Sinkholes: the coverage you have is probably not the coverage you think
Every Florida HO-3 policy includes Catastrophic Ground Cover Collapse by law — but it is a narrow coverage. It pays only when the ground collapses abruptly, the depression is visible at the surface, the structure is damaged, and the building is condemned by a government agency. A home that is cracking and settling from sinkhole activity, but still standing and still habitable, typically does not meet that bar. Broader Sinkhole Loss Coverage is a separate endorsement — and here is the part most homeowners are not told: in the current market, most carriers will not add it at all. Not at a higher price, and in many cases not even when you supply a completed sinkhole inspection. So for the majority of homeowners in Hillsborough, Catastrophic Ground Cover Collapse is not the starting point for a conversation about sinkhole coverage; it is the whole of what you have. That matters here more than almost anywhere: Hillsborough is one of the three counties — with Pasco and Hernando — that make up what the industry calls Sinkhole Alley, and a Florida Senate review found roughly two thirds of all sinkhole claims reported statewide over a five-year period came from those three counties alone. Worth knowing what your policy actually does before you need it. Where a market will still entertain the endorsement we will tell you, and it typically carries a deductible around 10% of the dwelling limit rather than a flat amount.
