Insuring Florida Vacation Rentals is Still Possible
Sept. 15, 2006. Insuring vacation rentals in Florida is not as bad as once feared, according to an article in TheLedger.com. Initially, the news was all bad for Florida vacation rental owners. But it now appears that property owners are finding insurance, even though they are paying more for policies that have less coverage and higher deductibles
Allstate dropped 95,000 policies in Florida, and State Farm Insurance won regulatory approval to raise rates by 8.6 percent. Nationwide Mutual Insurance is dropping 35,000 Florida customers, not writing new policies in the state, and won approval for a 21 percent rate hike. Real estate transactions throughout the state were canceled because the buyer was unable to find an insurance company to write a new policy.
However, recent news has been more positive. Gary Landry, vice president of the Florida Insurance Council, Florida's largest insurance trade association, is quoted as saying that not enough attention is given to small carriers who are still writing new insurance policies.
"We are hearing about the reduction in writings for certain insurers," he said. "But there are insurers who are writing in most parts of the state, and unfortunately that's not exciting news to anyone. The more exciting news is that an insurer had to stop writing. But homeowners are generally able to get insurance, if not through the private industry, than through Citizens Property Insurance."
The article by Michael W. Freeman cites Ken Toney, owner of the Florida Chartered Insurance Group, who represents 9,000 property managers in the short-term rental industry, and he's seeking new customers. "David (Leather) told me last week that one of his owners said they have no insurance and can't get it," Toney said. "They had it by the end of the day."
