ORLANDO, Fla — With a storm on track to make landfall as a hurricane in the Florida panhandle by this weekend, the financial impact could even be felt in central Florida or other parts of the state. That impact could come in the form of increased property insurance rates.
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Sunshine State homeowners have seen it often over years, typically after a large storm causes significant damage. Insurance carriers spread the risks and costs to policies across the state, even to areas not taking a direct hit.
When storms slam Florida, high winds and water can bring catastrophic damage, costing billions of dollars.
“It’s happened before, Jeff. You and I both still remember the hurricanes of Charley, Francis and Jeanne in ’04,” said Diana Giron, owner of Universal Insurance Agency in Orlando.
She told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal the damage from storms even in different parts of the state can have an impact in central Florida when it comes to insurance. So, the storm in the Gulf that’s bearing down on the panhandle, could eventually result in high property insurance rates hundreds of miles from landfall.
Giron said, “They have an assessment, a special assessment that they would add across the board to everybody in Florida, even unimpacted areas.”
She explained what happens following a storm like this will depend on the severity and the amount of damage. With catastrophic damage, the insurance carriers and reinsurers that pay out big money often charge higher prices in the following years and costs get passed down to policyholders across the state. So, property insurance rates could go up. On the other hand, if the storm doesn’t have a big impact or cause much damage, we may see little or no increase in our rates.
“A Category 1 Hurricane at the time, affecting us on our premiums Jeff, I don’t see it,” Giron said.
In this storm, she believes at this early stage at least, the biggest risk is likely flooding. She also said another thing is if there are spinoffs from this storm that cause tornado damage to your property in another part of the state, you might have to pay a higher deductible because this is a named storm.
Giron said she doesn’t expect this particular storm to significantly affect premiums unless it does cause extensive flooding. She also pointed out rates have gone down in recent months because of changes in the law related to roof replacement lawsuits and quieter storm seasons.
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