While many consumers are tempted to shop for Florida homeowners insurance solely by price, independent insurance agents understand that the cheapest coverage won't really help their clients if it does not provide the right coverage or come from a company with a commitment to their clients. Consider these 5 important considerations for quoting homeowners insurance in Florida.
1. Financial Stability
In Florida, insurers have come and gone, particularly after a large weather or flooding event. Third parties rate the financial stability of insurers to judge how well they could respond to one or more major storms, and these are some examples:
- USAA homeowners insurance comes from a company with an A++, or Superior rating, from AM Best.
- Southern Oak Insurance has a Financial Stability Rating® of A, or Exceptional, from Demotech, Inc.
- View Financial Stability Ratings® here
2. Customer Service 
Clients don't want to be kept waiting on hold for hours when they have important questions to ask their insurers or urgent claims to make. JD Powers is a large marketing research company, and they conduct yearly studies of how well clients have been satisfied with customer service from their insurers in the past. Satisfied customers will produce more insurance leads in the future.
3. Claims Handling
Perhaps the most critical factor that separates quality insurers, like Southern Oak or USAA, from the rest is the extra effort these companies go to when satisfying homeowners insurance claims. The JD Powers surveys also cover client satisfaction with claims handling.
4. Billing, Payments, Online Resources
Quality insurers offer their clients convenient billing options. This could include the option to pay by automatic bank draft and different options for the frequency of payments. Quality homeowners insurance companies also offer their policyholders online tools to keep them organized and help them save time.
5. Price
Of course, clients care about the cost of their monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments for Florida homeowners insurance. One of the advantages of being independent insurance agents is the ability to shop quality insurers to find the most affordable premiums for the best possible coverage. Also, good agents might make suggestions about things homeowners can do to earn discounts.
Southern Oak is built on agency partnerships. To find out how writing Southern Oak policies can help your agency, click here Homeowners Insurance Florida
