WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Home insurance premiums have forced many homeowners to find ways to stretch their budget.
So could investing money into fixing your home pay off in the long run?
Emanuel Todorov from Hobe Sound said no.
Todorov said he invested nearly $90,000, replacing his roof, garage door, and installed impact windows and other repairs that were optional.
"It was just an older home 1985 construction, had to bring it up to today's standard and also for the safety of my family," said Todorov.
He said he has Universal Property & Casualty Insurance and it helped his premium go down his first year from $4,000 to $2,400.
But with recent rate hikes, he's now paying nearly triple at $8,000.
"It's hard for an individual that was living in an upper middle class kind of situation to be paying the kind of fees that we're going through right now. It's hard," said Todorov.
Todorov is the owner of Palm Beach Designer Pools, and the premium hikes has put him in a tight spot.
"It's been three years of looking at numbers continually from being a small business owner. Everything has doubled or tripled, therefore I charge my customers double," said Todorov. "Unfortunately, the buck gets passed on."
Because of the economy he said he's had to let go of two employees as demand has been low.
"Everybody wants to say that it's not bad, everything is OK but I feel it in my pocket and I know that every American feels it in their pocket," said Todorov.
Gregory Buck, the owner and president of National Risk Experts LLC, said his clients ask him daily on ways they can try and reduce the cost of their coverage.
He said the investments Todorov made can be used as leverage when it comes to shopping for a new policy.
"What would be your best advice to this homeowner who is out $90,000 from repairs and didn't really see a benefit?" asked WPTV reporter Joel Lopez.
"Well, there's nothing, except that he can shop the policy around and make sure that he has the absolute best coverages available to him at the best price, because we can't go back and put that money back in his pocket," said Gregory Buck, the owner and president of National Risk Experts LLC.
Buck said that some companies require you to repair items such as your roof and windows, but if it's optional, there are better ways to save money.
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"For a homeowner who's looking for ways to try and cut finances, where should they look? Improvements to their house or is there a different option?" asked Lopez.
"Deductible is always going to be the place where you're going to save the most," said Buck.
For example, Buck said a homeowner could have a 2% hurricane deductible which would be 2% of the structure value, if you take it to 5% you can get a 15% or 20% discount on the policy.
It's a move Todorov said is not worth the risk, as his family of six try and navigate their finances.
"We're actually grocery shopping together, so we get Aldi instead of Publix, 2 for 1's, probably what other families are doing experiencing the same thing," said Todorov.
While Todorov won't make the money back from his investment, his home is that much safer in the event of a storm.
Buck said some premiums require you to make home repairs before you get coverage.