Homeowners Insurance cost in Florida?
Question by Michelle P : Homeowners Insurance cost in Florida?
My husband and I just got an acceptance for a house we put an offer on. The house is in Orange County Florida, 82810 and has 2 beds 1 bath and 1005 sq ft. It was made in 1940, updated plumbing and electrical in 1989, House (not the land) was appraised at 55,000 in 2007, but i’m sure this has gone down in this economic weather. No pool, no garage tell me if you need more info to help me out on how much you think it could cost.
I can’t seem to find anywhere online for quotes for home owners insurance, just numbers to call and we need to find someone by Monday morning. I’m going to call in the morning but i don’t know how much time I’m going to have before we go into the Real Estate office. My questions are:
Do you know of online homeowners insurances in Florida that have an online quote system?
How much do you think insurance for a year would cost on a house this size?
What homeowners insurances generally have the lowest rates?
Thank you so much for your help!!!
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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OK, insurance isn’t based on the appraised (market value) of the house. It’s based on the cost to REBUILD it.
It’s going to be really, really hard to find an online quote. Very, very few companies will write a policy in Florida. Your house is borderline old enough that most companies won’t want to write it based on age.
Your credit score is ALSO important.
Online quoting systems are only for agents. You will need to see a real live agent, to actually get a real live quote.
Replacement cost for your house is PROBABLY going to run around $150,000 to $175,000. You will have to buy your wind and flood coverage, seperately. If I had to pull a number out of the air, I think the homeowners, wind, and flood policies will probably cost you around $4,000 a year. But maybe more.
In Florida, it’s not about who has the lowest rates. There are, maybe TWO insurance companies that I know of, writing homeowners in Florida, that are rated by AM Best. There are a bunch more new ones, that aren’t rated – and don’t have much track record.
If you can find an agent who can GET you more than one quote, you’re doing better than most. In Florida, it’s about who is WILLING to write you. Citizens, the state fund, writes MOST of it. Anyone else who gives you a quote, you probably haven’t even heard of them.
So find a local agent, and get your quotes – and be prepared for the sticker shock on the insurance.
The best way to know that is by getting quotes online, I recommend you this site
hinsurance.notlong.com
Here you can get quotes from different companies in Florida.
The first thing I’d like to do is suggest that you don’t let anyone rush you through this process. Yes you are meeting with your real estate agent on Monday but you have until the closing or settlement date to come up with an insurance policy that has been paid in advance for one year. So don’t let anyone rush you with this, including the real estate agent. Take your time and do your homework on these newer, smaller companies.
Also, don’t buy this house unless you can confirm that it has updated electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and a new roof that is going to be acceptable to your new insurance company. If any of these aren’t up to current standards you are going to face a nasty surprise when you try to get Florida home insurance for this residence.
A home built in 1940 at age 69 is going to be one of the most difficult to find coverage for – even in an inland county like Orange.
My estimate for a home of this age is around $1,700 per year – driven mostly by the age of the home – but it will depend on the insurance company’s view of the upgrades that have been completed. Use an independent Florida homeowners insurance agent to help you with this and answer all of your questions.
I’m not against the online quote generators for Florida insurance but the problem I have with them is that they don’t show you all of the companies that are writing new homeowners insurance business in Florida. Here is a site that I saw in every single Florida newspaper after the announcment that State Farm Florida was leaving the state:
http://www.homeinsurancebuyers.org/
http://www.homeinsurancebuyers.org/FindingPrivateInsurance
http://www.homeinsurancebuyers.org/PurchasingTheBuyersGuide
It helps you find, screen, and contact all of the companies still writing new business in your county and is the only way I know of in this crazy market to make sure that you are getting a quote from each and every company that wants to insure your home.
And the best part is that the site provides a rating to each of these companies so that you get a much better idea of the newer, smaller, shakier companies to avoid.
I suggest that you check it out.
In the meantime, don’t let anyone rush you with this home purchase. And make sure that you get a good inspector to check that home out. If anything in that inspection around the major systems come up short like the roof or the major systems – don’t buy it!
Best of luck to you!