Thank you for entrusting PGI with all your insurance needs. One of our goals is to educate customers on changes and trends occurring with property insurance in the State of Florida. As you may have noticed with your insurance renewals or seen in the news, premiums are significantly rising.  The biggest jumps have taken place over the past six months in Seminole, Orange, Lake and Osceola Counties.  Policies are also being non-renewed, mostly due to roof age. Here’s why: 

An Assignment of Benefits (AOB) contract may be handed to you by a third-party vendor at the time of a claim.  This was most prevalent in 2018 when unethical roofing contractors were going door to door telling homeowners that their home’s roof probably had hail damage.  And if the homeowners signed an AOB, the roofer would “stand in the shoes” as you and take direct payment from the insurance company.  However, homeowners were not made aware that the roofer could dispute the amount of the claim and sue your insurance company.  It would be without your choice and making you a party to the lawsuit.  (What’s worse, the roofer could request more money than the insurance company deemed reasonable for the loss and have the ability to sue you for the amount owed). Attorney’s stood to gain in assignment of benefits contracts as well.  Due to a 2017 Florida Supreme Court ruling, plaintiff attorneys are allowed to charge 2 to 2 1/2 times their regular hourly rate.  

With more than 35,000 property insurance disputes each year, insurance companies are forced to settle before going to trial which means paying over and above initial costs of the claim itself. Therefore, they have been left with no choice but to increase premiums. In some instances, the State of Florida has mandated that insurance carriers take the rate increase. To deter needless lawsuits, carriers are requiring homeowners to replace their shingled roofs within 15 years, as this is the maximum expected roof life in our harsh Florida weather conditions. 

We need your help. Insurance companies will be scrutinizing your roof’s age during your next renewal. Do not be shocked if your rate goes up or you are non-renewed. Most of the time this happens because we have outdated information with the carrier. If you recently replaced your roof (less than 5 years) and you forgot to tell us, please email us a copy of your invoice to pldocs@primegroupins.com. Those with roofs older than 20 years should consider replacing it as soon as possible since your coverage and rate will be adversely affected by an older roof.PGI is grateful for your business and appreciates the opportunity to serve you. 

Be well,

The PGI Team