VYRD Insurance Review
VYRD Insurance offers helpful discounts and coverage add-ons for Florida homeowners. But as a newer company, it lacks a solid customer service reputation.
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Is VYRD a good insurance company?
VYRD may be a good choice for Florida homeowners struggling to find affordable insurance.
The company is newer, so it hasn't established a solid reputation for great customer service. That makes it hard to predict what your experience could be like if your home is damaged or destroyed.
However, VYRD is an admitted carrier, which means it is overseen by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Admitted carriers are backed by Florida’s guaranty fund, so if the company were ever unable to pay, the fund will cover claims. This gives VYRD customers an extra layer of protection.
VYRD also offers helpful discounts to lower your rates and a handful of useful coverage add-ons. However, it doesn't offer popular upgrades like replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home.
On this page:
Pros and cons of VYRD Insurance
Pros
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Easy to manage your policy or file a claim online
What is VYRD insurance?
VYRD is an insurance company that primarily sells home insurance in Florida. It also offers flood insurance and device protection for phones, tablets and laptops.
VYRD was founded in 2021 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The company started by offering coverage to Citizens Insurance customers and began selling home insurance to all Florida homeowners in 2022.
Homeowners in Florida can get VYRD insurance through independent insurance agents across the state. The company doesn't offer online quotes, so contacting an agent is the only way to compare rates or buy a policy.
Independent agents don't work for just one insurance company. That means they're able to shop around for quotes from multiple insurance companies.
This can be very helpful for Florida homeowners who are struggling to find affordable insurance from a reputable company.
On Reddit, people typically praise VYRD for its competitive rates and recommend it to others who ask for help finding cheap home insurance in Florida. However, some Redditors have said their rates went up significantly after their first year with VYRD.
Florida is a difficult home insurance market, so you should shop around for rates each year to make sure you're getting the best policy at an affordable price.
Alternatives to VYRD Insurance
VYRD homeowners insurance coverage
Homeowners insurance from VYRD comes with the basic coverage you would expect from a home insurance policy. The company also offers a handful of optional add-ons, like coverage for your golf cart.
VYRD home insurance coverage add-ons
Animal liability coverage helps pay for damage or injuries caused by your pet. For example, if your dog bites someone at the dog park, animal liability coverage could help pay their medical bills.
VYRD's golf cart endorsement helps pay for damage or injuries you cause while driving your golf cart. This coverage includes:
- $25k of bodily injury liability
- $5k of property damage liability
- $2k of medical payments
Water backup coverage pays for water damage caused by a backed up pipe, sewer or broken sump pump.
Sinkhole insurance pays for damage caused by sinkholes, which are not normally covered by basic home insurance.
This is a common add-on in Florida and comes with a separate deductible from the rest of your home insurance policy. That means you may have to pay two deductibles if your home is damaged by both a sinkhole and another peril, like wind or rain.
Florida homeowners can also buy flood insurance through VYRD. This isn't offered as an add-on to your home insurance policy. Instead, it's a separate flood insurance policy through VYRD's partner, Flood Risk Solutions.
VYRD customers can get:
VYRD's coverage limits tend to be lower than what's offered at many other insurance companies. For example, VYRD's policy includes only $500 for debris removal after a storm. Not only is that less than you might find with another company, but also VYRD doesn't give you the option to increase this limit.
In addition, VYRD doesn't offer replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home. This is a common home insurance add-on that pays to fully fix or rebuild your home after damage, even if it costs more than your dwelling coverage limit.
VYRD home insurance coverage limitations
- No dwelling replacement cost coverage
- No increased limits for valuables
- Maximum of $400,000 of personal liability insurance Has lower limits than other companies for debris removal and loss assessment with no option to increase coverage
- Homes over 40 years old are limited to $10,000 of coverage for water damage
VYRD home insurance discounts
VYRD Insurance Co. offers more home insurance discounts than many other insurance companies.
However, VYRD doesn't sell car insurance, so you can't get a discount for bundling both policies with the same company. That's typically one of the best home insurance discounts you can get, with many companies offering 10% or more off your home insurance bill when you also buy a car insurance policy.
One of VYRD's most unique discounts is its smart home water protection discount. This discount can earn you up to 40% off of the water portion of your home insurance bill.
VYRD's program is different from most other insurance companies because it gives you five smart water leak sensors for free. These sensors help you avoid major water damage by detecting leaks or floods before they become a serious problem, which is why they earn you a discount.
Other VYRD Insurance homeowners discounts
You can get a 5% discount if you haven't filed a claim against your VYRD policy in the past three years.
You can earn a discount of 10% to 25% by installing a centrally monitored fire or burglar alarm.
VYRD offers a 5% discount when you agree in advance to use the company's preferred contractors to repair or rebuild your home if it's damaged in the future.
VYRD offers a 10% discount to homes located within a gated community and a 15% discount if the community has a 24-hour security patrol.
You can get a 5% discount from VYRD when you sign up for a semi-annual inspection and maintenance plan for your heating and cooling unit, also called an HVAC.
VYRD's wind mitigation discount applies to the hurricane and wind portion of your home insurance bill.
You can save between 2% and 48% on the wind portion of your insurance based on home features such as:
- Roof age and shape
- Material your shingles are nailed to
- Method used to attach your roof to your walls
- Hurricane shutters or impact-resistant glass on all windows
- Water barrier to prevent flood water from entering your home
To earn this discount, you must get an inspection, which typically costs about $150 and takes 30 minutes to an hour.
You may be able to get a free inspection through the My Safe Florida Home Program. The program also provides grants to help with home improvements that can protect your home from wind damage and help you earn home insurance discounts.
Some of VYRD's discounts only apply to a portion of your insurance bill.
For example, its wind mitigation can save you between 2% and 48% off the wind and hurricane portion of your home insurance bill, which is not the same as your overall home insurance rate.
VYRD insurance ratings and customer reviews
VYRD is a newer insurance company that only serves the state of Florida. For that reason, it's not rated by larger, more recognizable rating companies such as AM Best or J.D. Power. That makes it hard to predict what your experience will be like if you have to file a claim or have an issue with your policy.
However, VRYD Insurance earned an A or "Exceptional" financial strength rating from Demotech. This is Demotech's third-highest rating, which means homeowners can count on VYRD to have the funds to pay out claims, even after a major hurricane.
Demotech is similar to AM Best, however it typically assigns ratings to small or new companies. There are many insurance companies in Florida with Demotech financial strength ratings, including Universal, Slide, Edison, Florida Peninsula and HCI.
VYRD also has very few customer complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The company only has three complaints over the past three years. That's much fewer than other small Florida companies. For example, Loggerhead, HCI, Florida Peninsula and Edison had between 13 and 15 complaints each over the same time period.
More importantly, when faced with a BBB complaint, VYRD responded to issues and worked with its customer to find a solution. That's a sign that even if you hit a snag in the claims process, VYRD will work to make things right.
How to file a claim with VYRD
There are multiple ways to file a home insurance claim with VYRD:
- Call a VYRD claims representative at 844-217-6993
- Log into the VYRD online customer portal to file a claim
- File a claim using the VYRD mobile app
Before you file a claim, document the damage so you can share photos or videos with the insurance company.
Frequently asked questions
How long has VYRD Insurance been in business?
VYRD Insurance was founded in Florida in 2021, where it started by offering policies to Citizens Insurance customers. In 2022, VYRD began selling insurance to the general public.
Is VYRD Insurance an admitted carrier?
Yes, VYRD Insurance is an admitted carrier in Florida. This means the company is overseen by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and must follow state insurance laws.
It also means that if VYRD were to fail, Florida homeowners with VYRD policies are protected by the state’s guaranty fund. This fund helps cover unpaid claims for home repairs or rebuilding.
What is the financial rating of VYRD Insurance Company?
VYRD Insurance has an A or "Exceptional" rating from Demotech. Similar to AM Best, Demotech rates companies' financial standing based on their ability to pay out future claims. An "Exceptional" rating from Demotech means that VYRD shouldn't have a problem paying to fix or rebuild your home, even if Florida experiences a major disaster.
Methodology
Information about VYRD Insurance, its policy offerings and its discounts was sourced from the company's own website.
Senior Writer
Lindsay Bishop is a Senior Writer at ValuePenguin, where she educates readers about home, auto, renters, flood and motorcycle insurance.
Lindsay began her career in the insurance and financial industry in 2010. She was a licensed auto, home, life and health insurance agent and held Series 6 and 63 financial licenses.
After a hiatus from the financial sector, Lindsay returned to the industry as a content writer for ValuePenguin in 2021. She enjoys having the opportunity to help readers make smart decisions about their insurance so they can be prepared for anything life throws their way.
When Lindsay isn't writing about insurance, you can find her spending time with family, enjoying the outdoors on Sunday long runs or riding her Peloton.
How insurance helped Lindsay
As a homeowner for 15 years located in South Carolina, Lindsay has plenty of experience navigating the coastal insurance market and managing the claims process. That includes successfully negotiating a full roof replacement claim.
Expertise
- Home insurance
- Car insurance
- Flood insurance
- Renters insurance
- Motorcycle insurance
Referenced by
- CNBC
- Yahoo Finance
- Miami Herald
Education
- BS/BA Economics, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.
