Older mobile homes risk going into hurricane season uninsured

Many homes suffered during Hurricane Irma, especially mobile homes, but as we prepare for the 2021 hurricane season, mobile home owners are learning some insurance companies won’t insure them.

When you live in a state like Florida, where hurricanes, wildfires and major storms are a possibility, living without insurance is already a big risk, whatever kind of home you live in. For perspective: in the 36th Avenue wildfires of 2020 in Golden Gate Estates, 32 homes were impacted. Sixteen of those were mobile homes, and in a state where so many lives can be displaced so easily, it’s important to be prepared.

Due to regulation differences between mobile and manufactured homes, mobile homes made before June 15, 1976, are considered very risky in the eyes of home insurers. Some companies won’t insure them at all. For Southwest Florida residents who live in mobile homes, it’s causing some major concerns.

“Well, it depends on their financial situation, I guess,” said mobile home owner Chuck Mattson. “If their home is all they have, then it’s gonna be a big, big, big blow for them.”

“Homes that were built before that, it’s difficult for the whole ball of wax,” said mobile home owner Buddy Little. “I mean it’s even hard to get financing on them, which I didn’t, but a lot of people, they try to get financing and they can’t do it.”

State law doesn’t require you to have mobile home insurance, but most mortgage lenders and mobile home communities require it. This could put individuals in a difficult spot if they have an older mobile home.