Insurance options for older STR homes?

[Wesley Myers]

A week out from closing on our 2nd STR I discover that our cheapest insurance option is going to run about $7600/yr. The second highest came in around $14k. This killed the deal so we backed out. Multiple companies came back stating that they had no carriers due to age and location of property.

Small A frame home built in 1975 located 2 blocks from the beach (PCB). 4 point inspection and wind mitigation could not determine if roof was built to hurricane codes so I’m sure that didn’t help. 

Are these rates and issues typical for this situation? How are you guys handling homeowners insurance on STR's for older built homes? Hate for this to be an ongoing problem down the road for homes with great rental potential. Thanks!

[Luke Carl]

This is a Florida thing and it’s recent. Fed Nat had to dump 56,000 policies and the other carriers can’t keep up with the demand. The governor is working to fix it. If you replace the roof your rate will go down a lot. 

The problem is likely to be fixed by the end of the year.