By Todd Wallack | BOSTON GLOBE STAFF JANUARY 28, 2013 Competition in the state’s car insurance market has yielded an unexpected benefit: Thousands of residents who once had to buy expensive home coverage from the Massachusetts FAIR Plan are increasingly able to find policies through other insurers, saving them hundreds of dollars a year on premiums. The FAIR Plan, known as the insurer of last resort, provides home insurance in high-risk areas, including neighborhoods that have high crime rates or sit perilously close to the ocean. Home insurance companies have traditionally been reluctant to do business in such locations. But since the state gave insurers more freedom to set their own auto insurance rates, starting in 2008 — something it calls “managed competition” — 13 more auto insurance companies have set up shop in Massachusetts, with most also selling homeowners policies or partnering with firms that do. Over that time, the FAIR Plan lost nearly 27,000 homeowners insurance customers, or 16 percent of its base, an exodus few in the industry predicted. “It is all driven by this shift in the competitive marketplace,” said Robert Tommasino, general counsel for the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association, better known as the FAIR Plan.
Some insurers, including Narragansett Bay Insurance Co., also decided the escalating prices of premiums for coastal properties made it worth their while to start selling policies in those locations. Their strategy has been to undercut the FAIR Plan rates while still charging enough to turn a profit. Bob Inello, whose waterfront home in Nahant is exposed to the wrath of storms, said he was forced to buy Fair Plan coverage for more than a decade. But three years ago, Inello said, his agent said he could switch to Narragansett, cutting his bill by $570 a year — more than 20 percent. “I don’t feel like I am being held hostage anymore,” Inello said. “It’s very liberating.”
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The risk of catastrophic loss during hurricane season requires an innovative approach to property coverage—and a rapid response when losses occur. For over 40 years, Lexington Insurance Company has helped our brokers and clients prepare for, protect against, and recover from catastrophic losses. We are the leading U.S.-based surplus lines insurer, and a property and casualty market leader. Make sure you’re a step ahead of risk this hurricane season. Watch LexTV for the latest on hurricane risk and coverage solutions. Hurricane 2012 Update Dr. Phil Klotzbach updates his 2012 seasonal hurricane forecast and shares his outlook for the remainder of the season. This episode also introduces Lexington's new Hurricane Infographic which will help streamline the understanding of a hurricane event. All interests from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle should rush preparations to completion. If peak storm surge occurs at high tide, peak water levels above ground could reach the following depths as Isaac moves by: - Southeast Louisiana, Miss., Ala. coasts: 6-12 feet - South-central Louisiana: 3-6 feet - Florida Panhandle: 3-6 feet - Florida west coast from Apalachicola to south of Naples: 1-3 feet Even as Isaac's center of circulation moves by, locally heavy rainbands can be expected. Another 1-3" of rain is possible in central and south Florida with locally higher amounts. Isolated storm total rainfalls of 15" are possible in central and South Florida. Rainfall amounts over 10" are likely as Isaac slows down immediately prior to, and after landfall, in southeast Louisiana, southern Alabama, Mississippi and the western Florida Panhandle. Isolated 20" amounts are possible. Hurricane threat index, current information, satellite imagery, watches/warnings and computer model track graphics are below. (TRACK ISAAC: Interactive hurricane tracker) View more expert analysis from Senior Meteorologist Stu Ostro at our Tropical Update article. You can find a detailed look at the Gulf Coast storm surge, wind and flooding threats by clicking on this link and you can ensure you know which friends may be in harms way through our My Friends Weather tool. (MORE: Live updates and analysis on Isaac) Policy Holders
Find The Answers You Need For Customer Service questions, please call: 800-295-8016 For payment information for all other policies including flood: click here. To make a one-time electronic payment or enroll in recurring electronic payment processing for your Homeowners or Dwelling Fire policy: click here. Before you begin, please be sure to have your policy invoice available. How UPC Insurance Can Help As your ONE source of protection that bridges the gap between success and security, UPC Insurance offers a selection of customizable products designed to protect both your property and your assets. The list below is merely an outline of our basic products, but with the assistance of your trained neighborhood independent agent for UPC Insurance, you will find the right product and the right options to meet your unique protection needs. • Homeowner Coverage
Responsive, Stable and Innovative In good times and bad, you can count on UPC's network of professional agents to deliver excellent service and stay in touch with your needs by recommending the right protection for you and your family. Before a Flood What would you do if your property were flooded? Are you prepared? Even if you feel you live in a community with a low risk of flooding, remember that anywhere it rains, it can flood. Just because you haven't experienced a flood in the past, doesn't mean you won't in the future. Flood risk isn't just based on history; it's also based on a number of factors including rainfall , topography, flood-control measures, river-flow and tidal-surge data, and changes due to new construction and development. Flood-hazard maps have been created to show the flood risk for your community, which helps determine the type offlood insurance coverage you will need since standard homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding. The lower the degree of risk, the lower the flood insurance premium. In addition to having flood insurance, knowing following flood hazard terms will help you recognize and prepare for a flood. To prepare for a flood, you should:
TYPE OF FLOOD MAP CHANGES WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD SAY Low- or moderate-risk zone (B, C, X) changing to a high-risk zone (e.g. AE, VE) or Change in Base Flood Elevation Grandfathering Offers Savings· The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has “grandfather” rules to recognize policyholders who have either built in compliance with the flood map or who maintain continuous coverage. These rules allow such policyholders to benefit in the rating for that building. · Grandfathering is available for new purchasers as well as existing customers. · Always use the new map if it will provide a more favorable premium (lower rate). · Your building has been designated in a high-risk area for flooding. · You will be required to purchase a flood policy if you carry a mortgage from a federally regulated lender. · If you don’t carry a mortgage, you should protect your home with flood insurance. National statistics show that you are 3 times more likely to have damage by a flood than by fire. · Purchasing before the map revision allows you to save on insurance. Loyal Customers Can Keep Existing Zone (Pre- & Post- FIRM) · Customers, who buy a policy before maps are adopted and maintain coverage, can retain the lower-risk zone rate. · Eligible customers can purchase a PRP now. It will renew to an X zone rated standard policy. · Have a policy: maintain continuous coverage. · A policy can be assigned to future property owner. · Buy now to save later. · Renew to stay protected and save money. Show Compliance With a Previous FIRM for Lower Costs (Post- FIRM only) · To keep existing zones when the structure was built: Get a copy of FIRM effective at time of construction or a compliance letter from community official. · To keep existing BFE when the structure was built: Get Elev. Cert, and copy of FIRM effective at time of construction; or compliance letter from the community official. · Lower cost options: show building was built in compliance at time of construction. · Makes you eligible for a lower rate, keeps costs DOWN. High-risk zone (e.g. AE, VE) changing to a low- or moderate-risk zone (X, shaded X) Conversion Offers Savings · Write a Preferred Risk Policy (PRP). · Use existing policy’s current effective date, and use closest coverage limit or next highest options if no exact match. · Submit PRP application, and insured signed conversion form. · Your risk is reduced, not removed! · Eligible for low-cost, Preferred Risk Policy · Stay protected and get money back once maps are adopted. · No gaps in coverage; no additional money up front. · 20-25% of all flood claims occur in low- or moderate-risk areas. No Change Review of Current Coverage Ensures Protection· Do they have flood insurance? · If so, is the building limit up-to-date? · Contents coverage provided and limit up-to-date? · Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage due to floods. · Floods happen anytime, anywhere. · Your home is a major investment—protect it. First came Charley. Then Frances. After that, it was Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. In the span of 13 months between August 2004 and September 2005, eight major hurricanes ravaged Florida and the U.S. Gulf Coast. And right in the midst of all of it were Don Cronin and his staff at United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. “We had never dealt with a hurricane,” says Cronin, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg-based company, which generated $155 million in gross written premiums in 2009 and more than $88 million in revenue. “The company was founded in 1999, and the first hurricane we dealt with was in August 2004. The departments all had to come together. It wasn’t just on the claims side. It was finance, marketing, underwriting, all the different areas basically reaching out to help each other. Whether it was answering the phone, stuffing envelopes, delivering checks to people who had lost their properties, they did it all, and without any complaints. And we just went from one storm to the next. It was seven days a week.” As the Atlantic and Caribbean delivered blow after blow, leaving untold dollars in ruined property and untold numbers of ruined lives behind, Cronin saw a ray of hope in how his own company bonded together, embracing a culture of teamwork in an effort to serve affected customers and communities. “Insurance is a piece of paper with a lot of promises on it,” he says. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities to fulfill those promises. But eight times when we needed to, we filled those promises in a very short period.” Through the challenging times, Cronin says he learned a lot about how a company can band together to serve a greater cause than the bottom line. And it reinforced to him the importance of creating and sustaining a culture of teamwork and collaboration. It’s a culture rooted in communication from the top of the company, communication between departments and locations, and a willingness from all parties to listen as much as they talk. There is now a new option for more than 58,000 Cape and Islands homeowners who have been relegated to the FAIR Plan for their insurance coverage. Arthur D. Calfee Insurance Agency Inc., is introducing a new insurance program for Cape and Islands homeowners. Calfee Insurance have offices in Falmouth and North Falmouth but write insurance all over Cape Cod and throughout MA. Homeowners switching from the FAIR Plan, which provides coverage for those unable to obtain it in the private market, can expect to save an average of $300 per year or more, said Davidson O. Calfee, President of Arthur D. Calfee Insurance Agency Inc. "We think it's going to be pretty widely sought-after," Calfee said yesterday. "And the pricing is very competitive as well." "We can write everything from waterfront, to those homes that might be located more inland such as the Mashpee and Sandwich area," he said. There is also The new homeowner's insurance will be available to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket homeowners with single-family homes worth between $200,000 and $5 million. Homeowners insurance has been a significant concern on the Cape and Islands even before Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast. Many private insurers began limiting their coverage in coastal areas or pulling out entirely. Tens of thousands of homeowners were forced into the FAIR Plan. At the end of 2003, there were 10,007 Cape and Islands homes insured by the plan; today, it covers over 60,000 properties in the region. Currently, 52 insurance companies offer homeowners coverage in at least parts of the Cape, according to the Web site of the state Division of Insurance. Other counties are served by dozens more insurers. Some companies serving the Cape and Islands do so selectively, said Kevin Beagan, director of the State Rating Bureau, which reviews insurance filings for compliance with regulations. It was this limited availability of homeowners coverage on the Cape and Islands that prompted Arthur D. Calfee Insurance Agency Inc. to develop its own product, Calfee said. "The problem is, the reinsurance treaties have been getting more and more restrictive," Calfee said. "This creates an opportunity for someone to come in who has no exposure on the Cape today." Calfee Insurance worked with UPC Insurance, to put together its new coverage offering. Because Buttine does not currently underwrite any homeowners policies on the Cape or Islands, it does not have to worry about incurring too much risk in the area. United Property & Casualty Insurance Company ("UPC") is a Florida domiciled Property & Casualty stock insurance company located in St. Petersburg, Florida. UPC is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Insurance Holdings, L.C. whose parent company is United Insurance Holdings Corp., a publicly traded company. The heart of the matter is the insurance protection you need for your home and family. UPC is your one source for superior and affordable homeowners protection to suit your lifestyle. "We've been writing a lot of policies with Narragansett," Calfee said. He cautioned, however, that "not everybody qualifies and they are very selective." State regulators and local insurance reform advocates were pleased to hear that a new homeowners insurance option is coming to the area. "We always welcome new competition coming in to give a choice," Calfee said. "We're always happy to hear that there are companies that are looking to come back into the Cape." |
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