Mobile home owners struggle to find insurance in Florida’s ‘dysfunctional’ market [Orlando Sentinel] – InsuranceNewsNet

ORMOND BEACH — Peggy Childress’ mobile home problems began in May when a tree in the vacant lot next door crashed into their carport, the first damage she or her husband, Mike, can remember in 15 years living there.

Cutting down the tree is expensive. $600, all the money they had in savings. “It shattered us,” Childress, 61, said.

Then Hurricane Ian ripped their roof off.

“It felt like it was raining inside,” Childress said. Rooms filled with water, then mold.

Childress said she got estimates of more than $22,000 for repairs, “more than this place is worth.”

As is the case for many manufactured and mobile home owners Floridathe Childresses don’t have home insurance, so they’ll have to somehow cover the full cost of the repairs themselves.

“Home insurance is a constant challenge for the industry,” said Jim Ayottegeneral manager of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association. “The market is dysfunctional and homeowners are struggling to find affordable coverage.”

There are approximately 822,000 manufactured and mobile homes in Florida today, according to Census Bureaunearly 10% of the total housing supply.

In 2018, only 260,127 prefabricated houses were insured, according to information from the Insurance Regulatory Office. The agency did not return a request for updated information.

Only 1,732 manufactured and mobile homes in Florida hold flood insurance, according to the federal government Office of Emergency Management.

Childress said none of the neighbors she spoke with had insurance on their home. When she tried to buy it for her house, she said most insurance companies just refused.

“You can’t even get some kind of renter’s insurance to cover your belongings,” she said.

Childress said the only policy offered to her was too expensive for her and her husband, who are both on Social Security.

A mobile home is a manufactured home built before 1976 Housing and urban development the law changed the construction standards. More than 300,000 mobile homes that were not needed to make these upgrades are still in use in Floridaaccording to a study by International Hurricane Research Center.

Childress’ home was built in 1970, according to property records.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew wiped out 90 percent of Dade County’s mobile and manufactured homes, according to the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Subsequently, HUD adopted new standards on manufactured homes in Floridarequiring upgrades to withstand hurricane-force winds.

But more than 600,000 homes predate the new requirements, according to the HRIC.

Childress, who said she was unable to afford upgrades, says she was even turned down for a state policy Citizen Property Insurancethe property insurer of last resort.

“Even the insurer of last resort is not a guaranteed insurer” for mobile homes, specifies Laura Wagnergeneral manager of Floridians for an honest loan.

Wagner’s organization, usually a watchdog for predatory lending, got involved in insurance advocacy when its employees began hearing about homeowners — fabricated and otherwise — being seized for lack of insurance.

“What we’re seeing are people being denied older roofs, older water heaters, older electrical appliances,” she said. “The list is huge now.”

A homeowner is not required to purchase insurance if they do not have a mortgage on the property.

But mortgage lenders won’t finance a home purchase without proof of insurance on the property. As Florida’s property insurance market crisis has shuttered or constrained insurance companies in the state, Wagner says finding insurance for even the newest manufactured homes has become more problematic.

“Any time you have a shrink in the market, you’re going to have these homeowners struggling to find new insurance,” she said.

Even when a manufactured home can get insurance, it often won’t cover full home replacement, Ayotte says. He says he’s spoken to lenders who refuse to provide financing because the gap between coverage and costs is too high.

Ayotte said his organization is working with citizens and other members of government to find a solution. “The more our policymakers understand that insurance is too expensive and a lot of people just don’t, maybe they’ll pay more attention to it,” he said.

Childress has no mortgage. What she has is mould, no roof and no one is coming to help her. They’ve sealed the leaks in their ceiling and are making whatever repairs they can as they go.

“Eventually, we will end up taking care of everything, with or without help,” she said.

Want to reach out? E-mail [email protected]. Follow TIFraserOS on Twitter.

©2022 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.