Q&A Library

• Location: Where your home is located can affect your insurance costs. For example, is your home close to the ocean? Your rate may be higher. Is it near a fire station? Your rate may be lower.
• Protective devices: Your premium could be lower if your home has a protective device, such as a burglar alarm system or fire alarm system that is monitored at a central station.
• Features: Your home's type, year of construction and roofing could all affect your insurance costs. For example, your insurance costs could be lower if your home has certain windstorm mitigation features.

Assignment of Benefits (AOB) is a contract between an insured (policyholder) and a contractor (such as a plumber, water remediation company, roofer, etc.) when a claim occurs that gives the contractor control of your claims benefits. The homeowner often unknowingly signs a form that includes an Assignment of Benefits agreement. These forms may allow the contractor to collect your claim settlement funds directly from your insurance company. This results in the homeowner losing control of their claim and it could mean having to pay amounts beyond what is covered in their policy. The contractor could even place a lien on the home which could be enforced by foreclosure. Learn more about Assignment of Benefits abuse here. In the event you have a claim, always call People’s Trust first. 

We offer several convenient payment options. You can pay online anytime at MyPTI.com or over the telephone, with either a bank draft or credit/debit card. You can also mail us a check. You can take advantage of our variety of payment plans: Full payment, a two-payment plan or a quarterly-payment plan.

Our installment plan options, approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, include an annual $10 service charge and an additional $3 for each installment, including the down payment. For example, if you selected our quarterly plan, the total installment fee would be $22 ($10 for the service charge for the first payment, plus $3.00 for the first payment and three additional installment fees of $3 each).

Yes, view your policy or make payments anytime at MyPTI.com.

Yes, you can pay online with no fee. As a matter of fact, we offer a discount to policyholders with a Homeowner’s Insurance (H03) policy in the amount of $26 on their policy annually for electing electronic policy delivery. To receive the discount and pay online you must sign up for an account through MyPTI.com.

We accept MasterCard, VISA and Discover.

Paperless Policy is a way to receive your insurance documents electronically – and, policyholders with a homeowner’s insurance policy (H03) will receive a $26 discount at time or policy or renewal when they elect to receive their policy documents electronically. When you enroll in Paperless Policy, we'll send an email advising you whenever new policy documents are available for review online. Instead of sorting through stacks of papers, you can review, download, and print the documents that are most important to you, whenever it's convenient.

When you enroll in Paperless Policy, you can:

• Receive a $26 discount (H03 policies) at time of policy and at time of renewal
• Review, download, and print your documents anytime, anywhere
• Stay organized by only printing the documents that are important to you
• Help the environment by reducing paper waste
• Always know when new versions of your documents are available online thanks to our email reminders

Once you enroll in Paperless Billing, we will send you an email anytime a bill or payment notice is available for your review.

We present your most current bill statement to you as soon as you log into your account online. Additional billing information can be found in the Billing/Payments area. You can view your upcoming payments, check out your account history, review previous bills, and more.

Yes, we offer a 5% discount on the Non-Hurricane portion of your premium for any named insured that is age 55 or older on the effective date of the policy. Click here to learn more.

Yes, we offer a 5% discount to any named insured who is on active duty or retired from the U.S. Armed Forces. This discount will be applied to the Non-Hurricane Portion of your premium.  To all active and retired service men and women, we thank you for your service.

Yes, if you live in a neighborhood that is 24-hour manned or has passkey gates then you are eligible to receive a 5% discount toward the Non-Hurricane portion of your policy premium. Seasonal and Secondary residences are not eligible for this discount.

Yes, if you elect to enroll in electronic policy delivery, you’re eligible to receive a discount on your policy at time of new policy or at renewal annually. Sign up today at MyPTI.com and elect paperless policy delivery or call 800-500-1818 and Customer Ser­vice will gladly assist you. 

Insurance scoring is a measurement that allows an insurance company to evaluate risk factors based on other behaviors. The objective of an insurance company’s rating plan is to charge premiums that are appropriate for the level of risk insured. An insurance score is calculated from certain information in your credit report. Based on this score, the non-hurricane portion of the premium may be adjusted, up or down, based on the predicted risk determined by the insurance score. Credit information is predictive of future insurance claims, which is why People’s Trust and many other insurers use this information to help charge premiums that are as accurate as possible for the risks insured.

People’s Trust will obtain your insurance score from LexisNexis Risk Solutions. LexisNexis uses credit information it receives from the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and performs a statistical analysis to determine your insurance score.

Your insurance score will affect only the non-hurricane portion of your premium. There is no impact on the portion of your premium attributable to hurricanes.

Based on your insurance score, the non-hurricane portion of your premium may go up or down based upon a factor set forth in our rating plan approved by state regulators. Policyholders with better-than-average insurance scores will see reductions in the non-hurricane portions of their premiums. Policyholders with below average insurance scores will see increases in their non-hurricane premiums.

If you request that insurance scoring be applied to your rate and your rate results in an increase, you will have the opportunity for us to apply it or not.

No, inquiries for the purpose of obtaining information to develop the insurance score do not affect your credit rating or credit score.

An insurance score is a credit-based statistical analysis of a consumer’s likelihood of filing an insurance claim within a given period of time in the future.

A credit score is a credit-based statistical analysis of a consumer’s likelihood of repaying a loan or debt (such as a mortgage, auto loan, credit card debt, or other obligation).

While both types of scores take credit information into account, the actual numerical scores will differ. The scores cannot be compared because they are developed for different purposes.

To provide you with the most accurate quote, please have these items available when you speak to a People’s Trust Representative:

• Your current homeowner’s policy documents, including your Declarations Page
• Completed reports if you have had a windstorm inspection conducted within the past 5 years

The following factors can affect your homeowner’s insurance premium:

• Home Features and Characteristics — Your home's age, type of structure, roof age, construction type, etc., can affect your homeowner’s insurance premium. These factors all help determine the risk of your home and the rate for insurance.

• Windstorm Mitigation Features — Homeowners can often receive substantial credits for outfitting their home with windstorm mitigation features that can withstand and resist high winds.

• Location — Where your home is located can change your homeowners insurance premium. For example, your home insurance rate can be affected if your home is in close proximity to a fire station; or if your home is near an open body of water making it more exposed in the event of extreme weather.

• Protective Devices — Burglar alarm systems, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and sprinkler systems can affect your homeowners insurance premium.

• Claims History — If you have a history of claims, you may pay a higher premium or your insurance company may cancel or not renew your policy.

• Occupancy Type — Primary, Secondary/Seasonal

• Coverage Amounts and Deductibles — Personal Property, Other Structures, etc. The lower your deductible, the higher your premium.

• Endorsements — Water Exclusion, Limited Water Buy-Back Coverage, Water Back-Up and Sump Overflow Coverage, Personal Property Replacement Cost, etc.

Rate increases and decreases will vary at the time of renewal. We recommend that once you receive your renewal and review your new premium, you call us or your Authorized Independent Insurance Agent to discuss your coverage options and determine if there are some ways to customize your policy to help lower your premium. 

An assignment of benefits (AOB) is a legal tool that allows a third party to be paid for services performed for an insured homeowner who would normally be reimbursed by the insurance company directly after making a claim.

Learn more about Assignment of Benefits and how it results in increased insurance premiums, increased claims resolution time frames and increased litigation.