We’re forced to buy absurd catastrophic insurance that we’ll never need – it costs tens of thousands and our HOA can’t help

RESIDENTS say they are being forced to buy insurance they will never need – they say it costs thousands of dollars and their HOA can’t help.

High-rise condos in Florida are facing new building regulations and high insurance costs, but now homeowners are faced with citizens Property The insurance company must provide flood insurance for its units.

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But homeowners with condos that are more than 10 stories above ground are calling foul.

“We’re on the 10th floor and I’m being told I have to get flood insurance,” said Mike Steurer, who lives in a 14-story high-rise apartment.

“For me it doesn’t make much sense to pay for a product I’ll never need because I’m so high up,” he told ABC Action News.

Steurer said his grandparents bought the condo in 1972 and he and his wife hoped to use it for their retirement.

He only has about five years left before he can retire from his job as an assistant fire chief and furniture warehouse manager in Indiana.

However, the rising cost of living in his so-called “paradise” worries him.

Steurer said he received a letter from Citizens Property Insurance informing him that he needed to purchase additional flood insurance for his condo.

As costs continue to rise, Citizens was the cheapest property insurance Steurer could find in Florida.

A flood insurance mandate was passed last year during the state’s second special legislative session on property insurance.

Citizens told the outlet in April that a separate flood insurance policy hopes to minimize litigation over wind and flood damage.

The company has almost 1.2 million policies.

However, Steurer, who sits on the board of his condo development, said the costs are getting higher.

“Insurance killed us this year,” he said.

“Our flood insurance has gone up. Our regular insurance increased by 75 percent when you only estimated 25 percent. That went beyond our budget.”

Between 2021 and 2022, Steurer said his building’s flood coverage increased from $97,000 to $110,000 – a 14 percent increase.

Their property insurance also increased by 77 percent, from $106,000 to $187,000.

“We have already increased the HOA fees because we did our due diligence on the new construction Law because of the collapse of the condominium,” said Steurer.

After the deaths of nearly 100 people following the Surfside Condo collapse in 2021, Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4Dwhich required milestone inspections for condominiums.

“It’s like, ‘Oh my God, how are we going to pay for this?'” Steurer asked.

“So we need to do an assessment to cover all these costs.”

In May, state lawmakers adopted a revision to Citizens Property Insurance’s original flood mandateexcluding existing condominiums.

“We encourage people to go back and talk to their agents,” Citizens spokesman Michel Peltier said at the time.

“You know, we expect these changes to take effect.”

The US Sun has reached out to Citizens Property Insurance for comment.