Rising Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Florida’s Tri-County District

As a south Florida resident, you may be feeling the effects of rising homeowners’ insurance costs, regardless of whether or not you’ve needed to file a claim. Far beyond the effects of inflation or fluctuations in property value, it seems that the rise in costs are intended to compensate for a rise in claims over the past several years.

The International Research Council (IRC) recently conducted a study finding that from 1997 to 2011, the average claim payment per insured home across the country rose 173 percent. This may be attributed to the increase in the severity of claims and the increased frequency of non-catastrophe related claims. These factors translate to higher costs for insurance companies, which are then transferred to you, the policyholder.

What are you paying for?

As a Broward County or Palm Beach County homeowner, you want to know that the insurance you’re paying for is going toward the coverage you need, as outlined in your policy. However, most local homeowners find that if they do need to file a homeowners’ insurance claim in Florida, the process involved and the compensation they receive is not what they expected.

So if the average payouts are increasing, why should you be worried about getting what you deserve when you file a claim? Isn’t this an indicator of the quality of the insurance claims process? Not necessarily, given a combination of factors. While compensation values have increased, so have the severity of the claims — and at even greater rates. In short, policyholders are submitting larger claims for higher amounts of damage, but are seeing new lows in terms of the payments they actually receive from their insurers.

This is not to say you should avoid homeowners insurance, as if you are not covered and something happens to your property, you don’t have many options. However, you should be assured that if you are paying more for your coverage, you would be able to receive the full amount of compensation you need to repair the potential damage to your home.

No matter where you are in the claim filing process, it helps to seek the advice of a public adjuster, which is an outside professional who works for you instead of the insurance company. A public adjuster can help you navigate the complex terms of your south Florida homeowners’ insurance policy and file a claim that has the best chances at a successful outcome.

Advocate Claims Public Adjusters serves clients throughout Palm Beach County, Broward County and the rest of Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Wellington and Hollywood. To learn more, call us today at 954-369-0573 or contact us online.