For years, Floridians have had to deal with some of the highest insurance rates in the country. The main cause? The Sunshine State is a prime target for hurricanes and storm damage.
Unfortunately, Florida homeowners insurance rates are increasing to even higher levels this year. There are many reasons for this, including:
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Excessive litigation.
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Rising reinsurance costs.
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Inflation.
Nobody’s happy when prices go up. Fortunately, there are ways to find low-cost coverage in Florida. Here are some of our best tips.
1. Get a wind mitigation inspection
All Florida home insurers are required to offer credits to homeowners who take measures to make their homes more wind resistant. Your wind mitigation report can make the biggest impact in what you pay for home insurance (aside from your home’s location, value, and age).
Bonus: your windstorm mitigation inspection will let you know what further improvements you can make to your home to both increase its disaster preparedness and decrease your insurance bill. Find out more about getting Florida wind mitigation inspections from the My Safe Florida Home program.
2. Raise your deductible
Generally, the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Florida homeowners can adjust both their all other perils deductible and their hurricane deductible to trim their premium. Just remember: it doesn’t make sense to pay for insurance that you can’t reasonably use when you need to. Make sure you take on a deductible that won’t leave you financially overwhelmed when you need to make a major claim.
3. Ask about discounts
Most homeowners are eligible for a fair amount of easy home insurance discounts. For example, you may get a discount from Kin automatically for having an electronic policy, installing security alarms, or living in a gated community. Learn more about our available discounts.
Want to see if you can save on your annual premiums? Enter your address to get started.
4. Fortify your roof
If you’re a current Florida homeowner, you may want to consider taking steps to reinforce your roof, its structure, and the ties to the stem walls of your home. Some of the key parts to check and improve include:
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Roofing.
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Windows and attached structures.
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Roof to wall to floor to foundation connections so it acts as one system.
A fortified roof helps protect your home from hail, high winds, and hurricanes.
Does a new roof lower your home insurance? Not always. Plus, new roof installations can exceed $10,000, which is no small bill! Financial barriers tend to be the biggest constraint on getting a new roof, so it’s important to be savvy and look for whatever resources are available to get tax breaks, grants, or work with organizations offering governmental subsidies.
5. Be strategic if you move
If you are looking to move to one of Florida’s best places to live, you might consider property further from the coast – it could potentially save you thousands annually on your Florida homeowners insurance. Inland dwellings face less severe flood, storm surge, and hurricane risk than those closest to the coast.
The home’s build date also has a substantial impact on Florida premiums. Homes built prior to 2001 may not be constructed according to the latest Florida building codes that were designed to optimize a structure’s wind resistance. Older homes aren’t generally equipped with as much hurricane protection as newer homes and are less likely to qualify for low cost home insurance.
6. Lower your personal property coverage
We encourage everyone to maximize their coverage so they are fully protected in the event of a loss. However, you can lower your premium by reducing your personal property insurance to cover just the essentials. To be clear, this means you won’t get as much in a total loss scenario, so you only want to go this route if you have no better options.
If you do decide to reduce your personal property coverage, (and we generally recommend you don’t go below 40% of your dwelling insurance) then you’ll want to decide what items you absolutely must have replaced if you experience a catastrophe.
A good way to do that is with a home inventory. It can help you determine the value of your stuff, then you can work backwards to determine what’s essential. For instance, you might budget for some clothing but not for every item in the closet. In the same manner, you might budget to replace a television but not the extra televisions you had in the bedrooms.
7. Upgrade to hurricane clips
Older homes may have hurricane truss straps that are only connected with two nails rather than three. This minor difference has dramatic effects on your insurance costs because it moves the straps from being categorized as toenails to hurricane clips. Having clips can save you up to 50% on the hurricane portion of your home insurance premium. That’s a lot of savings for just a few nails but it makes your home better prepared to deal with hurricane winds.
And lastly, if you are new to Florida, calculate your homeowners insurance cost before you close so you know what to expect.
