Homeowners Choice offering Flood insurance

TAMPA — Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company Inc., a Tampa-based homeowners insurance company and an insurance subsidiary of HCI Group Inc., has been approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to offer flood insurance coverage to its Florida policyholders.

The federal Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2012, which was designed to modernize the National Flood Insurance Program and make it more sustainable, has legislated substantial premium increases particularly to Florida homeowners. In some cases, rates under the federal program can increase by as much as 25% per year.

Homeowners Choice plans to offer flood coverage as an endorsement to its homeowners insurance policies. The company says the additional flood coverage should be priced similar to what Florida residents were paying prior to the implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act.