Florida Home Insurance Cost

When you are looking to control your Florida home insurance cost, your highest priority should be to get sufficient coverage for the property for the best possible price. Since so much of Florida is in the direct path of hurricanes, the cost of insuring a home can be daunting. Even if the hurricane season is relatively quiet, there are other risk factors in Florida that drive up the cost of home insurance including sinkholes and the ever-changing shoreline that can affect the property value of a coastal property. Every homeowner wants to save money on insurance so spend some time reading through all the available information on this website. Enter your ZIP code above and compare quotes that can save you hundreds of dollars every year on your home insurance premium!

Florida Home Insurance Components

The State of Florida does not require a homeowner to carry insurance on their primary residence or any other property in their ownership. Local municipalities and subdivisions are allowed to require liability policies that cover injury or loss of property for other people, and the state will enforce these requirements in support of FL home insurance laws. Every homeowner’s insurance policy is composed of three major components that determine the Florida home insurance cost to insure the property.

Personal Property – Under this policy component, the costs of damage to the structure and the contents will be covered up to the stated dollar limit. Certain valuable possessions must be covered with policy riders that will provide additional replacement coverage in addition to the general dollar amount. Insufficient coverage must be avoided to prevent catastrophic impact on the owner’s financial position.

Personal Liability – Even if the homeowner determines that Florida home insurance cost is too high to justify insuring the structure, most local authorities require a minimum amount of personal liability coverage on the property. Damage or injury incurred by another person would be covered under this component of the homeowner’s policy. Property with swimming pools and owners with certain types of pets must carry this insurance to cover the risk of these items to the health and well-being of other people.

Additional Living Expenses – Also referred to as ALE, the additional living expenses component is a very important facet of the homeowner’s insurance policy. If the structure is damaged and uninhabitable or the authorities close access to the neighborhood, the insurance coverage will provide for usual and customary living expenses for the family until the property can be occupied.

Florida Home Insurance Cost Factors

Every home insurance policy premium is affected by all of the following factors:

Dwelling Coverage – Cost of repairing or replacing the structure to its original condition following an event.

Additional Coverage – All other coverage includes liability and additional living expenses as well as the specialty riders added to cover expensive and unique possessions.

Deductibles – Every homeowner must be careful to set the deductibles at affordable levels to prevent unaffordable hardship in the event of multiple concurrent losses.

Home Construction – Modern construction is less expensive to insure when hurricane-proven practices were used to build the structure.

Safety Features – Fire alarms, proximity to fire hydrants and stations, and wind and fire resistant roofing materials will reduce the risk of loss and be rewarded through premium discounts.

Security Features – Alarms, monitoring service, deadbolts, and locked gates around swimming pools are just a few of the security features that can reduce the Florida home insurance cost.

Insurance Score – Every insurance company assigns a rating to the insured that is made up of the number of claims and personal credit history of the homeowner. Good scores result in lower rates.

Location – The most heavily weighted factor is the location of the property. High cost of insurance is directly related to the number of events that have happened in and around the location in recent years.

Florida Home Insurance Cost Considerations

Surprisingly, Florida ranks fourth in the cost of insuring a home against the many perils that can damage the property. Wherever the most recent natural disasters have caused extensive damage, the home insurance rates will rise to cover the cost of the claims associated with the disaster. Florida home insurance cost is directly affected by the following factors:

Replacement Cost – Following a hurricane, the cost of materials and labor increase because of the demand in the area. Every homeowner’s insurance policy that carries a replacement cost component will be more expensive. The additional cost of insurance must be weighed against the risk of not being able to afford to repair or rebuild the structure to its original condition. Financial institutions require replacement cost insurance on a mortgaged property.

Natural Disasters – Florida has its fair share of special features that raise the occurrence of natural disasters.

Sinkholes – While many states have sinkholes in certain areas, Florida’s sandy foundation is fraught with the possibility of an unexplained sinkhole swallowing one or more houses in a neighborhood. The state of Florida requires the insurer to cover the risk of complete collapse. This requirement will increase the Florida home insurance cost.

Hurricanes – Without exception, the hurricane is the most devastating storm on earth because of its size and sheer power. Florida’s shape and protrusion out into the ocean makes the entire state a target for these massive storms. The cost of insuring against destruction of entire towns drives up Florida home insurance cost.

Floods – Standard home insurance policies do not cover flood damage. All homeowners are wise to investigate the rating of the property for the history of flooding in the area. Flood insurance can be purchased from the The National Flood Insurance Program.

Storm Surge – When hurricanes come onshore, the winds are damaging, but the accompanying storm surge will change the shoreline and flood the entire coastal area. Florida home insurance costs are higher because of the cost of repairing damage from the storm surge. When the land under a property is removed from the shoreline, the property owner must be insured for the loss of the land and the structure.

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation – When Florida home insurance costs exceed a property owner’s ability to pay, a public insurance company may be the answer. This public insurance company is non-profit and insures hundreds of thousands of properties.

Reduce Your Florida Home Insurance Cost Now!

While reviewing the information on this website, make a list of changes that you can make to your home to reduce your Florida home insurance cost. Every property can be modified to include more safety and security features that will reduce one of the major components of the policy. Avoid the temptation to reduce the insurance coverage to save money since the risk of loss in the state of Florida is considered high in comparison to other states. Revisit the heading on this page and enter your ZIP code to find the best companies to reduce your Florida home insurance cost today!