes, my costs are almost $13,000 a yr - a serious burden for someone on my fixed income. Something has to give.
Ann Giordano, Long Beach, NY
I was dumped by Allstate to Allstate Floridian (a sub company of Allstate). Then in January I was informed that I would not be renewed by Allstate Floridian. And then they forwarded my account to another company (Royal Palm). They sent me a quote for minimum coverage with high deductables, for about $500 more than my previous rate.
Thomas E. Reed, Ormond Beach, FL
I own a second home on the Gulf of Mexico and I have to have separate Homeowners, wind and flood insurance. The cost is high, the deductible very large and the homeowners also expensive. On top of all this, the taxes have gone out of site on second homes. Needless to say, I will end up having to sell this lovely property as soon as the insurance industry cancels coverage due to hurricanes. It is coming.
P. Hackley, Doraville, GA
Allstate did not cancel us after Katrina. We had 18k in damage and they paid every penny. However, when I tried to buy a new house they were not writing any new policies in the 3 costal counties and they then dropped our wind hail damage clause and we had to go to the wind pool. Now the kicker if you moved your car insurance to them they would write you wind and hail insurance. I think that is discrimination.
Don Arnold, Pascagoula, MS
My insurance of 21 years cancelled just before the start of hurricane season 2005. I acquired another policy following that and they cancelled 3 months later. So far, no company will write me a new policy. Widowed during all this, single income working 63 year old am remodeling as I can, hoping after lots of work, some company will insure 40 year old cement block home. It is extremely scary knowing I could lose our entire investment and my home to an act of God in seconds, with no protection.
Jane B. Krellner, Dunnellon, FL
I've been in my home for 45 years and never needed flood insurance and have been paying $750.00 a year for insurance. Now since Katrina not much change on my house but the 5 trees that were blown down from Katrina and a wind torn garage. Now Farmers Ins. wants to charge 5 times what I'm been paying for the same coverage minus wind damage. I'm not going to pay it I would rather have none or find another company.
Lloyd Serpas, Metairie, LA
I am president of a condo HOA in North Myrtle Beach, SC. In the past few years our property insurance premium has skyrocketed to the point that the assessments are approaching the size of mortgage payments. More ominous is the lack of available insurers. We have found this perhaps more a concern than the cost. It seems many carriers are just not offering insurance on the coast and we may be forced into the state wind pool which will not permit us to insure 100%. That is just the problem. Worse, there is no solution in sight.
David Boyd, Greenville, SC
Two years ago, our policy was increased from just over $500 per year to just under $1,000. This past year, a deductable was added for wind damage—I believe its $5,000. When I called to see how much it would cost to reduce this deductable, I was informed that it could not be changed for any amount of money. I can insure a free car being offered for a hole in one, but apparently not an increase in wind damage! No idea how they justify this increase in costs while at the same time reducing the very coverage that we need.
Robert Hummell, Yarmouth Port, MA
As president of a 111 unit condo, we are going to have to raise maintanence fees to cover insurance costs. FL required we get new appraisal that raised our value from 7M to 13.7M and subsequent put us in a new insurance class for those over $1,000,000. Thus when homeowners were supposed to get a break, ours went up to a heartbreaking level for our over 55 community.
Patricia Gonzalez, Lauderhill, FL
Additional Related Links
5 Ways to Trim Your Homeowner's Insurance
What You Can Do About Insurance
Message Board: Discuss rising insurance rates
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