Another home insurance company is going out of business in Florida, and this time, the decision impacts manufactured homeowners in particular.
“This is an unfortunate step back in an already fragile and slow insurance market,” said Doug Nellans, with the Insurance Center of Fort Myers.
It’s a sign that Florida’s insurance crisis is far from over. American Mobile Insurance Exchange has sent out cancellation notices to manufactured homeowners in Southwest Florida, leaving many such homeowners with even fewer options.
Many of the local parks are still building back from Hurricane Ian which destroyed hundreds of manufactured homes. Chad Hartkopp works for Sylvester Companies, a contractor, which has helped many mobile homeowners build back.
“A lot of people just want to get their houses fixed. We have to start it even before the insurance will start to help them,” Hartkopp said.
He moved to Southwest Florida just before Ian hit and has worked nonstop since then. He said he has personally resisted buying a home, in part, because of the home insurance costs.
He said many of his clients are going without insurance because they either can’t afford it or can’t find anyone to insure them.
A homeowner and retiree he had been working for Thursday, just off McGregor Boulevard was one of those going without insurance but was to upset to talk about it.
“A lot of our manufactured homeowner clients are, in fact, retirees and on fixed incomes. This entire situation is incredibly difficult for them,” Nellans said.
It just got more difficult after American Mobile, based in St. Petersburg, sent out letters canceling insurance policies.
“The loss of even one of these companies is adding tremendous amount of pain to an already unpleasant situation,” Nellans said.
Nellans confirmed many manufactured homeowners are rolling the dice and going without.
“We've had plenty of homeowners who have indicated this has gotten to be too much too fast and I have no choice but to go without insurance, and that is a very difficult position to be in,” Nellans said.
It is forcing many of those homeowners into the state-run Citizens Insurance company, as rates for nearly everyone continue to increase, keeping new residents like Hartkopp out of the housing market.
“I don't want to pay the high interest rates and insurance rates right now. I'm waiting,” Hartkopp said.
Homeowners believe elected leaders at the state and federal levels must do more to help.