NRT Insurance

A homebuyer in Florida has three things to consider when shopping for insurance to close on a new home: Availability, Affordability and Claims Paying Ability. Hurricanes have made Florida the toughest insurance market in America. Many of the nations leading insurance companies have stopped writing homeowners policies in the state, so finding insurance can be a challenge. And when homebuyers find insurance, they may face sticker shock. Often the premium is a multiple of what they had been paying on their old policy. This can lead buyers into the terrible trap of buying what seems to be affordable insurance from a company that may not have the ability to pay its claims in the event of a major storm. After every hurricane, thousands of Florida homeowners find the company that wrote their insurance wiped out by payouts. The state fund that takes over in these situations pays only a percentage of their losses, so the homeowner is left holding the bag for the rest. NRT Insurance Agency solves the problem of availability by having broad access to insurance markets. We will place the insurance. And while we cant always undersell some companies, we do promise that the companies we place the insurance with have the financial ability to pay claims even in the event of a major storm.

With insurance premiums in Florida rising, people are sometimes confused about premiums. Is there really that much difference between high-priced insurance from a national carrier and a lower price from an unknown local company? Here are three points from NRT Insurance Agency that consumers should consider before making a decision.

R The premium on the house you are selling cant be compared with the premium for the property you are buying. The structure, the neighborhood, the ZIP Code, the distance from the water, and previous claims are the kinds of things that influence the premium. Even two houses of similar size on the same street wont necessarily have the same premium. New coverage in the state costs more than old coverage, so the current policy on the new house cant be used for comparison, either.

R Comparing premiums alone is not enough. The policies themselves must also be compared. Do they cover the same things? Will they pay the same amounts in the event of a claim? Look carefully. At NRT Insurance Agency, we dont try to sell the lowest price; we aim to provide the best coverage.

R NRT Insurance Agency only works with companies rated by B or better by A. M. Best, the company that gauges the financial strength of insurance companies around the world. A lot of insurance companies doing business in Florida are unrated; three of them were declared insolvent in the past year alone. Unlucky policyholders with claims were sent to the state Guaranty Fund which pays a maximum of $500,000 on a homeowners claim and $100,000 on a condo. If you had insurance on your $3 million home with one of those companies and it burned to the ground, you would get $500,000 regardless of what your policy said.

With insurance costs increasing faster than property values, consumers need a bit of wisdom to decide the best way to protect their most valuable asset. Comparing insurance quotes carefully is the place to start.

Homeowners who think they can get away without flood insurance consider this: The National Flood Insurance Program, the nations largest provider of flood coverage, says that 25 percent of their claims come from low to moderate risk areas. NFIP also says that a home has a 26 percent chance of being damaged by a flood but only a 9 percent chance of a fire over the course of a 30-year mortgage. Even those who live on high ground may not be safe. Rapid runoff from a parking lot is a flood if it damages your home and at least one adjoining property! As little as an inch of water can be responsible for thousands of dollars in damage. (Go to http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/static/riskscenario/riskscenario.jsp to view flood risks that many of us overlook.) Flood insurance is often inexpensive and because many mortgage lenders require it, NRT Insurance Agency offers flood insurance with any quote we give to a homebuyer.