Affordable home insurance in South Florida can be sometimes hard to find. Those of us that live in higher risk areas such as homes near the water will pay the most for coverage.
Most of us Floridians know that Hurricane Season begins June 1st and Ends on November 30th. With Hurricane Season just a few months away, many homeowners may not realize that during the six-month cycle, it’s increasingly harder to find new coverage at all. That policy review you’ve been putting off might have to wait even longer if you wait too late, and Hurricane Season begins. Here’s why:
It’s a relatively unknown fact, but most insurers stop writing policies in the event of an impending hurricane. In previous years, there was a “box” that insurance companies would monitor to check if a hurricane was near. If so, they’d freeze the binding of new policies. Nowadays, while there is no longer a “box” to watch out for, insurance companies have stated that policies cannot be bound if a Tropical Storm, Hurricane Watch or Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for any part of our state. These newer restrictions can cause you undue stress if you’re considering shopping your policy this year.
Another scenario is if you’re planning to purchase a home soon and closing during hurricane season. Imagine you are packed up and ready for a move to your new home next week. The closing is scheduled and you have everything right. Then, a storm watch is issued in Naples or Miami or even up in the pan-handle of Florida. You discover that you cannot buy a new home or flood insurance policy that is required at closing.
If you’re closing is scheduled during Hurricane Season, don’t delay. Once you have a closing date set, you should definitely sit down with your agent and purchase a policy as early as possible. Let your agent know of the closing date, which will be your policy effective date. If there is a hurricane, the agency will honor your policy as long as there is an effective date and it was ordered prior to the bad weather alert.
At the end of the day, your best option is to have a local agent that has your best interests in mind. With everything that goes along with buying new coverage or shopping for a new home, your agent can worry about your coverages and make sure that you have everything that you need. If you have questions about your coverages, or for a free policy review, contact us at Anderson & Associates using the form on this page, or by clicking here.
