Factoring in Windstorm & Flood Insurance in South Florida When Analyzing Properties

[James Bridges]

How are you determining windstorm and flood insurance costs for properties in the south Florida market? For those of us who cannot pay cash and require a loan, banks require windstorm insurance and many times flood insurance as well. I don't see a place in the Bigger Pockets calculators which allow us to take these insurance costs into acount when analyzing properties. I assume we would just add these insurance costs to the calculator's "Insurance" field, for which you would essentially be combining homeowners ins, flood ins, and windstorm insurance into a single field. For multifamily, I assume we will need to carry multiple policies, or would one policy cover the entire structure and all units contained therein? What about other insurance options, such as whole-property ins, rental/business income ins, general liability ins, and umbrealla ins? Which online resources/calculators are you using to calculate these substantial insurnace costs that are uniaue to south Florida and other coastal cities? THANK YOU for your guidance and input as I begin my journey. 

[Vessi Kapoulian]

@James Bridges: It is best to reach out to an insurance broker for the most accurate estimate. If you are looking at properties in that particular area, then you can use this estimate as a starting point. The FL insurance market is very fluid currently. Thus, I recommend checking with your broker frequently and definitely a few times before you close, as it is not uncommon for the final insurance quote at closing to vary (increase) from the prelim quote obtained during your initial diligence process.