TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Think Hard Before Letting Go Of Home Sinkhole Coverage

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

It's understandable that some residents take advantage of the opportunity to drop certain property insurance coverage so they can meet monthly or annual expenses.

But insurance is one of those things that isn't fully appreciated until you need it. And in Pasco, some property owners are taking a big gamble by electing to go without standard sinkhole coverage through their state-backed insurer, Citizens Property. They live, after all, in the state's most vulnerable sinkhole formation area.

As the Tribune's Christian Wade reported last week, of the 22,760 policies renewed between November and December, more than 18,000 are without standard sinkhole coverage. More property owners are expected to follow suit.

It would be interesting to see what the figures would be if state lawmakers, including Sen. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey, had been more prudent in trying to help lessen the burden of high property insurance rates.

Instead of continuing to automatically offer Citizens' policyholders standard sinkhole coverage, state lawmakers automatically deleted it for customers in Pasco and Hernando counties as part of a new program.

This means it's up to Citizens' customers to opt in, and they have to pay extra to do so.

It's easy to see why thousands of Pasco residents decided they didn't want to purchase basic sinkhole coverage: They're saving hundreds of dollars - in some cases more - which is good news as long as they understand the risk they're taking.

Here's what Citizens' spokesman Rocky Scott told Wade: "People are still being covered. And they're saving money, big money." It certainly sounds good, but it's not that simple.

If a sinkhole damages a home or property so severely that it results in it being condemned by local authorities and residents are ordered to vacate, Citizens will cover it. This is called a "catastrophic ground cover collapse."

But for anything short of that, residents will have to find a way to pay for repairs themselves. Sinkhole repairs, depending upon the extent of damage, can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Pasco County residents hit hard by insurance premiums and other escalating costs of living need to seriously evaluate whether they're willing to take that gamble. And state officials need to make a concerted effort to thoroughly educate residents about that risk, instead of simply touting the savings involved.

Granted, you may be paying more now for insurance coverage than you were, but you could be paying a lot more out of your pockets later. It's something you need to seriously think about.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT