Florida’s Changing Homeowners Insurance Market

The homeowners insurance market is undergoing changes across the country, but nowhere are the effects felt as keenly as in Florida, where multiple factors make it the most expensive state in which to insure a home.

What has happened in Florida in the past 5 years to cause shifts in the homeowners insurance market?

The Effects of Fraud and Multiple Catastrophic Events

As we Floridians know, major hurricanes over the past three seasons have caused incredible damage across Florida Communities. What you may not know is that reinsurance rates increased significantly this year due to Matthew, Irma, and Michael (in addition to subsequent years of global catastrophes).

Equally detrimental to Florida homeowners, AOB and other types of fraud have plagued the insurance industry for years. In order to protect themselves from some of these “bad actors”, many carriers in Florida have been forced to limit or exclude key coverages:

Water coverage has been slashed to the bone, with restrictive language and low caps on claims.
More and more, carriers are being forced to protect their bottom line by excluding or limiting major coverages, making it difficult to adequately cover other structures, pool enclosures, and events beyond the control of the homeowner.

While AOB fraud has wreaked havoc on the Florida insurance industry, Olympus has continued to offer one of the broadest forms available in the standard market. We believe that our insureds deserve the type of policy that we at Olympus would want for our own personal homes.

The effects of rising reinsurance costs are being felt by homeowners across the state as carriers file for annual rate increases, many of which reflect both historical loss experience as well as reinsurance rate increases.

Olympus Insurance Company was well positioned for the recent storm seasons, carrying reinsurance in excess of what would be required for a “hundred year event” — rare, devastating storms that cause massive losses. Even though the recent hurricanes have been challenging, Olympus is still extremely financially stable.

Olympus covers attached pool enclosures at full replacement cost for both screens and frames, has one of the broadest water damage coverages available on the Florida market, and our exclusive Spartan Enhanced Coverage Package can be added to cover less common events like sewer backups or power stoppages.

Shifting priorities

In addition, both the insurance carriers across the state and the homeowners have trended toward different goals.

Lack of proper competition leads to difficulty finding insurance for older homes that have been updated – even though the roof, plumbing, and electrical may be new, many homes may be rejected for high quality coverage due to their age alone.
Lack of policy customization leads to attempts to compete on price rather than value, and homeowners follow the trend by purchasing based on cost over coverage.
Lack of homeowner education leads to misunderstandings and underinsured properties, as homeowners may not know flood isn’t covered under a standard homeowners (HO3) policy, or that their hurricane deductible is thousands more than their all other perils (AOP) deductible.

Olympus reviews homes on a case by case basis, evaluating risk based on multiple factors. Policies can be customized for the homeowners’ specific needs, and deductibles set to a low flat option if desired. Endorsements can be added to increase coverage, and flood policies are brought up and discussed by your licensed insurance agent as a necessary companion policy.

Your homeowners insurance could be more complex than you expected, but with Olympus, the many options for customization allow you to get the best coverage for your policy dollars. Talk to an Olympus agent today.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form a part of, replace, change or amend any terms, conditions, provisions or language within your Olympus Insurance policy. We encourage you to read your entire policy.