Today, Luke sat down with Brightway, The Flagler Agency Owner Ryan Flagler. He enjoys mentoring his team to become all-star Agents and reach their potential with Brightway.
Luke Newcomer: Hey there it’s Luke Newcomer with The Newcomer Group. Where exceeding your expectation is our standard. And today I want to talk with you and I’ve got the specialized insurance broker with Brightway, Ryan Flagler. We’re gonna really dive into the importance of home ownership, the insurance market as a whole in Florida, and then get really niche and talk about right here in St. Augustine. So listen, I’m really excited to have this conversation. I’m stoked to have you here, Ryan. Ryan, tell us a little bit about who you are, where you’re from, and your business. And then we can dive into all the questions that the consumer has right now about insurance.
Ryan Flagler: I’m Ryan, I’m the agency owner with bright way insurance, the Flagler agency from Atlantic beach up in Jacksonville, Florida. I moved to St. Augustine to go to Flagler college where I actually met Luke, go Saints! We’ve been friends for a long time, which was really cool to see our relationship blossom into business as well. But right outta Flagler, I interned with Brightway been with them for like 13 or 14 years now. Wow. Went from changing Rolodexes with a gentleman, Ashley, Casey, all the way to owning my own agency, man. And Broadway’s a great company and that’s why I’ve stuck with him for this long.
Luke: Yeah, it’s been a, it’s been a ton of fun working with you. We’ve done hundreds of transactions, literally 500, 600, probably getting close to a thousand transactions where you’ve been binding our customers’ insurance policies. It’s been an amazing partnership and it’s constantly evolved and grown. And because of that, that’s why I wanna sit down with you because the goal is for the consumer to watch this video and almost understand everything they need to know before they even go under contract on a property from an insurance standpoint.
what you are doing to hedge these problems
Let’s dive into it. Pricing’s going through the roof. Insurance companies are failing policies are getting canceled. Tell us about these challenges right now in the insurance market and what you are doing to hedge these problems. So, and I know that’s, that’s a long-winded question and you probably have a long-winded answer, but simplify that and we can unpack it during this conversation.
Ryan: So insurance has just really gotten more strict would be the most candid answer. When I first started the industry, it was, it was easy to buy homes regardless of age. It was kind of an ebb and flow of an order for a buyer or a homeowner or driving a car, any type of insurance product. It was just very seamless to get to the finish line with things now it’s just been more of a process.
It’s just more things are asked for. And, and pricing has gone up for insurance carriers, underwriting guidelines have really gotten more strict. And that’s based on a lot of reasons. You know, weather patterns the current local market with what’s kind of going on, and the state of Florida with the current, what I wanna say is items that are kind of arising, right?
Luke: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, right? And tho, and those so kind of going into that when someone goes under contract on a property and they want to get that quote really quick, it’s not as easy as just saying what’s this, this, and giving them a quote right away. Right. You’re gonna get what’s called a four-point and win mitigation. What is that?
Ryan: So those are extra reports outside of your full home, like a full home inspection. Okay. The four points typically gonna be needed when a property’s usually 25 to 30 years old or older. Okay. it used to be 40 years old, but as I said, things have gotten really strict in the marketplace right now. Sure. To wear these, these underwriting carriers are gonna wanna see more of that. And then the wind mitigation report is gonna be typically needed for roofs and okay. And then also windows.
When someone was to put a new roof on a home that’s you know, that the home was built before March 1st, 2002, and they put a new roof on the home that wind mitigation report. I like to call it the discount report because it really can save a consumer some money by obtaining showing the discounts for that new roof due to the building permits and how that roof is really tied to the home, making it more hurricane resistant.
Luke: Interesting. So basically paying that money up front for the wind mitigation is almost like a hedge to save you money, as far as what you’re gonna be paying yearly for the insurance on the roof Uhhuh. So like the clips, hows install the type of roof. So you’ve got architectural shingle roofs, you’ve got metal roofs, clay tile, roofs, you’ve got flat roofs, you’re an insurance agent. What is your preference when you’re looking for a roof, tour the property.
Even 10 years ago…you were having with the people purchasing the properties
So the markets are constantly changing right. Big time. So, you know, three, four years ago, even 10 years ago, I mean, you’ve been doing this now for a long time. Yeah. Even 10 years ago, the conversations were very different from that; you were having with the people purchasing the properties, the homeowners, and the agents we do a ton of business with on Anastasia island, downtown Vilano. That’s kind of like our bread and butter. I would say that each property is not a one-size fits, where maybe you go out to a planned development community that was built in 10 years.
Your insurance is gonna be more favorable in those types of communities. Now you bring it here as a consumer, that’s moving here. What are the most important things you want to tell them to be looking for in a home and I’m talking location, what the property has within it, and the components to ensure it what’s your best advice and not necessarily to get the best quote or the best price, but what are the things the consumer should be mindful of when purchasing in a coastal community like St. Augustine?
Ryan: Great question, Luke. I think you know, valuing our partnership you know, I was right off the bat. When I got into this industry being local in St. Augustine where I first started a career here was is I dealt with old properties, you know, and I just thought that was kind of normal. Right, right. Like 19, 10-year built homes, you know historical district, et cetera. And a lot of people really get kind of scared with that because, oh, it’s a dated home. Oh my gosh. You know, or, Hey, I’m gonna be oceanfront in this coastal area. Oh my gosh. You know, is this, is this bad? Is this, am I gonna make my insurance through the roof? No, I, I would say, you know, not don’t panic with that. I mean, you know, partner yourself with like, you know, The Newcomer Group with Luke, they’re gonna educate you on that real estate.
Luke: People always ask me, is it in a flood zone? Everything’s in a flood zone, but there are multiple different layers that you can look into to establish what that flood zone is. The two most common that I wanna focus on today and then maybe add something extra are AE and flood zone X. Those are gonna be probably the two most common yin and yang type flood zones that we are familiar with mm-hmm can you tell us which one, like what do both of those mean and what should you be mindful of between X and AE?
every property in the state of Florida is in a flood zone
Ryan: So I love how you just mentioned that every property in the state of Florida is in a flood zone. That’s true, cuz it’s nails on a chalkboard. I’ll hear a lot of people say I’m not in a flood zone. And, and, and you’re not in a flood zone. The other half of that sentence is that’s required. If you were to have a mortgage, which would be the X flood zone. So if a property’s located in an X flood zone it doesn’t necessarily a lot of the times your lender,
Your mortgage company does not mandate for you to carry a flood insurance policy to close on that home. It does not mean that the property could never flood. So when I hear I’m not in a flood zone politically, correct, you are in a flood zone, just the X flood zones, more preferred, less subject to flooding. It’s still a very good idea to buy flood insurance because you know, when hurricanes come, it creates a tremendous amount of rain, ti surge water coming from the outside of the home, into the home from the ground up. And that could be pretty catastrophic. I’ve dealt with a lot of flood claims being in a coastal agency and they’re pretty horrific. So I think if I, I just keep it short and sweet, you know, is, is if you live in Florida, buy flood insurance.
Luke: And simply put it, I’ll add to that. I’m a big advocate of I’d rather have it and not needed than needed and not have it the whole game of my industry. Yeah. And that is truly insurance. I like to buy up on my insurance and that’s just a personal preference, but you know, in an X flood zone,, your costs are gonna be lower. Now there are many scenarios because these flood J these flood zone maps constantly can change. Right. They can. Yeah. And what I’ve noticed is you can have a house that’s in an X flood zone, but if there’s a small portion of that property that has AE on it, mm-hmm, your lender will require you to carry flood insurance, correct? Even if it’s just a slither of that AE. Correct?
Ryan: Correct. But just to elaborate there, it would be if you have your, your lot, and if the AE is touching the lot and not the home and the home’s fully in XLE, you’ll still be considered an X flood zone. And I can show an aerial map, but now, if any portion of the dwelling, the house itself is touching any other flood zone besides X a E V E a, if any, even the smallest part of your back porch is entering that flood zone. You’re gonna be mandated to carry flood insurance. And that flood insurance zone will change from X to AE, even though the slightest portion is touching that required flood zone, like you’re mentioning AE.
Luke: My last question for you is what sets your business apart from other people within the industry?
Ryan: I’d say turnaround time. And then also my staff, my staff, the backbone of my whole entire office. We work hard and, and what really separates us is, is for two things, we’re, we’re not married to one specific logo we’re independent, and we can really educate you on a lot of products. We do homeowners auto flood. I like to tell people if you can touch it, I can insure it. I love that. And then also, you know, just taking the time with bright way, it allows us in our model to really, you know, not just kind of push you the side, Hey, just pay for it. You know, you need insurance, we know you need it, just paperwork.
this is the largest asset you’re gonna purchase
We really like to take the time to consult you in understanding the product cuz 74% of people just don’t really know about insurance. They just know they need it. Yes. and EV, and actually, if you just put it in layman’s terms of insurance, it’s really not that hard to understand. As long as you have aligned yourself with a partnership to where you trust your agent and they provide you that understanding of how it all works and puts break it down to you in those layman terms aspects, which my team is very good at doing and bringing it full circle for someone to understand with basic knowledge, this is the largest asset you’re gonna purchase.
Luke: And I would say that aligning yourself with someone like Ryan or in a different market, it’s crucial, especially if you wanna build out a real estate portfolio, or if you just wanna make sure you have the best coverage to one of the largest assets that you’re gonna be purchasing. It’s a big reason we partner together. Ryan. I appreciate you hopping on. Thank you. We’ll make sure we have all of your contact information below here. Let us know what you thought about the video. Drop a comment, and share it with a friend. All things insurance here at San Augustine in Florida throughout Ryan Flagler with Brightway Insurance.