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It’s money Monday in the news and on social media over the last couple weeks, there have been several stories about insurance companies leaving states like Florida, Louisiana, California and not offering home owners insurance anymore. So here to bring us up to speed on what’s happening is a Monday, Monday expert Jini Thornton.
Why are insurance companies leaving states like Florida, California and Louisiana?
Of course, Erica, it’s no surprise it’s all about money or I should say their money. Homeowners claims are rising through the roof in states like Florida, California and Louisiana, and as a result, insurance companies are saying…. you know what we do not want to pay all these claims. They are losing money, so they’re leaving. To date. 20 insurance companies have already left Louisiana in the past two years, and companies like State Farm and Allstate have already stopped accepting new insurance policies in California primarily due to wildfires.
So you mean to tell me we could pay our insurance all these years. And then when it’s time for a claim, all of a sudden you can’t do it?
Stomach is hurting and they are leaving. They’re leaving in droves.
Has this impacted the cost of homeowners insurance across the country?
Well, of course rates are going up on average, rates have gone up about 21% nationwide. This is not even living in one of these states where insurance companies are pulling out, but in Florida, rates are up 57%. In Texas, rates are up 40%. So imagine what used to cost you $1000 to cover now you’re heading towards almost doubling that for the exact same home, and for people on the tight budget. That certainly could be an issue.
Is any of this affected by the homes that are just popping up literally across the country, so many communities being built gentrification. You know, the housing market going crazy. Is any of this a result of that?
Well, you know, home values have a small part to play because obviously if something happens to one of those homes, they cost more to replace it. But the majority of the issue that we’re talking about today, it literally is because of climate change and the number of storms and problems. Yes, this is really a function of climate change. And they’re saying all these floods, all these fires, all of these storms were leaving certain areas because, of course they’re tracking the data what states have the most problems, and the three states that we mentioned to Louisiana, California and Florida are at the top of the list.
For listeners who noticed the increase in their homeowners insurance, what can they do to get the cost of that under control?
Well, one thing that I suggest people do is please do an annual policy review with your insurance provider. It’s really important to know what discounts you could be taking advantage of. The other thing too that you need to do Griffith is say that you’re going to get a new roof, you may need to talk to your insurance agent before to see if you can get like a fire resistant roof installed.
You can do certain things that could potentially help to bring your premium price down, so things that we could just take for granted. You know, we don’t need to kind of tap in with our insurance company. You may want to do it before you do a major upgrade. It could save you some money.
And what final message would you like to leave with us today?
Alright, final message for today is doing an annual review of your homeowners, renters and even your car insurance with your insurance agent is critical. It is not optional, it is critical. Please do that call or e-mail your agent today and schedule your policy.
