(Third in a series of three articles)
Condo Home Insurance at The Villages
In the previous two articles on Your HO6 Policy, we talked about some of the interconnections between your HO6 policy and the Association’s Master Property insurance policy. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
There isn’t room in a short article to answer all your questions, so we’ve put more information on the Villages Member Portal, in the Association’s Governance Area: https://member.thevillagesgcc.com/static/the-villages-association/
You can also call The Villages’ Director of Board Services or Senior Assistant General Manager (General Manager’s Office Liaison) or use the “Ask the ABOD” feature in The Villager.
My HO6 insurance company just told me they are not renewing my policy next year. Where can I find another company that sells policies to Villages residents?
• Unfortunately, this is not uncommon anymore, both outside and inside the Villages. It doesn’t even depend on whether you have made any claims or not.
• To find a new insurance company you can ask a friend for some recommendations, but even if they have a current policy, their insurance company may not be accepting new customers.
• The only central directory of companies currently offering insurance is a list on the California State Insurance Commissioner’s website: Property Insurance Companies
https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/apex_extprd/f?p=144:11:12932100931491::NO:RP,11:P11_LINES_OF_INS,P11_SORT_TYPE:Homeowners,A&cs=1mWeRo8dRpMeNc5DG5G1B56NErek
Why does The Villages have two different Master Property Insurance Policies?
• Because the Villages Management team and our insurance brokers at Brown & Brown are on their toes at finding lower cost solutions for our insurance.
• Some history –
- In the past, over five years ago, The Villages was able to buy property insurance from a single company. But as inflation caused replacement cost to dramatically increase, the danger of wildfires around The Villages increased, and insurance companies were suffering losses due to unusually large and frequent major fires, floods, and hurricanes, individual companies no longer wanted to insure the whole Villages community or even parts of it.
- The Villages was forced to use multiple non-admitted “excess and surplus carriers” in a “stack” of small policies to cover all its insurance needs. Since these carriers are not regulated by the State of California, they can charge whatever the market will bear. As a result, Insurance Costs soared.
- But the Insurance marketplace keeps evolving – risk models are improved, risk mitigation efforts are rewarded, higher premiums are being allowed to admitted carriers, some insurance companies have developed a new appetite for selling The Villages property insurance again.
• One admitted carrier, Philadelphia Insurance, was willing to insure what it considered the lowest risk Villages – Sonata, Del Lago, and Fairways at a substantially lower cost of insurance and with no Betterments and Improvements sublimit. While ultimately the goal for The Villages will be for all Villages to be able to purchase this type of lower cost insurance, the marketplace is not there yet. If, and when, more opportunities arise, the ABOD and Management will act so that more Villages will be able to take advantage of lower rates and better coverage.
What about Earthquake Insurance?
• The Association Master Policy no longer covers Floods or Earthquakes. If you want earthquake insurance, you must purchase your own policy.
What if I, or my insurance agent/broker has more questions about the Association’s Master Policy and my HO6 Policy?
You can call The Villages insurance broker, Brown and Brown for more information:
To obtain proof of coverage Certificates. please send your request to:
Email: coi@bbrown.com
General Requests
Molly Morris. (503) 219-3229
Molly.morris@bbrown.com
In future articles we will discuss how the Association is addressing the current Insurance Crisis.
