PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Florida condo owners are getting a double whammy of insurance hikes — first with policies for condo associations and then individual policies for their units.
"I've thought several times (about) moving, but everything I look at will end up costing me more money than I'm spending here," said Stephen Towle who lives in a condo west of Boca Raton.
Towle, who has owned his condo for 20-plus years, said he dropped wind coverage and is now looking at a significant increase in HOA fees because of a possible $1 million policy for his condo association on the buildings.
"[I'm having to pay] roughly about $6,000 extra [a year]," he said.
That figure amounts to an extra $500 a month.
"I've looked out of state," Towle said. "[The] trouble is at my age you get used to all your doctors around you within a three or four-mile radius."
Condo owners are also finding options to be slim. One large condo insurer, Castle Key, is reportedly not renewing thousands of policies in Florida.
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Also, state lawmakers this year approved a pilot program of the widely-popular My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) grants for single-family homeowners.
The Condo MSFH program will only be available to condo associations for building improvements and with $175,000 grants.
"We are about to finalize the contract for the pilot program," Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said. "Hopefully, I will say, 30 days, 40 days, the program should be coming online."