Homeowners insurance in Florida

The home insurance market in Florida

Floridians paid $18.83 billion in homeowners premiums in 2025, according to NAIC market share data, and no group wrote even 8% of it.

State Farm and USAA are the only national brands here. The rest are Florida and coastal specialists plus Citizens, the state-created insurer of last resort, which still led on 2025 premiums but is shrinking fast. Its policy count fell from a peak of 1,407,805 at the end of September 2023 to 254,736 on October 2, 2026, as private carriers took policies out through depopulation offers.

That recovery followed a rough stretch: courts ordered eight Florida-based property insurers into liquidation between April 2021 and February 2023, including St. Johns and United Property & Casualty. Since the 2022–2023 reforms, OIR counts 20 new property insurers entering the market (May 20, 2026). Our guide to florida's 2022–2023 property insurance reforms explained explains what changed.

What drives home insurance costs in Florida

Florida's average HO-3 premium was $2,779 in 2023, third-highest after Louisiana and Texas, and its $1,146 average condo (HO-6) premium led the nation, according to NAIC data. Hurricanes are the main reason. Insurers reported 385,146 Florida claims and about $5.6 billion in insured losses from Hurricane Milton (2024), per OIR data as of December 2025. On the evening of October 9, 2026, Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin with sustained winds of about 105 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Litigation was the other driver. Guy Carpenter's June 2026 renewal report says property litigation has fallen roughly 66% from its peak, and OIR reports that Florida's domestic property insurers posted an 83% combined ratio in 2025, down from 116% in 2020. Brokers reported reinsurance price cuts of roughly 15% to 25% at the June 1, 2026 renewals, and in September 2026 OIR said the 30-day average homeowners rate request was -4.8%, and Citizens cut its statewide average rate 8.7% for 2026 renewals.

Deductibles and coverage rules to know

Florida law, not the insurer, sets the hurricane deductible menu. Insurers must offer $500, 2%, 5% and 10% of the dwelling limit, with exceptions by home value, and a deductible above 10% on a home insured under $500,000 needs a handwritten statement from you and the lender's approval. The deductible applies once per calendar year, and its window runs from a hurricane warning for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last watch or warning ends. Because warnings were posted along the Panhandle, Isaias losses generally fall under hurricane deductibles. Say your dwelling limit is $350,000 with a 2% hurricane deductible: you pay the first $7,000. Your declarations page must show that dollar figure. See hurricane and named-storm deductibles explained or run the numbers in the hurricane and percentage deductible calculator.

Other rules worth knowing:

• Roofs. An insurer may not refuse to write or renew solely for roof age if the roof is under 15 years old, or if an inspection of an older roof shows at least five years of useful life left. An optional roof deductible is capped at the lesser of 2% of Coverage A or 50% of the roof replacement cost and never applies to hurricane losses (Fla. Stat. §§ 627.7011, 627.701).
• Sinkholes. Every policy covers catastrophic ground cover collapse, which requires an abrupt collapse, a visible depression, structural damage and a condemnation order. Broader sinkhole and catastrophic ground cover collapse coverage explained costs extra and may require an inspection.
• Assignment of benefits. For policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, you cannot assign post-loss benefits to a contractor (Fla. Stat. § 627.7152).

Flood and other gaps

Florida had 1,734,001 NFIP policies in force on September 30, 2026, about 39% of the national total, with $463.0 billion of coverage, according to FEMA. Storm surge counts as flood, which homeowners policies exclude. Citizens policyholders must carry flood insurance on a phased schedule: homes in FEMA special flood hazard areas since 2023, homes with dwelling replacement cost of $400,000 or more for policies effective since January 1, 2026, and all other personal residential policies with wind coverage from January 1, 2027. Start with NFIP flood insurance explained.

If you can't find coverage

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation covers homes that private carriers will not. A primary-residence applicant is ineligible if an admitted insurer offers comparable coverage at a premium no more than 20% above Citizens' price, and the same test applies at renewal and to take-out offers. Dwellings with replacement cost of $700,000 or more are ineligible ($1 million in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties). Increases on primary residences are capped at 15% a year; non-primary homes can rise up to 50%. Read depopulation and takeout offers from state insurers of last resort before you accept or decline a take-out, and ask an agent about surplus lines carriers as the other fallback.

Claims rules and deadlines

You must give notice of a new or reopened claim within one year of the date of loss, or 18 months for a supplemental claim; for a hurricane, the date of loss is landfall. Insurers must acknowledge you within 7 days, start investigating within 7 days of your proof of loss, inspect within 30 days and pay or deny within 60 days, or owe interest (Fla. Stat. § 627.70131); OIR can extend that by 30 days in an emergency.

DFS runs free claim mediation for residential disputes of $500 or more after the deductible; the insurer pays the $350 fee. It also offers sinkhole neutral evaluation. You have five years from the date of loss to sue (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(e)), but you must first file a notice of intent to sue with DFS at least 10 business days ahead. One-way attorney fees no longer apply to policies issued or renewed after December 16, 2022.

Insurers must give 120 days' notice of nonrenewal or cancellation (10 days for nonpayment) and 45 days' notice of the renewal premium (Fla. Stat. § 627.4133), and may not cancel during an open claim until the earlier of finished repairs or one year after final payment. If your insurer fails, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association generally pays up to $300,000 per claim, plus up to $200,000 more for homeowners structure and contents claims.

Discounts and mitigation programs

Florida requires every residential rate filing to include actuarially reasonable discounts or credits for wind-resistant features such as roof-deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections and opening protection, and insurers must describe them on their websites (Fla. Stat. § 627.0629). A wind mitigation inspection proves you qualify.

My Safe Florida Home offers free wind-mitigation inspections to homestead owners of site-built single-family homes. Grants pay $2 for every $1 from the homeowner, up to $10,000; low-income applicants need no match. Grants are limited to low- and moderate-income owners (a rule made permanent in June 2026) of homes insured for $700,000 or less and built before 2008.

Where to get help

The Office of Insurance Regulation (850-413-3140; 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399) regulates rates and companies. Complaints go to the Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services: call 877-693-5236 (850-413-3089 from out of state) or use its consumer assistance page, which also starts mediation. See how to file a complaint with your state insurance department and, after a nonrenewal, your home insurance was nonrenewed: what to do now. Neighbors: Georgia and Alabama.