Expert Insurance Tips for Floridians ft. Heather Andrews

In this episode of Jim Sells the Suncoast, host Jim Ahearn is joined by Heather Andrews from Andrews Insurance Agency to explore the complexities of homeowners insurance in Florida. Heather shares expert advice on obtaining the best coverage, explaining the differences between homeowners, hazard, and flood insurance, and how natural disasters like floods and hurricanes can impact your claims.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into the factors that affect insurance premiums, including insurance scores, home age, and location. Heather also emphasizes the importance of updating policies after renovations and discusses the growing trend of adding equipment breakdown and service line coverage. She advises against relying on online quotes and DIY insurance, highlighting the benefits of working with a personal agent. Additionally, Heather covers the role of various deductibles, the benefits of bundling different types of insurance, and provides essential tips for new Suncoast residents on selecting the right insurance when purchasing a home.

Key Takeaways:

• Differences between homeowners, hazard, and flood insurance
• Impact of natural disasters like floods and hurricanes on insurance claims
• Factors influencing insurance premiums, including insurance scores, home age, and location
• Importance of updating policies after home renovations
• Benefits of adding equipment breakdown and service line coverage to policies
• Advantages of working with a personal insurance agent over DIY solutions
• Guidance for new Suncoast residents on selecting the best insurance

Follow Jim Sells the Suncoast for more expert advice on navigating the complexities of Florida's real estate and insurance markets.

Looking to buy or sell a home on the Suncoast? Reach out to Jim at jim.ahearn@gmail.com or visit his website, Jim Sells the Suncoast

Need insurance, visit Heather Andrew's website, Andrews Insurance Agency, or call (941) 779-6589

A Personal Note from Jim:

Hey there, I’m Jim Ahearn, your go-to real estate guide and host of Jim Sells The Suncoast podcast! 🎙️✨ Dreaming of Florida life? I’ve got you covered! As your dedicated buyer's agent, I’ll handle everything from walk-throughs to closing, making your home-buying journey as smooth as a Florida breeze.

Whether you're local or tuning in from afar, I’ll bring the Suncoast to you with virtual tours and expert advice. Let’s chat about your dream home and I'll connect you with all the right people to make it happen.

Ready to move to paradise? Drop me a line – I can’t wait to help! 🌴🏡

Transcript

Jim: 0:00

Hey there real estate enthusiasts. Welcome back to Jim sells the Suncoast, where we make buying and selling homes on the Suncoast area as easy as a walk on the beach. Today we're diving into the world of homeowner's insurance with Heather Andrews from Andrews Insurance Agency. Heather's here to spill the secrets of getting the best coverage for your home sweet home. She'll take us through her unique approach to insurance, think in house services with a creative twist. We'll break down the essentials, what you need to know about homeowners versus hazard insurance, And how those pesky floods and hurricanes can impact your claims. Ever wondered why your insurance premiums vary? Heather's got the lowdown on factors like insurance scores, your home's age, and its location. Plus she'll share tips on filing claims and keeping your policy up to date, especially after those home renovations. We'll also touch on the latest trend of adding equipment breakdown and service line coverage to your policy. If you're a Suncoast homebuyer or just looking to refresh your insurance game, Heather's Insights are a must listen. So grab a comfy seat and join us as we navigate the insurance maze with ease. Let's get started. Today I'm sitting down talking with Heather Andrews at Andrew's insurance agency. Heather's been in the industry for a little bit, Brant's out on her own and has been a wealth of help as I address some issues, being able to reach out with her and her team and answer any questions. So Heather, welcome. And thanks for being here.

1:20

Thank you so much for the invite.

Jim: 1:22

Sure. Tell me a little bit about you and your agency and what you do and the impact you have here on the Suncoast.

1:28

So we are a younger agency, but I owned an agency before it was a franchise. So I went out on my own so we could have in house servicing. So what we do is we think outside the box, we try to find solutions to get you guys in the homes and things like that, just to make it easier.

Jim: 1:44

Yep. And then having somebody that knows the path and be able to navigate it. It's a huge help. It's not something you want to try to, it's not a DIY project, right?

1:53

No. You hear a lot of times that people can go online and get quotes.

Jim: 1:56

don't do that.

1:57

Yeah. We're not in Indiana.

Jim: 2:01

So tell me what are the essential insurance policies a homeowner on the Suncoast should consider to fully enjoy their coastal lifestyle?

2:08

What kind of policy they should have?

Jim: 2:10

Yes.

2:10

So for us, we always recommend that you get a homeowner's insurance. If you have a condo, you're going to get an HO6. But we don't sell a lot of bells and whistles because when it comes time to claim, we're going to bring you back because that's going to affect you down the road. So we're more basic these days, the dwelling, the contents, equipment breakdown, service line, things like that, but mostly just basic covering your dwelling and your contents. And then flood is huge. We, every quote we do, if you're in an X or an AE zone, we do send out a flood quote. Now, a lot of people say I'm not in a flood zone. Like I stated, the whole state of Florida is a flood zone. So you really want to get that flood. Mostly what just happened with the hurricane we had, or this tropical storm we had a couple of weeks ago, everybody that flooded was in an Eck zone. So it's very important to have flood as well.

Jim: 2:56

Yeah, it really showcased and pointed out that we really are a flood zone across the state. That's just a smaller chance of it happening, but it can still happen anywhere.

3:05

Oh yeah. It's all about the a hundred year flood, the 500 year flood, all that fun stuff. But after a storm, they read the maps. It usually takes a couple of years, but they'll update those.

Jim: 3:15

Can you break down the difference between a homeowner's insurance and hazard insurance for those living in the Suncoast environment?

3:22

So when a lender calls and asks for hazard insurance, it's the same thing as homeowners insurance. They just like hazard because flood is considered flood. And if you just say homeowner's insurance. When I think homeowner's insurance, that's your homeowner's and your flood together liability, put all that together. Okay.

Jim: 3:38

So that's the whole umbrella versus breaking it down into the different parts

3:41

Correct. Yes.

Jim: 3:43

All right. How do homeowners insurance policies in the Suncoast region address national disasters like hurricanes and floodings? And what should the buyers be aware of? how would that be different from a hurricane coming through?

3:56

Time around this tropical storm that came through didn't affect a lot of our homeowners policies. So they didn't have any hurricane damage from the wind, a tree fall down, water get in our house due to rain. Most of our claims were flood, water coming from abut. Flood is normally not in your homeowner's insurance. You can't package it. But after I think it was Debbie, they're in a monitorium. So they're going to be shut down for a while after Ian. They were shut down just for the flood part for almost a year plus it took on. And if we get a big storm, like Ian, it shut our carriers down for quite a bit. Because they had to address how much claims they had, how much money was going out and so they could get their reinsurance going for continuing coverage. So it does shut us down for a while and you'll see guidelines change. You'll see pricing change and things like that. If there's a large storm, you're going to see the flood zones change. But it's going to take a while. You're going to see prices increase and things like that. But the biggest thing that's going to affect those people that got flooded is you have to check the box. Has the house ever been flooded? Once you check that box, most of the time the carriers won't accept it. You have to go to NFIP direct, which we can do that. And not always is it crazy pricing. Sometimes we can get it pretty affordable, but it's just one extra step that we have to do. And that's why we're so as soon as you're under contract, get your insurance because there's so many moving parts and we have to put them all together with a bow on top.

Jim: 5:21

And you said shut down. That means that you can't file for insurance at that point,

5:26

the

Jim: 5:26

moratorium.

5:27

You cannot change, you cannot bind, you cannot do anything to your flood insurance. It puts our office at a dead halt. Some carriers will not even allow you to quote new business because they want to see what's damaged before they start quoting again. And a lot of times we get can't they make an exception or can't they work home? And it's not shut down, close your door. It's just, they're not accepting new business because Insurance in Florida is expensive due to the storms. We've had insurance in Florida is expensive due to the fraud. Storm goes through, they canceled their insurance cause it's been, it has happened before.

Jim: 5:58

That makes sense.

5:58

that's why they do that.

Jim: 6:00

Oh, okay. So what factors other than what we just talked about might play into the cost of homeowners insurance premiums? And how can these be managed?

6:08

So one of the biggest things that people don't realize is your insurance score. It's not your credit score because I always get, Oh, I have an 800 credit score. Fantastic. So proud of you, but that doesn't come over as an insurance score on our side. It's how likely you are to claim. Yes. There's a little bit of credit in there. the credit matters because if you have a really low credit score, you're more likely to claim. It's the thought of the carrier, but it's just not your credit score. A lot of people that have very high credit scores and own a lot sometimes have a lower insurance score. It's how likely you are to claim. So there's a bunch of different things that go in there that affect the rate. I've seen it go up a thousand dollars. I've seen it come down a thousand dollars Another thing is the house, the age of the house. How the house is built, what Winick credits you have. So a lot of times if you have an older home and it still has toenail, I'm gonna say, Hey, if you update your toenails to clips, this is how much you could save. But to what that is, is how your roof is connected to the walls.

Jim: 7:08

That

7:09

is a credit that you guys can get. So we'll show you that. Your zip code also has a lot to do with your homeowner's insurance. What's the rate there for claims? What's the crime like there, things like that all goes into play. And there's, we have a new system for our flood that we type in a zip code. We can see how many claims. Are made in that zip code. So if you go to our Facebook page, Jericho posts a lot and will tell you, hey, in this zip code, we've paid out this much money for flood insurance and just tells you. So each zip code makes a change. And then how the house has been updated. So we always ask for a four point and people always ask if it's going to save money. It won't save you money, but it makes sure that we put you with the right carrier. So if all your plumbing has been updated and you don't have cast iron plumbing you have, don't have a Savenia or a federal Pacific electrical box, all those are going to cost you more money cause you're going to lose the carriers that accept it.

Jim: 8:03

you're stuck with whatever their pricing is, but Because

8:05

if you have some of those items that aren't accepted to, you're going to lose a lot of, not lose coverage, but if you're stuck with citizens, you're not getting as much coverage as you could if you went with a midi carrier. So we're going to highly recommend that you update those. Some people are like, I'm not updating. Okay. We'll put you in citizens. We'll warn you. We put the warning when we send you a quote with citizens. There's a hurricane tactic,

Jim: 8:24

things

8:24

like that. But those are the main things. And then also how the home is viewing you. Primary home is rated different than a secondary. Secondary, different than a rental. And a weekly, monthly, and yearly are all rated different as well. So all that goes into pricing.

Jim: 8:39

That's a lot of moving parts.

8:41

So how,

Jim: 8:42

So then how can homeowner determine the right level of coverage for their property and belongings?

8:47

So what we do is we send you a bare bone quote, just bare bone, nothing added, no endorsements, anything. And then we send you a recommendation quote. So to get the dwelling, we use an RCE, which is a rebuild cost estimator. A lot of times people are like I spent a million dollars to buy this house. That's value. That's land, lot, location, supply, and demand, and amenities. We're just rebuilding the house as it stands right now.

Jim: 9:12

So materials and labor.

9:14

Yeah, so we've come up with that. And then their content is usually 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent of your dwelling. We recommend to 25 percent because everything you claim, you have to prove you owned it. you have photos, something showing that you owned it. You can't just say, I owned a 10, 000 couch. They're going to be like, prove it. So we try not to get too high on that number because how hard is it to prove 500, 000 worth of items in your home? you have to remember high value items like paintings or collections are scheduled. They are not included in your content.

Jim: 9:51

Okay. So you have to look at those separate and then pay a premium if you wanted to get something like that insured separately.

9:57

Correct. We can schedule it on your homeowner's insurance or we can do it separately. Jewelry, we love to do separate because you can get it more affordable and no deductible in it. Our carriers, if you do standalone, they'll do mystery disappearance. But if you do it with a homeowner's insurance, most of the time they will not.

Jim: 10:18

Okay. So how does a homeowner's insurance cover differ for those living in condos versus single family homes on the Suncoast?

10:25

So condos I always think it's funny. They say they just need contents. So really what we call it is studs in. So when you're insuring a condo, it's studs in. And what we usually don't insure condos under a hundred thousand. I see quotes come in at 60 or 70. When I redid my kitchen, it was way more than that. So I try to protect my clients and get it rebuilt. So they're responsible for everything. Studs in light switches, fixtures, walls, toilets, kitchen, all that stuff. So we'll ensure that now, if they're in an AE zone, 90 percent of the time, if they're in an AE flood zone, the condo association will have a master flood. So what we usually do is before we even quote them, We're going to say, Hey, it would probably be best that you reach out to your association. You're going to ask for a wind mitigation because they have it on file. So that's free money. You didn't have to pay for it. Sprinkler fire letter. That's free money. They should have one on file. And then we always ask them for the master flood because the lender is going to need it if you purchase. And we have proof in our file that you already have flood and we can do contents, which is. Just the items that you own. So we always say contents, take a house or condo, turn it upside down and shake it. Everything that falls out,

Jim: 11:36

right?

11:37

So we can ensure that. But a condo, you wanna get a wind mitigation because they've gotten so pricey compared before Ian. So that's gonna save you up the pricing. But condos you do studs in most of the time the association holds the master flood homes We ensure the whole entire thing and you carry your own flood.

Jim: 11:57

So it'd be very important if you're looking to buy a condo a copy of everything that the association has insured already.

12:03

Yes. And another thing that we like to get the master policy for the condo is because a lot of times clients will just close on the home and then they'll get a hate letter from their lenders stating that they have insignificant coverage or they haven't gotten their updating. master policy. So don't reach out to us and say, didn't I pay for my insurance? And I'm like, no, that's your master. But if I have your master already in my file, instead of reaching out to you and bother you, I call the phone number on the line saying, Hey, can I have an updated EOI? I send it off to the lender. You're happy. You don't even know what happened. even better.

Jim: 12:35

Yeah. So what steps should a sort of Suncoast homeowner take if they need to file a claim for damage or loss, especially with our unique weather patterns.

12:46

So we have two things that we always say if it is a hurricane or a flood, you want to call the carrier directly. Just call them up. Okay, you have to remember how expensive a hurricane deductible is. People don't realize it's 2 percent of your dwelling. So it can be pretty high. So just as long as your claim is over your hurricane deductible, go ahead and call the carrier directly. Any other claims you want to call us, because the first question I'm going to ask you is, do you have invoices or quotes for the repair? And if they're like, no, okay, you want to make sure you get invoices and quotes. Make sure you know how much it is because you want to make sure that is over your deductible. Most deductibles are 2, 500. So if you're quote, if you're going to get like probably 3, 000, is it worth making a claim to get 500 and this claim is following you around? That's what we're going to figure out. So we really want to know how much money is going to go in there because if it's a water claim, that's going to follow you around for five years. And it's chargeable. So sometimes it can make it higher. Sometimes you're just going to get declined altogether. So these are, I'm going to tell you the pros and cons of making that claim before you actually make it and decide, is this something I want to do? Or should I wait? And we sat down and I explained it all. And he goes, let me talk to my wife and see what we want to do. They decided not to make a claim. I'm never going to tell you not to make a claim. I'm just going to tell you the pros and cons, and then you tell me what to do. Once we've decided if you're ready to make a claim or not, the fastest way to make a claim these days is to go to the carrier site and just upload photos. Then you don't have to wait for someone to call you back, play the tag game, then they're going to ask you for the photos. You just jump the line and you're right there.

Jim: 14:27

Nice. And then what you mentioned earlier for an insurance score, obviously, if you make a claim, that's going to impact that and follow you for set number of years based on what it is.

14:38

Usually they follow you around for five years. That's the date. And we always warn people a zero payout is almost worse than a payout because they're asking questions. So why did they make a hurricane claim but didn't pay up? Were they just trying to make money? Did they get declined?

Jim: 14:53

we

14:53

really want to make sure that our claim is going to get paid

Jim: 14:58

Do home security systems and other safety features insurance premiums. And if so, in a positive way, or what are you seeing from that?

15:09

back in the day alarm systems used to love insurance agents. They would come after us, take us to lunch, trying to do that. Cause they would say, Oh, it saves you 20%. Nowadays, if you have a newer home, you're not going to save a pretty neck. But if you have an older home, And you have a minute to save a good amount of money. It all depends on the carrier. What I tell people is don't ever get an alarm system just for your insurance. If you want an alarm system, awesome. Send me the certification. I'll see if there's a discount. But if you're like, I don't know if I want an alarm system, let me know. I can say, Hey, with an alarm system, it's going to be this much without, it's going to be this much. But a lot of times they're not as big as discounts as they used to be because they were trying to make up for not raising the prices on everything. So it was easier to take away some of the discounts, if that makes sense.

Jim: 15:54

Sure. And in Florida, let me see if I get this right. Just because you have one company insuring you this year doesn't mean that's necessarily going to be the one next year, depending on how things go around. So that discount might no longer apply.

16:07

Correct. And then you're in a 10 year contract. we're going to automatically reshop you at our office.

Jim: 16:16

Can you explain the role of deductibles and homeowners insurance and how they're going to impact the claims for Suncoast properties?

16:23

So we always say there's two options. You can pay for your claim now or you can pay for it later. If you have a lower deductible, sometimes if you have a newer house, it's not a big difference. So like brand new roads, I will put 1, 000 deductible on it because to raise it to 2, 500 is usually like 25 for the year. But when you get to the older homes, that's when you see the big change in prices. if you go from a thousand to 2, 500, you're going to see thousands of dollars changed. And then with flood, sometimes there's two deductibles and I don't think everyone realizes this until we explained it to them. There's a deductible for the dwelling. Then there's a deductible for your content. So if you have a 2, 000 deductible, if you claim your home in your contents, you actually have a 4, 000.

Jim: 17:07

Yeah, that would be a surprise.

17:08

Yes. We try to make it very clear,

Jim: 17:12

what are some red flags to watch out for when. Selecting a homeowner's insurance policy.

17:18

So one of the red flags, and we're very honest in our office. We will tell you like citizens, I'm not the biggest fan of citizens. Citizens has way too many policies right now for the reinsurance. It makes me nervous. They also have a thing called a hurricane tax. It will not cover your pool page. It will not cover anything down at the roofline. They have a hurricane tax, they will require you to have flood even if you're in an X or A E zone depending on the dwelling of your house. So we let you know this up front. Other carriers that we just don't have very good background with claims, we're going to let you know that as well. So we're very honest with you, but all our carriers are a rated. So that means they're a rated, they're financially stable and ready to go. Now, that being said, there are some carriers that are not a rated. We have, there's B plus carriers and things like that. And you can still write them, but you have to let the client know. We try to stay away from anything. That's not a plus. Now you also have your surplus lines. This is E and S market. So that means they're not backed by the government. They still have a rating, but they're not backed by the government. Our surplus lines stayed strong, but we do have to warn you if you go with the surplus, if they run out of money, run out of reinsurance, the government does not back them up.

Jim: 18:36

Something to think about on that, so it's not necessarily just what are you paying this year for your insurance? It's who's going to be there if the worst of the worst happens. And who's going to help you get back up.

18:48

Yes. And also, if you remember two years ago, UPC went out of business right after Ian. We had two claims, two weeks prior to Ian, that were not getting paid and it was ridiculous. So we sent out a massive email to all of our clients and said, Hey, I see this, the claim is going down and we want to replace you. With another carrier we replaced probably half our carriers then. Ian hit and we still have people today that upc has not paid out

Jim: 19:17

That's coming up on two years.

19:19

yes,

Jim: 19:21

are there any additional endorsements or riders that homeowners particularly in this area? should consider to enhance their coverage.

19:28

One enhancement we like to put on there is equipment breakdown. some people buy warranties for their home, and that's great. Sometimes they cover things like surges and things like that. But if not, equipment breakdown is great because if one of the named perils happens and your TV gets fried, your air conditioner, or your washer and dryer, depending on the carrier, what is covered, it's gonna cover that, up to 100, 000. Another issue that we see a lot is service line. So let's say a tree root grows through your main pipe to go to your house. That's not covered on your normal insurance unless you have service line coverage, then it will cover that. And most of the time that is not a coverage in your homeowner's insurance. If a tree fell and busted the power lines to your house, all that is included in the equipment breakdown or service line. And those are two things that we like to add on as an endorsement.

Jim: 20:18

Some of those landscaping issues could be coming back now. The tree that's grown for 30 years. That wasn't an issue that could be impactful.

20:27

Oh, Yeah. And we see those claims left and right.

Jim: 20:32

How does homeowners insurance interact with other policies like an auto or umbrella insurance?

20:39

So up north, everyone talks about bundling and I can instantly tell you're from up north when you're like, can I bundle my insurance? I'm like, welcome, welcome to Florida. But in Florida, you can bundle with some of the big names, but the big names can't handle the coastal line. But we still have carriers like Cabrillo coastal. They will give you a discount. I think it's a 10 percent off the non hurricane premium if you have the agency. So usually every time we quote someone with Cabrillo coastal, we'll immediately say, Hey, what's your auto information? Let's bundle it together. So that's one thing we can bundle, but most of the time the carriers that are aggressive And competitive pricing and homes aren't auto because our risks here in Florida are so extreme. Our homes out of control. Our umbrellas are out of control. So carriers are like, I'll just take one for right now.

Jim: 21:30

Yeah.

21:31

Yes. But if you look at the big picture, it's more affordable to separate it all out.

Jim: 21:36

Okay, what should homeowners do if they make significant renovations or upgrades to their property?

21:42

So every year on your renewal, we send you this email. Did you add a pool? Did you add a screen? Did you update anything? Please let us know. So a lot of times you will get non renewed due to hurricane exposure. A lot of times it's because your water heater is over their guidelines. But if you would have sent me that you've got a new water heater, I would upload it to the carrier, let them know it could have kept you from getting non renewed, but you wouldn't know that neither would I. Because they can't say you're getting canceled due to your water heater. So if you keep things updated and you let us know, it keeps you with a policy because most of the time, we bind you, you still have to stay within their guidelines as you move older.

Jim: 22:19

And

22:22

then some of those upgrades can save you money. If you get a new roof. Get a new wind mitigation. That's money in your pocket. If you get hurricane windows, hurricane, every opening has to be protected, garage door, front door, window, everything, you can get a nice little discount for that. So a lot of that either saves you money, or if you add a pool in a pool cage, you We have to endorse that onto the policy, and you're gonna have to get a new coverage for your screen page. And we're gonna increase your RCE, which is your rebuild cost estimator for your dwelling.

Jim: 22:50

I'm glad you said we were talking about the cost and can we go maybe a little more into what all goes into that when you're looking at the RCE for coverage?

22:59

So for the RCE what we do is, most of the time it sucks a lot of it out of the appraiser side. So it's gonna put everything and then what I do is I go through the pictures and make sure it matches. Sometimes it'll say wood floors and I see that they have marble floors. So I'm going to update that. If you just have basic turning around your house, you're going to have a basic home. Builders, builders, right? If you have the big fancy molding and then it, the, it, the ceiling goes up and there's a Design on there. That's going to be above average. So a lot of times we'll send a quote out and they're like, eh, I feel like it needs to be higher. I'm like, okay, do you feel like you should be above average? And if they say yes, then I can adjust the RCE to be higher because it's above average. I'm looking at photos. I'm not walking through the home. So if you feel your home is worth more, we can do it. But at the end of the day, it's all about how the house is built. So you can't make a claim on a house that's worth 300, 000. And when it rebuilt for 500, 000, so that's why we do the RCEs to make sure everything is as close as it can be together, but adding a pool, that's going to increase your RCE because pools these days are what, a hundred thousand to put one in.

Jim: 24:02

Yeah, easily.

24:04

So that's going to increase your dwelling a hundred thousand. If you add a patio, things like that, all that's going to increase your dwelling, but if you're just updating a room, like a lot of times people are like, Oh, I painted that's not going to add any value to it because you're just putting. Something on it's already there, but if you're like, Hey, I added a whole new master bathroom. Yes. That's going to add value in building the rebuild. So we're going to have to update that.

Jim: 24:30

What advice do you have for Suncoast homeowners who are facing challenges with their insurance provider or claims process?

24:37

So the number one thing is, Talk to your agent. Your agent should be your best friend during a claim. So you make your claim, you go to your adjustment, you get your payment. Let's say you're not happy with it. You reach back out to your adjuster and say, Hey, I'm not happy. If nothing happens after that, you should reach to your agent. Do you have everything proof and submit it? And they'll be like, yes, I said, okay, then I will give them a call. Then I can call. I have more power than a third party. So if you're not getting what you need, don't hire a public adjuster or an attorney just yet, because you have the most powerful person on your side is your agent that's going to fight for you. And they're free. You already paid them when you purchased the policy. So use your agent. They can get more done for you than any third party. Once you hire a third party, I'm out of loop. They will not talk to me. They will not do anything. They will not send me a notification of any sort. But we there to help you push through the client to make sure you can get the correct money.

Jim: 25:32

Okay. What emerging trends or changes are you observing in the homeowners insurance market that could affect Suncoast residents.

25:40

So a lot of the bells and whistles I was talking about earlier that we used to add to all the policies, a lot of those have gotten rid of all of that. Like the extra jewelry, the extra you can use, you can get. Packets still packages that have these but the little stuff like that has gone out the window. They stopped doing but one change I have seen back is equipment breakdowns coming back and service line is coming back during the last 2 years. They tried to get rid of all that. So I do see that trend coming back, which is good because we want that. But the roof is the hardest thing, the age of the roof, because that's a trend everyone's worked on. But the trend is adjusting in the right direction. We've gotten emails where instead of 10 years, they're accepting to 16, instead of 16, they're going up. So there's some changes going for the positive. And we've also seen a price decrease and everyone thinks, Oh, price decreased. My price is going to go down tremendously. No, because your dwelling goes up each year because of inflation and then it balanced itself out. But those are some of the changes that we've seen in the market is guidelines are softening, which that's going to help us all out. Because if you remember, When we lost our mind in insurance a couple of years ago and it got out of control is the guidelines tightened first and then the price went. So now the guidelines are softening. Do I think the prices are going to go down? No, I don't. But do I think that they'll stop going 50 percent every renewal? I hope so.

Jim: 26:58

So instead of going down, maybe flat would be a nice win,

27:02

Correct. So I sent out a quote the other day and it was 28. I was so excited.

Jim: 27:09

So when we're looking Heather for the Suncoast, a wrap it all up here. What advice would you give for somebody who is looking to move to this area? And are looking at the insurance, whether it's on the coast, whether it's on an Island, whether it's inland, what would you as an insurance advisor tell people, Hey, here are the things that you need to do.

27:29

Okay, so if you're looking for affordable insurance while you're shopping, Remember the three little pigs? Don't buy a frame home on a barrier island. You're gonna pay for that. Masonry is always gonna be more affordable. You're gonna get more life out of a tile roof or a metal roof than a shingle roof. Also gated communities. You get a discount for that. Farther away from the coast. You get discount from that as well. Now everyone's worried about flood. We can give you a quote no matter when and where homeowners, we do have to have quite a bit of information, but a lot of times people like, I just need a quick flood quote we're actually getting our website where they can go straight to our website, type it in, get a flood quote instantly. It's not always the best price, but at least they have a range. Yeah. So those are some of the things I would do. If you want to find a house you love, get a quote as soon as you put the contract in, because there's so many pieces that go into getting your quote. So you want to get your contract, as soon as you get that, you're going to go straight to our website, theandrewsinsurance. com. Click quote, you're gonna put all your information in there. You'll get a quote the same day if it's before two. But the reason I say start early is because, let's say that house has a claim on it. When you go to bind, we have to go through underwriting. Underwriting used to take two to three hours, now it takes two to three days. That's why you want to start so early. Also let's say you get your four point and it's just red all over. we'll quote it as it's a hundred percent satisfactory, but we're going to show you how to take care of all that stuff. So don't be afraid of damages and things like that. We'll take care of it and we're going to show you how to save the most money. But if you're looking for affordable insurance and the house you want to purchase, you want to purchase new. And you want to purchase away from the coast and masonary, not a frame.

Jim: 29:04

Fantastic. Heather, thank you so much. We'll put all your information in the show notes. Anybody that has questions on insurance definitely we'll have them reach out to you. And again, I just want to say thank you for coming on and speaking with me It's great to be able to speak to somebody who actually deals with it every day and knows it. So thank you.

29:20

Thank you so much for the opportunity.