Jan 7, 2010

News

It is no surprise that the hurricanes of the past few years have brought concerns to insurance companies that offer homeowners insurance policies. These hurricanes brought more than just many conversations about the amount of water and wind. They also brought about conversations regarding costs of home insurance. Insurance companies, public officials, and citizens alike are all in on the conversation, everyone with thoughts of their own.

Insurance providers had quite the bill to foot when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States, and they certainly have legitimate reason to be frightened of another such bill in the future. Due to Katrina and the cost to insurance companies, homeowners insurance policy costs have certainly been on the rise.

Home have certainly felt the effects too. Many home owners, especially those anywhere in or near potential hurricane areas, have been notified that their insurance policies would not be renewable. These homeowners were stuck with the task of searching for new home insurance. They had it once, so they should quickly be able to find similar coverage again, right?

Wrong. Many home owners have had to pay the price, even if they are in area that has not seen hurricane weather in years—insurance providers are just leaning on the cautious side these days. The prices that these homeowners have had to pay are high—high premium rates and much higher deductibles than seen in the past.

Public officials have had things to say about these homeowners insurance changes as well. Many are pushing back, and have said that insurance providers are overreacting. They see it as an excuse, a way for insurance providers to make a larger amount of money.

Insurance providers say that increased costs are not just to help them make more money. It is about concerns and risks—with the number of hurricanes and other weather-related disasters in recent years, what happens if something happens in two locations at once? Then what? They say that costs change after careful analysis and decision-making processes, not merely to make an extra dime.

Regardless of where one might stand on this issue, it will be interesting to see how home insurance providers continue in the coming years. With the number of natural disasters that have occurred over the past few years, who knows if rates will decrease again? The only thing people can do is wait and see what Mother Nature will bring in the coming years.