In this video, we’re talking with Omar Calderon about Florida Property Insurance and the types of insurance that homeowners need to consider. There are a lot of questions right now about Florida insurance and flood insurance in certain markets, and there are real issues for buyers to consider. Understanding whether a home you are interested in is in a flood zone is essential, especially if you are borrowing money to make the purchase. Mortgage lenders will require details on flood maps, and buyers should be aware of the potential risks for themselves.

Citizens insurance is one of the options that we discuss in this video. It is the insurance that is provided by the state of Florida when there are no commercial options available. Knowing how your property can be indemnified and the costs associated with insurance premiums is important in calculating your home budget whether you are an entry-level or affluent buyer.

Subscribe to this channel here for weekly content that shares all there is to do in SRQ 👇👇👇

So many people reach out wondering what the lifestyle is like in Sarasota and what they can afford and I absolutely LOVE sharing what it’s like to live, work, dine, shop, and play in our beautiful Florida city!

Reach out whenever you like if you have any questions about relocation or the cost of living in Sarasota Florida.

Moriah Taliaferro

📲 Call/Text at 941.504.9910
📲 Email:
👉Blog:

Hello everyone and thank you so much for Tuning in to living in Sarasota luxury We are going to be talking about Insurance this is a really important Topic and if you're looking to buy Property in Florida it is something That's probably top of mind with Everything that's going on in the Florida Insurance market so I am here With Omar Calderon he is part of caleri Risk management this is his own firm and He has been my own personal agent for Both investment business and personal Properties and I just think he's amazing So I wanted to have him here to share All of his valuable insights and answer A lot of the typical questions that I'm Getting from many people so thank you Omar for being here with that said Um we were just talking about flood Insurance this is kind of a complicated Uh topic for a lot of people and for Those that may not live near a body of Water uh they don't really think it's Necessary until you move Florida so kind Of walk us through the purpose of flood Insurance Um you know what you're seeing in that In that world and what can someone Expect from having an insurance policy And the coverages and essentially what It what does it cover besides what right Absolutely well first of all thank you For having me Mariah it's a pleasure

Um you know anytime that uh you know we Get a chance to really talk about the Insurance us guys you know we get Excited because nobody talks sometimes About insurance It's not the most fun topic right It's a necessary evil we want to make Sure we provide our clients with the Most up-to-date information Um basically to protect their property So that they can make an informative Decision the one thing and the first Thing that I talk to are clients about Is homeowners completely carves out Flood insurance flood insurance in its Definition is Damage of water damage from a large body Of water one of the examples that I Always provide are clients something That they may not think about is for Example in above the ground pool That you have or your neighbor have and Let's say it's you know a thousand Gallons of water it ruptures and it goes Into your property and it damages it Rushes into your property that would be Considered a flood and people don't Think about that because you're not in The flood zone so those instances and Again obviously you know that may not Happen over time but it's a good way to Kind of think about flooding that it's Not just necessarily when you're in you Know by the ocean or yeah it really

Becomes an issue of the type of water in The size of the water the amount of Volume and how it's being rushed into Your home to obviously cause damage Homeowners it completely carves out the Um coverage for flood uh now when you're Going into a process of buying a home We talked about this before and you're Wondering whether or not that property Will fall especially now we're talking About Florida I'm going to fall under a Flood zone one of the easiest way to do It is speak to your broker and see if They could provide you with a uh flood Determination a lot of the a lot of the Private flood programs Um carriers they provide us just by Entering an address uh John Smith Address 123 Main Street Sarasota Florida It'll provide us with a flood Determination that gives us an idea of Where the flood zone or what flow Zone Flood zone is and we can also quote that To get in roundabout or ballpark you Know uh idea what that premium is going To cost you before you go into a Contract to buy the home Yeah so the mortgage or the bank will Require once you're on the contract to Get an elevation Uh certificate on the property that Elevation certificate will naturally Provide you with the most detail Um information on your particular

Property how high or how many steps do You have from the front door to the Elevation or to to obviously your Driveway uh do you have an enclosure Around with opening so that the water Could fall you know flow through all These details that will make an impact On your premium unfortunately it's very Hard to say or ballpark the amount of Premium you will pay but there are ways That we could at least get an idea when You're going through a process of buying A home to see how you know we can Provide you as much information as Possible you know so that you are able To make that decision to go into a Contract for that particular property Okay that's really helpful so a lot of People have been reading about a lot of Carriers leaving the Florida Market Um we've recently you know last year we Had hurricane Ian and I think everyone Suspected that that would potentially Increase the rates of flood because Areas that Never stop flooding all of a sudden We're flooding you know near Manatee River and things like that so talk to us About what has changed you know with FEMA over the past you know three to Four years and what you kind of expect Happening in the future over the coming Years absolutely has it relates to flood Great question

Um I think that FEMA for all The hard work obviously that they have To do because there are you know when There's a disaster obviously they have It's a it's a federal uh it's a it's a Government uh entity that obviously it's There to help at the worst time Um and handle those catastrophes the Problem with that is that any every time That we've seen a very big event I'll Give an example is Hurricane Sandy up North okay Hurricane Sandy took that Area by surprise you know and a lot of Places that they weren't they never Flooded and it was just kept on Rotten Raining and raining and raining the Water just didn't have anywhere to go And it ended up flooding a lot of places Right FEMA then went in there help out Homeowners that didn't have obviously uh Blood insurance but what ends up Happening when they do that is they also Star as testing the the actual Playing field the uh the the level of The ground new construction or recurrent Construction and how that changes but it Takes so long for them to actually get To a point where they know that yes this Is going to be in a flood zone that Unfortunately during that time it Creates a really tough time for a lot of Clients because they'll force them to Have flood insurance

And so my point with that is You know in from my experience in the Last 15 years have always been almost Behind behind the curb in essence right They'll come in and they're like oh you Know this place got flooded never Flooded before now we got to make some Changes in right but the damage was Already done uh FEMA is not necessarily The quickest way to get coverage or the Quickest way to get some benefit which Is the reason why obviously uh you know They're been made Do not have the ability to do anything To their home and they may have to Obviously leave their homes there's Damage as they as they are so it is a Very tough situation when it comes down To FEMA but overall you think that They've from what they've seen in for Example in different states I think that Becoming more aware that you know they Need to be updating their stones or Flood zones and looking at the new Builds a lot of folks don't don't Realize that when they're putting up a Walmart you know uh a mile away from you That is going to change where the water You know goes you know the the blood Pressure is not the same anymore so yes Of course we want to see Um communities being Um you know expansion and we want to see The that Costco you know 15 minutes away

But that does Create A disruption Especially with water that people don't Think about right interesting yeah Everyone thought about that absolutely So one of the things that you know with Ian we we saw was that there was places In Central Florida that never flooded But now they did and if you look at it And you kind of take a step back there's Been so much building it's almost so Much expansion yeah That of course there had to be some Changes in how water will try to find Its way to you know the sewers you know The drains as opposed to homes and so What I see is going to be continue to Happen with FEMA is they will take into Account I think hopefully I'm hopeful That they will take into account sooner Be more proactive with obviously the Expansion that we're seeing in many States you know Texas is the same thing You know uh report of course and so that Would help at least to try when we're Input and information in our systems Right That we get the most accurate Information to provide a decline and Know that look you need this coverage Because now this has changed from The Last Five Years Um yeah do they change it every five Years is that typical or there's really No right because I know they've recently

Changed the flood the flood Plains for Our area I think it was two or three Years ago now Um yeah there is there really isn't any Sort of like you know every five years What we've seen unfortunately is you Know what we talked about before is After an event now they've come to Realize hold on a second there was a Major event there we really need to go In there and figure out what the flood Plane is and make those determinations So that people can obviously cover Themselves properly Um and then you also I think that you Will also have homes that will never get Flooded but now they fell into a flood Zone because of an event and they'll Have to pay some higher premium so it's Really Um you know a tough situation when it Comes to to flooding Yeah definitely so talk to us about Um citizens and for those that might not Know what citizens is and the changes That are coming our way it seems Absolutely so citizens property Insurance is run by Florida by the Government of Florida it is what we Consider the last resort the last option You get for example two or three claims In a year it could be a water claim it Could be fire it could be you know many Different claims that you had to

Obviously use your insurance and they Paid out and now you don't qualify for a Standard company such as State Farm Insurance you know uh AIG or Cincinnati You don't qualify because at the end of The day the insurance company is looking At your risk profile uh as a also as a Client or business correct I mean I Always tell my clients they are in the Business of being profitable and so when They look at our my individual risk or My home and they say well Omar had you Know three claims within a year you know Uh there was a robbery two times and There was a flood Dale started looking At that and some companies will say what Omar you know what we could offer you a Homeowner's policy but it will be three Times the amount you were paying so in That sense it's they're saying that they Don't want to take on my risk correct Yeah and so citizens was in essence Foreign For someone that had claims and they Couldn't get standard companies to Insure them or at least in a good rate Uh or with a good rate and so citizens Will provide Insurance What's happened what's been happening in The last three years is that citizens Have now become the largest insurer in Florida and that's not good because they Are backed by the government meaning That they don't actually have the

Liquidity or the reserves to actually Pay out the claims if all their clients Right now would have a catastrophe and Claim they just will not be able to pay It and obviously it'll fall back on the Government and then fall back on FEMA And obviously that would be a huge Problem And so Their increase in rates as of late Because of the amount of risk that They've taken on because of companies There's two things that have been Happening with companies one is some Companies have said We can no longer run a profitable Business in Florida or in other states Uh it is happening in many other states And they decide to either close business Or completely get out of Florida and run Insurance in in other places that's the One thing number two is current carriers That are here for example Chubb Cincinnati and AIG have now tightened Their guidelines for underwriting and They'll have these five boxes where They'll say We'll insure your home but You've got to fit these five boxes and What that does is it knocks out a lot of The middle of the road homeowner and They can't get an insurance policy and They end up only having to get citizens And because citizens are is is taking so Much risk they need to up their premiums

So that they're able to pay on planes so It's a domino effect they had to Basically has been happening Years yeah From my understanding in on our Conversations in the industry I think It's going to be getting better I think We've seen the worst of it I think in The next year or two I think we're going To start seeing Um basically companies opening up a Little more okay and allowing Obviously clients to to get better Competitive rates now one of the things That also Cause the some of the carriers to Tighten underwriting guidelines as well As just you know not Insurance Florida Uh period is because in December One of your questions that you had was In regards of the meeting that they had In December with the Senate yeah And basically what they did and and the Governor here they what what they what Their goal was with that meeting is to Really emphasize on holding insurance Companies accountable And that means More reinsurance which is a A better term for reinsurance is a Backend from another company usually It's an overseas company so if it's like A Lloyds of London and they want to Invest in property insurance in Florida

They go through like a Travelers or Let's say like a child and they'll say Listen we'll we'll take a million Dollars We'll take one million and but we own Those policies as well so it's a Business strategy from them right yeah So but a lot of the companies don't have Reinsurance and basically what the Government wants is to make sure that They're not just you know the only ones Holding the bag in in a sense uh we're The only ones responsible and they may Not have the Reserves needed to Continue selling policy so that's kind Of one one thing but the biggest thing That the uh that happened in December of 2022 was there was a lot of regulations For claims processes okay okay in Florida basically the governor said that You have a time limitation You get the policy from submitted Adjusted and paid out and unfortunately Insurance companies just didn't like That Because there's a lot of variables to That right I mean they could be okay Uh they may not meet those deadlines and So they felt like they have to back away A little bit in Florida and say Let's see how it goes since that Happened in December and see how it goes And for the next year or two we're gonna Tighten our uh our underwriting

Guidelines so that we don't expose Ourselves more and then let's see how These things how these uh new guidelines For new Um Insurance Um processes for claims worked out for The obviously companies that are Insuring here for example like American Integrity Um you know even citizens themselves Those that became a problem as to why a Lot of the bigger companies said we're Not getting rid of this thing In your business Because we want to see these new Regulations Again they're not in the business of Obviously you know Wasting or Um having to spend more money during Claims because they're obviously gonna Have to pay claims so it is a business Um situation as far as like the Insurance business is concerned and Because of the changes that they did uh And and Obviously it is a good thing for the Client because you hear the horror Stories about clients having to be You know a year without having any funds Or anything paid out I mean that's just Terrible yeah so there is reasoning Behind what they did in December Um okay and of course that led to some

Of the companies to sort of holding back But that's not gonna last forever Obviously okay you know in Florida the One thing uh or the one of the many good Things Is the expansion that it that is going Through done all the new builds That's just great Um property risk for companies they want To ensure there's no homes so yeah the Opportunities there for those companies To say I want a piece of that market Share right so to us here that's the Reason why I feel that in the next year Or two we'll get back to that place Where the competitive uh rates and Competitive Um nature you're in the insurance will Come back Okay so you actually see potentially Rates going down because I know like Within the past year a lot of properties Including Condominiums I mean they saw Sometimes 30 to 50 percent increase in Their rate and like that was Astronomical Um you know unfortunately in an area Where a lot of people can't afford that And but there's areas that can't so That's not a normal thing we shouldn't Expect that to happen again is what I'm Hearing from you and that's how we feel That's how we feel from the Conversations that we have in the last

Year I think we've seen the worst of it And I think in the last in the next year Or two I think we'll start seeing Companies easing into the market again You know instead of having five boxes to Check off they'll go to four they'll go To three a little more So that obviously Um the rates get competitive because That's one thing that will happen as Well is as soon as we get more companies Then the rates will start you know People still want to get that market Share and or certain people but Businesses and they will obviously start Competing for those rates and that's a Good thing for us Yeah I really hope you're right that Would be amazing I know things are kind Of level out You know there's a lot of there's a lot Of concern from people and they're just You know they don't want to have a 30 50 000 policy on a property that used to You know be fifteen thousand for Instance it's just not an ideal scenario But um well great is there anything else You think is important to share with the Audience as far as The Dynamics of Florida things to know Uh we'll we'll be having you on more Regularly because I'm sure this is a Very changing Market just like real Estate purchasing so but yeah no Absolutely I think um the one thing that

I Would like to hone in as far as Homeowners coverage I think you know With homeowners It's different than auto insurance auto Insurance is sort of the Um everybody has to have a specific or Or they have they got to have auto Insurance because they got to drive to Work and it's homeowners really is uh um A conversation that we want to have with Our clients because no not one home my Home is not the same as my neighbors Your home is not the same as your Neighbor they may seem the same they may They may be the same model but each Whole owner Um their property their structure their Even the way that they designed it Inside it's all conversations that we Want to have with our clients and that They should be having with their clients So that they get the right coverage Because the worst thing that we want Um for clients is to go through a Process or claim to say a fire and when They go and look at the dwelling Coverage which is the main thing the Dwelling is the main thing which is the Property in your personal belongings Um be underinsured and then having to Settle to just basic material and I'm Talking about folks that you know very Spec you know beautiful crown molding

And you know very beautiful features on The house and they don't realize that if Their dwelling is not enough to cover Those things they're going to have to Not get those things No crown molding so we want to have All this to say is we want to have that Conversation with all with our clients That are in at home to make sure that Their all those things are taken into Account in that coverage because the First time to find out is obviously During the claim and obviously a second Main thing with homeowners is your Liability coverage a lot of folks don't Know that anything that does not involve The vehicle Is considered a primary liability which Falls under your homeowners so even if You go into a restaurant and you get Into a scuffle and you know you push Someone and they get hurt that may go Into your homeowner's liability right if They would have found or you know you Know negligence They tend to you know lower liability Limits on the homeowner when we always Do that To make sure that obviously they're Properly covered Wow so many important components to it I Didn't realize that I've been having Scuffles in restaurants could actually Fall in your your homeowner's policy

Very interesting yeah it really is and That's I understand fully why you can't Just spit out you know a number when You're approached with what do you think This actually could cost because it Really is about the the property owner What their risk is based on past claims As you mentioned as well as the property So it is a very holistic approach it Seems which makes it makes sense it is And I think that unfortunately Fortunately and unfortunately Unfortunately the what you see on TV Um you know the 15 minutes the uh the Discounts of this obviously it's what You know the masses obviously are here And over and over and in reality it's in A way it's fortunate because it provides An opportunity for us the Brokers that Do want to do a good job and have that Conversation a unique conversation Because obviously that provides Opportunity for us uh but in reality Some folks just don't think about all The ins and outs of what their home and Their beautiful home that they have that Really should be covered and Unfortunately at the worst time which is During the claim so that is yeah Absolutely so let me ask real quick and Then we'll wrap up what how reliable is The current homeowner's policy when it Comes to Having a rough you know estimate of cost

Like as we talked about it is very much A multi-faceted Um to really have that figure so can you Really rely on that as a good you know Baseline so that's a great question and I think that the more you have What we've seen the more you have the Conversation about detail information About our clients home and the quality And the things that they have uh will Provide us with more information to try To estimate obviously to the best of our Ability but we don't just stop there our Companies will make sure and they'll go Out and inspect their home to make sure That obviously is not one over insured Because we don't want to be overinsured Either you don't want to pay for Insurance that you're not getting and Two that you're not underinsured so There is a uh sort of a safety Net in regards of how we estimate uh you Know replacement costs uh by what we do And then obviously the carrier sends out Uh an inspector adjuster most of the Times it's just exterior depending on The size at home depending on the Quality of the phone it may require an Interior which we sometimes are part of As well so that the client feels like It's not just you know Um someone from a company coming out There but that allows us to really Really

Make sure that that coverage is where it Should be now having said that in the Last three four years We have seen that because of inflation Prices in materials that that number has Needed to be increased more often than Before If you had a million dollars in dwelling Coverage last year It might be 1.2 1.3 now because the Quality of your home right the same Thing we talked about a year ago it Stands today but now today that crown Molding is actually going to cost you You know two dollars more per square Foot and it's just the way it is Obviously we want to make sure that your Policy is Um updated properly you know yeah as far As the additions Renovations things like That so but we have seen on a more often Basis year yearly basis where we need to Have these conversations because of Inflation Understood okay that's very very helpful Well this has been an amazing Conversation I so appreciate all of your Insight I look forward to Future Conversations that we'll have and as the Uh Dynamics continue to change we hope To stay and keep everybody else updated So thank you so much for being on it and For those that are interested in Learning more about Omar or having a

Consultation with him we'll have his Contact information below thank you so Much for tuning

Related Posts