I'm in Florida. My homeowner's provider - Metlife - is non-renewing my
policy, apparently pulling out of the state after the 2004 hurricanes.

I just signed up with a policy through an independent agency with a
company called Security First. After first being advised it won't
require what they're calling a four-point inspection, now they're
saying it will. That's an issue unto itself but...

There are some issues with the interior of the house - I've got some
of the tile pulled away in a shower stall that had some water seepage,
one wall in master bed with the sheet rock removed where I repaired
some carpenter ant damage. Also some holes in the sheet rock in the
garage - one where I knocked it away to determine where a leak was
coming from. Turned out it was just the hot water tank, also a couple
of other spots where I cut out a section of sheet rock to inspect for
other carpenter ant damage.

Could this be an issue? Should I scramble to patch these things up
before the inspection or is it not a concern? Otherwise the house is
in decent shape. Just had a new roof (shingles and paper) put on after
the hurricanes.

What I'm also concerned with is this turning into some kind of
extortion/scam - where they "find" problems that they claim need
fixing and oh, they just happen to know someone who will do the work,
knowing I have to have a thumbs up to get insurance coverage.

Any thoughts, experience with this kind of thing? My recent
experiences with insurance agencies being less than forthright about
some things haven't served to raise my opinion of the industry.