Homeowners Insurance Changes in Connecticut - Coastal Concerns

Many people are not aware that there are many changes going on in Connecticut in regard to home insurance.  The largest area of concern right now is Coastal Proximity -- meaning how close your home is to the Long Island Coast Line.  FEMA has projected that future hurricanes would most likely strike CT more toward the Middlesex County or New London County areas and East toward Rhode Island.  Because of these projections, many companies are scrambling to change their rate structures and guidelines for all coastal territories in CT.  Some of the larger insurance companies have even pulled out of CT completely and will no longer write homeowners insurance for new customers.  The main concern of course is wind damage as flooding is not covered under the home policy.  Anyone who owns property on Cape Cod has seen this impact first-hand.  All of the insurance companies pulled out of the Cape and non-renewed all of their policies there.  People were forced to go to secondary markets with much higher premiums.  Connecticut's insurance department has done a good job working with the various insurance companies to come up with fair guidelines and pricing for the residents in these coastal towns to avoid what happened on Cape Cod.

If you are buying a home within 5 miles of the coast in CT or have clients who are - do yourself a favor and research the insurance companies who have more lenient or even no coastal guidelines.  Some companies will require wind-resistant glass, storm shutters, pre-drilled plywood etc. for them to insure the home.  However, there are companies that have much more lenient guidelines so it's in your best interest to shop around.  As a broker I have the choice of multiple companies and can best place the insurance based on the spcific property location at the best premium.  The insurance for a single home in Milford CT could be $800 with one company and $3000 with another so it's nice to have choices.

Remember - home insurance is no longer just age of home, square footage etc -- it's now a very complicated product that can be impacted by coastal proximity, credit, losses, etc.