State Farm Insurance is in the process of notifying owners of older single-wall construction homes in Hawaii that they will no longer be able to obtain hurricane coverage from State Farm.
The company is sending letters to the affected owners announcing the change.
It isn’t clear whether this only applies in Hawaii, or includes other parts of the country.
A quick search did not turn up any news coverage of the company’s latest.
CNBC recently rated State Farm best among insurers for availability of hurricane coverage.
According to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs:
Hurricane season in Hawaii begins on June 1 and runs through November.
Hurricane insurance is a supplemental insurance to home insurance. It covers wind-related damage associated with hurricanes.
Banks require homeowners to have hurricane insurance as part of their mortgage approval.
(Download the pamphlet: “What does Home, Hurricane and Flood Insurance Cover?” )
It is important to note that most hurricane and home insurance policies do not cover flooding. Additional insurance would need to be purchased. Flood insurance is a special policy that is federally backed by the NFIP and available for both homeowners and businesses.”
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I actually got a notice of cancelation of coverage from State Farm over the summer – notifying us that coverage would not be renewed beyond our December policy renewal date. I was grateful that we had as much advance notice that we received. Through a friend of a friend we found a suitable replacement policy that went into effect in November. And it was less expensive!
My agent was semi-apologetic – not his fault, of course, but pretty annoying since I have been a State Farm client/customersince I had anything worth insuring back in the 1960s.
I haven’t received such a notice (yet). After Hurricane Iniki I had my house retro-fitted with hurricane clips at the roof and bolting of the 4×4 supports and beams to each other and the concrete slab. State Farm agent saw them several times over the years when the agent came to inspect. Here’s hoping that’s why I haven’t received a notice. I know that State Farm has been mass canceling insurance in California so this may be an offshoot of that.
The issue cited in my cancellation notice was “single wall construction.” Not sure hurricane clips mitigate that.
Fingers crossed!
Hurricane clips are supposed to keep the roof framing from separating from the wall’s top plate. In single wall construction only the siding holds the top plate whereas in double wall construction the studs add additional connectivity.
They bolted the posts and beams to each other and also bolted the posts to the concrete slab. I had my doubts and questioned the tech guy. He said it was the connecting of everything together with clips and bolts that strengthens the house overall. One of my friends got the concrete casements that hold nets to deploy over the roof corners to hold the roof down. They’ve deployed twice since Iniki, and it held in high winds that weren’t hurricane strength. Guess we’ll never really know if any of this works until there’s an actual hurricane.
My agent says I won’t receive a cancellation notice because even though my house is single-walled, it is not located near water nor in an area considered higher risk based on current maps.
Thanks for the heads-up notice, Ian. It is bad new for me because we now have State Farm for fire etc AND hurricane for our single-wall home. I have not, however received a notice from State Farm.
Ian,
There’s something seriously troubling about the state of homeowners’ insurance right now—especially with the wave of policy cancellations by major insurers across the country, particularly in states hit by severe weather events like California, Hawaii, and Florida.
Take California, for instance: homeowners are being dropped left and right due to wildfire risks, and we’re not just talking about properties nestled in forests. It’s happening in suburban areas too.
The conspiratorial part of me wonders if this is payback against states with insurance commissioners who challenge the industry. But then again, when it’s happening in a red state like Florida, maybe it’s not political.
Could it just be the cold, hard math? Maybe the actuaries have decided that certain states or regions are simply too risky to insure? Either way, something needs to change—it feels like homeowners are being left out in the cold (or fire, or flood). What do you think?
Hawaii’s governor is leading the pack in challenging the insurance industry over the Lahaina Wildfire. He is asking the courts to overturn the long-time practice of subrogation claims.
. . . failed to mention that in addition to policy cancellations, homeowner’s insurance rates are being exorbitantly increased.
Switched from two different carriers for two of my homes to State Farm. One policy premium was almost cut in half. Other one was about 20% less. This is on the Big Island with different hazard zones.
If insurance companies can make money, they will sell policies. If they cannot make money, they won’t sell policies. It is really that simple. It isn’t anything personal, just business. No conspiracies. They will not forgo a profit just to get back at someone because they don’t like them. For example. California. It is every major insurance company’s biggest market. Yet, they are all leaving or restricting coverage. If they were making billions and billions of dollars, does it make sense to do that? Also, if the potential or current losses were billions and billions of dollars would it make sense to continue to do business in certain areas at the risk of jeopardizing the premiums/coverage of ALL policyholders. Insurance, for the most part, is a free market exercise. A question to ask yourself is if YOU had to put up your all your own money to pay for the claim of someone else. Would you prefer to insure a single wall home for hurricane/wildfire/whatever? Or a concrete structure? Nothing personal. Just business.
This video on the rising risks of hurricanes hitting Hawaii is worth a look, as it also covers mitigating the risks with strengthening techniques, window covers and other preparation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tGfqtkNxbs
The New Hurricane Threat for Hawaii (56 min)
As a former builder (45 custom houses, a 43-unit subdivision, commercial building, innumerable repairs, etc.) I want to second the comment about rafter clips only connecting to the top plate. We own an old single-wall two story house, very likely to suffer damage in a hurricane, so I’ve installed several hundred Simpson ties (still made in the US, good quality, available at Home Deport, Lowes, etc.) that connect the top plate to the beams / walls. There are also ways to strengthen the internal roof framing and run structural straps from the top plate to the foundation, and tie the hip rafters to the ridge. I’m not done by any means with strengthening everything that can be strengthened.
As the video explains, what happens is the wind or flying objects blow out the windows, and the wind fills the house, lifting the roof off. So covering the windows is essential. There are fabric covers (a type of Kevlar), plywood and polycarbonate panels that are much lighter than plywood. I just ordered 3 4X8 panels from Lowes, delivered to our house in Hilo for a total cost of $600. Plywood is cheaper by far but it’s heavy, so it’s good for small windows on the first floor, but not so practical for big 2nd story windows like ours.
Ian, you may have resources to share on Oahu. Here on the Big island, there is nothing but plywood in stock, everything else has to be shipped in special order.
We asked friends whose house had been destroyed in Hurricane Iniki on Kauai in 1991 for their experiences. It’s sobering, especially if you don’t have a secure shelter nearby and if you have pets, elderly parents, and other dependents.
I wouldn’t count on insurance not just because insurers are cutting their risks but if a hurricane damages hundreds or thousands of houses, there won’t be enough labor and materials available for everyone to rebuild quickly. If your house is no longer habitable, all the insurance in the world can’t conjure up workers and materials to repair it quickly. It’s a better investment to spend a few thousand dollars on strengthening a house than trying to fix a house that’s been severely damaged.
As a licensed professional, I worked with architects and engineers and had to follow detailed specifications on which tiedown hardware to install, how many nails per plywood shear wall, and so on, so I learned from following the instructions of professionals. Hiring a consulting engineer or experienced architect or old-school contractor to suggest a structural strengthening plan would be money well spent for those with limited construction experience. A basic new house costs $400,000 now, anything larger or fancier costs even more. Spending 1% of that on strengthening a house to survive a hurricane makes pretty good financial sense.
Among our friends and family, very few understand the risks and even fewer have taken concrete action. As the Chinese proverb has it: “When you’re thirsty. it’s too late to dig a well.”
Chuck, 50 years of construction experience and a concerned owner of a single-all house.
Thank you for your comments. Yes, I failed to mention that it is not too difficult to strengthen single wall construction, but will the insurance industry accept that. They seem to lump everybody into a particular risk category.
I remember our company going to Kauai after Iniki. Everyone was scrambling to buy materials for repairs and construction workers were camping out everywhere. Not a very pleasant experience. Chinese proverb well taken
from a retired general contractor with also 50 years in the construction industry.
By the way, I still have a hard copy of an older Simpson Strong-tie catalog.
Thank you for all the great info. At the time of Iniki, a builder friend essentially told me what you’ve said. He told me not to waste money on expensive hurricane insurance but put the money into strengthening the house instead. I never thought about consulting an engineer, but am thinking about it now. Thanks again.
Aloha. We pioneered for the last 29 yrs the engineered retrofitting of single (and dbl wall) houses in Hawaii in conjunction with the $3bil world sales leader of hurricane, seismic, cyclone, etc. products- Simpson Strong-Tie Company. We lobbied for years to get the state Ins Div to commission an engineering based study 23 yr ago by
a SE US company who did it for other states. It resulted in a tech protocol based on current new const code strength, properly installed on t b exterior with spl thickness and length nails and screws n to reach thru the exterior trim and paneling to be a min depth into the inner horiz top n plate (top frame) of the house. The clips are z185 dbl galvanized, 2x Rust Oleum coated,then painted for further weatherization and to be almost totally unobtrusive. Each clip.is documented by Simpson to provide 400 min ft lbs.of hold down. So a hip roof hse getting 150 ends up with added roof to wall hold down strength of 60.000 lbs.min..like
Placing 16 subcompacts around the top of your roof eaves. Our Retrofit Certif saves around $350-$900 a year hurri ins depending on the hse and the insurer. Gerry Peters HPS PRES 808 847 4400
Gerry, if you are attempting to sell a product or a service, I suggest you explain in layman terms. Too much technical jargon for most.
My agent says I won’t receive a cancellation notice because even though my house is single-walled, it is not located near water nor in an area considered higher risk based on current maps.
Thank you, Lynn.
I know one person that had their single-wall construction house insurance cancelled by State Farm despite having hurricane clips and another person had to use a sketchy insurance company in order to close on their single-wall construction purchase. So many homes in the islands are single-wall, seems ridiculous that insurance companies are suddenly getting strict. TBH, if a hurricane hits, we will have much more problems than damaged homes.