Mobile Home Insurance in Sarasota |
Did you know that Citizens is no longer the only company to insure your mobile home if it's less than 30 years old? We know that acquiring insurance on your Mobile home in Florida can frustrating, although it doesn’t necessarily have to be. If you have owned a mobile home and insured it in Florida over the past 10 years, you most likely were insured through Citizens which is Florida’s state program. This was due to there simply being very few to no additional options other than Citizens to insure your home in many cases. Fortunately, this has recently changed as there are now a host of private companies who are willing to take on insuring your mobile home!
The best part about this is you may finally be able to insure your mobile home for what it's worth, or at least much more than Citizens was offering to insure it for. In many cases these private companies can also offer you additional coverage that you simply were unable to obtain through the state program.
Some of these features are offered by private carriers are:
- Coverage on a carport
- Replacement Cost (Citizens are ACV, varies by company)
- Coverage on mobile homes 30 years old (with private company)
- Higher limits of liability
This just touches on a few things that switching to a private carrier can do for you. If you are insured with Citizens you need to call us to check out what other options may be available for you and your home!
If you prefer to click the following link to open and print out our mobile home insurance questionnaire which can be used as a check list for items you need to ask about before buying mobile home questionnaire.
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Replacement Value Vs.
Actual Cash Value
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If you don't know, then you should!
An uncomplicated way to remember this:
Replacement Cost = Non-Depreciated Value
&
Actual Cash Value = Depreciated Value
The calculation for a covered claim using Actual Cash Valuation will usually result in a check that will cover “some” of the cost to repair your home. The same covered claim using Replacement Cost Valuation could mean that you receive a check that will cover most or all of the cost to repair (or possibly replace) your home.
Fortunately, most homeowners insurance policies cover homes in Florida at replacement cost, but this is not always the case and varies from one policy form to another. Also, you may not have known that your policy may cover your home at replacement cost but your personal property at actual cash value. Make sure you check that you have Replacement Cost included. If you don't, check if it's an available option.
Questions to ask include:
- Is my home covered at replacement cost or actual cash value?
- Are my personal belongings covered at replacement cost or actual cash value?
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Water Damage |
You may know that many companies exclude (or limit) water damage coverage limits for older homes. However, did you know that water damage contributes to some of the largest residential claims in Florida according to recent data? To put it in perspective, water damage claims have been greater in recent years than fire and hurricane claims combined! Whether you are new to Florida or born and raised in our wonderful state you may know that there is a lot of water here. But do you know if you are covered for “all” forms of water damage? You may not have thought into this before but there are numerous ways water can cause damage to your home, and headaches for homeowners like yourself if you are not prepared.
Water Damage claims can come from many various places. Possible claims can arise from multiple water sources including but not limited to utility water pipes (outside and under), pipes within your walls, and pipes within neighboring properties (upstairs or next-door neighbor). Before buying a home owners policy you should know the answers to all these questions. If not, you could find yourself in a dire situation where you end up paying much or all of it out of your own pocket.
Questions to ask include:
- Does my homeowner’s policy cover me for Flood?
- Is my condo covered if my upstairs neighbor’s bath overflows and leaks into my unit?
- Is my water damage coverage limited?
- Does my water damage coverage only cover me for issues arising from my plumbing?
- Is my home covered for water backup and sump overflow?
- Will my company automatically exclude (or limit) my water damage if my home becomes too old?
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Hurricane |
Did you know that most homeowner’s insurance policies include a separate deductible for hurricane? This separate deducible in many cases is much higher than your other peril deductible. Depending on your tolerance for risk, some people may prefer to save money on their premiums and accept a higher deductible. Some people don't want to come out of pockets thousands of dollars after a hurricane wreaks havoc on their home. Where ever amongst those people you are, make sure you are aware of how much you would have to come up with if a hurricane causes damage to your home.
Questions to ask include:
- Am I covered if a hurricane causes damage to my house?
- How much is my separate hurricane deductible?
- Is my home covered by a storm that is not a tropical storm or hurricane?
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Fire |
There have been an estimated 358,300 residential fires per year over the last several years according to the NFPA. If you have a standard HO3 (single family home) or HO6 (condo unit) homeowner’s policy, fortunately you should be covered in the event your home adds to this list. You never know when a fire could strike, so below we have listed a few tips that may help avoid one in your home.
Tips Include:
- Make sure your smoke detectors are working and test every month. (Don’t forget to change the batteries!)
- Inspect wiring and electrical panels in your home regularly.
- Keep flammable material away from stove or other cooking equipment.
- Avoid aluminum wiring (most insurance companies won’t accept this any ways)
- Avoid using space heaters. (also something most companies do not accept)
- Never leave home while cooking.
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Personal Property & Contents Coverage |
Did you know that a standard homeowner’s policy may cover most the furniture (couches, armoire, bed, dining table, etc.) in your house, but your wife’s wedding ring may not be? Now you can usually fix this by scheduling that wedding ring, but the point is many things are not automatically covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy. If they are covered you still need to be aware of which of your personal belongings may be capped, as almost all companies have a per item cap (electronics, jewelry, fine art, firearms, etc.). Scheduling these items is usually the only way to make sure some of these items are covered under your homeowner’s policy
If you have high value items and want to ensure you are covered for them you these are a few questions to ask when obtaining quotes:
- Which of my personal belongings are considered personal property?
- What items may have set limits that are capped under my personal property coverage?
- Are these possessions covered while they are away from my insured property?
- Is my personal property covered at Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value? (This can be a significant difference in price for some companies, make sure you check)
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Useful Links |
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