{"id":1030,"date":"2017-03-15T20:43:08","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T20:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homeinsuranceking.com\/blog\/?p=1030"},"modified":"2017-03-15T20:44:25","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T20:44:25","slug":"shop-low-home-insurance-rates-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gethomeinsurancequotes.com\/blog\/shop-low-home-insurance-rates-south-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Shop Low Home Insurance Rates in South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Affordable

Did you know that\u00a0most of the major insurance companies that write policies in the southern part of Florida\u00a0are seeking rate hikes?<\/p><\/div>\n

Unfortunately, it looks like its going to be rate hike time again when it comes to homeowners insurance in South Florida. Most of the major insurance companies that write policies in the southern part of the state are seeking rate hikes, so be prepared when renewal time rolls around.<\/p>\n

As an example, People’s Trust, which insured almost 55,000 South Florida homes in 2016, is requesting a 14.5% rate hike for homeowners. While the rate hike request is statewide, many of the hardest hit customers will be in Miami-Dade<\/a> and Broward<\/a> counties, where premiums may increase by hundreds of dollars.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s driving the big rate hikes? People’s Trust claims that they have experienced unusual losses due to fraudulent water claims as well as litigation related to the abuse of the assignment of benefits (AOB<\/a>) clause.<\/p>\n

According to industry experts, a number of \u201chighly litigious\u201d law firms are working with less than honest and often unlicensed water extractors to take advantage of the assignment of benefits clause in most homeowners insurance policies. When a homeowner signs a work agreement with these contractors they may not realize they are signing their insurance benefits over to the contractor.<\/p>\n

In many cases, contractors are inflating their costs to make repairs and then suing insurance companies if the claim is denied or not paid in full. Due to the high cost of litigation, many insurance companies decide to settle, making this easy money for the law firms involved.<\/p>\n

According to the Consumer Protection Coalition<\/a>, which was formed in January 2016 in order to raise awareness of assignment of benefits abuse claims, AOB lawsuits have increased roughly 90,000% since the year 2000. The majority of the fraud is happening in South Florida, mainly in the Miami-Dade area.<\/p>\n

Rate Hikes Largest in South Florida<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, South Florida would see the biggest rate hikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost for non-hurricane coverage of a single-family home in the Hialeah area of Dade County would increase from an average $1,138 to $1,758, while coverage of a home in the Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood areas of Broward County would jump from $1,064 to $1,740,\u201d says the Sun Sentinel.<\/p>\n

Palm Beach County<\/a> homeowners would see a smaller increase according to the article with the average homeowners premium ranging from $950 up to $1326. The smaller increase in this area of Florida is due to the fact that water and AOB fraud is not near as common as it is in Miami Dade.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

People\u2019s Trust Is Not Alone<\/strong><\/p>\n

People’s Trust is not the only insurance company that is raising rates on homeowners. Citizens Property, the state run insurer, recently raised its rates between 8.9% and 10% depending on where the home is located.<\/p>\n

Another Florida-based insurer, Florida Peninsula, who currently ensures roughly 31,000 homes, is seeking a rate hike 9% to 9.7%.<\/p>\n

Federated national is seeking a 6.5% increase across the entire state. However, in the Miami-Dade<\/a> area, the rate increase request is 15.3% and in Palm Beach County<\/a> it\u2019s a whopping 20.1%.<\/p>\n

While AOB and water damage claims are a big component of the rate increase request, it’s not the only reason. Many insurers are also citing hailstorm and tornado damage throughout the state.<\/p>\n

Here are the details on other insurance companies and their requested rate hikes for 2017.<\/p>\n