Bundle Home and Auto [Florida]

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SADVG
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 7:58 am

Bundle Home and Auto [Florida]

Post by SADVG »

I'm in non-coast Florida. I'm considering leaving Florida Family Insur Co for AAA insurance. Any advice or experience with either company, as to whether this would be an error?
ddbtoth
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Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2021 3:18 pm

Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by ddbtoth »

Get with Flo….
wilked
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Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by wilked »

Go with the Gecko…
mikejuss
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Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by mikejuss »

Would working with an insurance salesperson who has access to multiple quotes make bundling cheaper?
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talzara
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Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by talzara »

SADVG wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:59 am I'm in non-coast Florida. I'm considering leaving Florida Family Insur Co for AAA insurance. Any advice or experience with either company, as to whether this would be an error?
Florida is very different from the other 49 states. Because of the high hurricane risk, extreme levels of fraud by roofing contractors, and unstable geology, very few large national insurers write homeowners insurance in Florida. The market is dominated by single-state carriers, many of which are only one hurricane away from bankruptcy.

You should be selecting your homeowners insurer based on bankruptcy risk and price. If it happens to be the same company as the best auto insurer, then bundle. Otherwise, don't bundle.

Bankruptcy risk from lowest to highest:
  1. National insurers that operate their main company in Florida
  2. National insurers that operate single-state non-pooled subsidiaries in Florida
  3. Single-state insurers with very good reinsurance and AM Best ratings
  4. Single-state insurers with limited reinsurance and only Demotech ratings
Florida Family is in the third category, and it has an AM Best rating of B++.

Auto Club of Florida (AAA) is between the second and third categories, and it has an AM Best rating of A-. This is one notch higher than Florida Family's rating, so it is safer than Florida Family.
talzara
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Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:40 pm

Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by talzara »

ddbtoth wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:16 am Get with Flo….
Progressive would be a very good choice. Progressive and USAA are the only large national insurers that back up their homeowners policies in Florida with their national reserves. There are also some smaller companies, like Amica.

The hard part is getting Progressive to accept your house. Progressive has 21% of the auto insurance market in Florida, but it only has 4% of the homeowners insurance market. It turns down most of its own customers in Florida and places them with other insurance companies for homeowners insurance. Make sure that Progressive is actually listed on the quote as the underwriter.
talzara
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Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by talzara »

wilked wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:42 am Go with the Gecko…
GEICO does not write homeowners insurance. It sells homeowners insurance written by other companies.

This is a disadvantage in Florida because GEICO can place you with a limited number of carriers. The biggest one that GEICO uses is Universal, which does 90% of its business in Florida and relies on reinsurance for hurricane risk. It's not bad compared to other Florida insurers, but you can do better if you buy your own homeowners insurance separately.
Last edited by talzara on Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
talzara
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Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:40 pm

Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by talzara »

mikejuss wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:43 am Would working with an insurance salesperson who has access to multiple quotes make bundling cheaper?
No. Each independent agent only has appointments with a limited number of carriers. If you bundle with an independent agent, you will limit your choices.

GEICO, Progressive, State Farm, Allstate, and USAA have 78% of the auto insurance market in Florida, and only 10% is accessible to independent agents through Progressive and Allstate. The other three do not sell through independent agents at all.
Topic Author
SADVG
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 7:58 am

Re: Bundle Home and Auto [Florida]

Post by SADVG »

Thanks so much for all the responses; really appreciate the answers and since the decision is upon me it will be "informed"; now I understand when Universal reroofed my house they kept plugging Florida Family as the best ever homeowners insurance; I'm still gathering quotes.
Trism
Posts: 923
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2016 6:34 pm

Re: Bundle Home and Auto

Post by Trism »

talzara wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:32 pm
SADVG wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:59 am I'm in non-coast Florida. I'm considering leaving Florida Family Insur Co for AAA insurance. Any advice or experience with either company, as to whether this would be an error?
Florida is very different from the other 49 states. Because of the high hurricane risk, extreme levels of fraud by roofing contractors, and unstable geology, very few large national insurers write homeowners insurance in Florida. The market is dominated by single-state carriers, many of which are only one hurricane away from bankruptcy.

You should be selecting your homeowners insurer based on bankruptcy risk and price. If it happens to be the same company as the best auto insurer, then bundle. Otherwise, don't bundle.

Bankruptcy risk from lowest to highest:
  1. National insurers that operate their main company in Florida
  2. National insurers that operate single-state non-pooled subsidiaries in Florida
  3. Single-state insurers with very good reinsurance and AM Best ratings
  4. Single-state insurers with limited reinsurance and only Demotech ratings
Florida Family is in the third category, and it has an AM Best rating of B++.

Auto Club of Florida (AAA) is between the second and third categories, and it has an AM Best rating of A-. This is one notch higher than Florida Family's rating, so it is safer than Florida Family.
I don't know anything about Florida insurance, but it's a breath of fresh air seeing some logic and reasoning going into the selection of an insurance company.

Most of the time it's just a bunch of comments from people recommending a company based on how little they pay. We wouldn't even choose a dog groomer that way, and we don't have a dog.
Mr. Rumples
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Joined: Sun Aug 25, 2019 7:16 am

Re: Bundle Home and Auto [Florida]

Post by Mr. Rumples »

I'm going to chime in on Geico..shortly after moving into my home, the area was hit by a huge storm. We were without power for five days. My neighbor and I both had our homeowners through GEICO, but it wasn't a GEICO policy, they simply sell other companies policies. We both had issues with our claims. GEICO was useless in resolving them and that's putting it kindly; he argued for years and even with the VA SCC on his side, it was a tortuous battle for him, taking several years to resolve. Thus, fully explore which company GEICO wants to put you with.
"History is the memory of time, the life of the dead and the happiness of the living." Captain John Smith 1580-1631
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