How much does insurance cost in Florida? A guide to car, home, flood, sinkhole insurance
Navigating insurance policies, their prices, what they cover and what they don’t can be overwhelming. Especially if you live in Florida, where insurers have been dropping from the state like flies and leaving hordes of Floridians without home and flood insurance coverage.
Here’s a guide to everything you need to know about insuring your home for hurricane and flood damages in Florida, sinkhole insurance and which car insurance policies are best for young drivers in the state.
Why is it hard to get home insurance in Florida?
There are a lot of factors that contribute to Florida’s insurance crisis. One of the biggest contributors are huge insurance payouts attached to yearly storm damage following hurricane season, exacerbated by climate change.
Hundreds of thousands of Floridians have had to scramble for homeowners insurance after a wave of insurers stopped writing policies in the disaster-prone state. As for the insurers who still write policies for homeowners in the Sunshine State
Here are four reasons why insurance rates are sky-high in Florida.
What kind of homeowners’ insurance do I need?
There are eight different types of home insurance available to Floridians. The policy and insurer that is right for you depends on whether you own a home or rent and what your budget is.
You can find which home insurance policy type fits your needs here.
Why do I need flood insurance?
If you live in Florida, you need flood insurance. And flood insurance is not included in homeowners’ insurance. In July, AAA took a survey that asked Floridians how likely they are to evacuate their homes during a hurricane. Over half of the people surveyed said they won't go unless the storm is a Category 3 or higher and 20% said they don’t prepare in advance for hurricane season at all.
But the AAA says that almost 40% of all flood insurance claims come from homes that aren't in high-risk flood zones. And Just 1 inch of water in your home could cost up to $25,000 or more to repair.
Hurricane season tips for homeowners: What does home insurance cover?
Flood insurance only covers damages sustained from flooding, from rising water. Whereas homeowners' insurance typically covers all other types of hurricane damage, from fallen trees to lightning, wind or hail; as well as damage from fire, smoke, theft or vandalism. Hurricane insurance is typically subject to a much higher deductible than other types of perils.
Homeowners' insurance can sometimes cover heating and cooling systems, kitchen appliances, furniture, clothing and swimming pools, depending on your policy. But any water damage from flooding can only be covered by a flood insurance policy.
You can find more on what to consider when buying home or flood insurance and what damages they cover here.
What’s the purpose of renters insurance?
You might be under the impression that flood and home insurance is only for homeowners. But what if your apartment or rental home gets damaged in a hurricane?
Some landlords require tenants to have renters insurance for their personal belongings and it covers most hurricane damages, but not all. And landlords are allowed to require tenants to sign up for renters insurance as a part of their lease agreements in Florida; although, it isn’t required by law.
And like home insurance, flood insurance policies have to be bought separately. HO-4 insurance policies, or renters insurance, cover damages for personal belongings if they were damaged by wind, lightning, fire, theft or vandalism. Any damage sustained from flooding can’t be covered under a regular renters insurance policy and must be covered by a flood insurance policy.
Find out how much renters insurance costs in Florida and what it covers here.
Is it hard to get homeowners insurance after being dropped?
It sounds unfair, but an insurer can drop you without you even having made a claim. Insurance companies are worried about risk. When they sell you a policy, they do so in hopes that you'll never have to file a claim and receive a payout. The likelier it is that you will file a claim for storm or flood damages, the more wary they are of issuing policies.
And living anywhere in Florida, you’re already at more risk of flooding and hurricane damage than homeowners in most other states. Because of this, homeowners in Florida pay more for their insurance than most of the nation.
Floridians who were dropped from their policies in the massive exodus of insurers from the state might be wondering: How can I get covered again?
Here’s what to do if you’ve been dropped from your insurance policy.
How much is the average car insurance bill in Florida?
Home and flood insurance aren’t the only expensive policies that Floridians pay handsomely for every year. We have some of the highest car insurance rates as well, which are even pricier if you have a teen driver in your house.
On average, Floridians pay the second highest annual price for car insurance in the nation. The average cost of car insurance in Florida is $4,236 each year – a price that is more than double the national average cost of car insurance.
According to USA TODAY’s guide on the cheapest car insurance in Florida, Floridians with a poor driving record (at-fault accidents, speeding tickets and DUIs) spend around $6,135 each year on car insurance.
Do I need sinkhole insurance in Florida?
Not only is Florida a hurricane hotspot – demanding residents to insure their belongings in case their town gets rocked by summer and fall storms – parts of the state are the perfect environment for sinkholes.
Florida’s highly absorbent bedrock and hurricane-prone nature makes it highly susceptible to sinkholes in a lot of places throughout the state. One area of Florida is so sinkhole-prone that it’s called “sinkhole alley.”
Whether or not you need sinkhole insurance depends on where you live. But like flood insurance, you have to purchase it separately from your homeowners’ insurance.
Find out if you need sinkhole insurance coverage here.
What should I pay attention to on my home insurance policy?
Preparing for a storm is more than just hunkering down your home and evacuating. There are things you can do before a storm makes landfall that will make it easier for you to get an insurance payout for any storm damages your property might sustain when the storm hits.
How do you document hurricane damage?
If you had to evacuate your home because you were situated in the path of a major storm, you might be wondering where to begin cleaning up when you get back, and how to do it safely. You also might be curious about how to even file an insurance claim.
Here are some tips for returning home safely and how to file the most thorough insurance claim that you can, should you ever need to.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Insurance in Florida: A guide to how much home, car insurances cost
