Tower Hill Insurance offers private flood coverage

June 03--Another homeowner insurance company is offering a new private standalone flood insurance product.

Gainesville-based Tower Hill Insurance, with about 85,000 residential policies in Florida, this week announced it will sell flood insurance policies fully underwritten by Lloyds of London.

The company is targeting coastal homeowners forced to carry two flood insurance policies -- one from the federally funded National Flood Insurance Program and another from a surplus carrier such Lloyds of London. Some are forced to carry dual policies because the federal program insures only up to $250,000 in building value and $125,000 for contents.

Tower Hill's flood policies will cover up to $5 million for building replacement and up to $2.5 million for contents. Its policies also offer coverage for living expenses if flooding renders a home uninhabitable.

"Now they can buy a single policy to cover all their needs," company president Don Matz said in an interview Thursday.

The coverage is initially being made available only to homeowners in coastal communities, but Tower Hill eventually plans to expand it to inland areas and commercial properties, Matz said. "We think there's a need that can be filled," he said, noting that between $50 billion and $55 billion in Florida property is currently uninsured for flooding.

Pricing won't be based on the familiar FEMA flood zones but instead on a separate rating algorithm.

The new offering comes amid renewed calls within the state and federal governments for private alternatives to the federal program, which is $24 billion in debt.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, is co-sponsor of a House bill intended to assure lenders that private flood coverage meets requirements of properties with mortgage loans backed by the federal government. In an email statement Thursday, Murphy said "new competition in the flood insurance marketplace should drive down prices and expand coverage options, greatly benefiting Florida homeowners."

In March, Tampa-based Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty announced creation of a flood insurance subsidiary, TypTap.com. In May, Assurant Inc. announced a Florida-only flood insurance product for customers in the highest-risk flood zones.

[email protected], 954-356-4071

___

(c)2016 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.