by Mike Colpitts 
Nearly three years after the Florida homeowners insurance market took its hardest hit in years, the market has recovered, with insurance rates that are flat and in some cases even lower than two years ago.
Brian Chapman, president and CEO of Chapman Insurance Group in Cape Coral, is adamant in his assessment of the insurance industry. Chapman has offices throughout Southwest Florida, with about 30,000 clients, 80% of them in Lee, Collier and Charlotte County.
“We have recovered,” said Chapman. “And I would say that unequivocally. There’s no bashful shyness about this, like maybe we have, maybe we haven’t. No, we recovered six months ago. And the last six months has been an absolute downward trend.”
In Southwest Florida Chapman’s seeing around 15% to 20% less expensive homeowners insurance rates on average year over year.
The state’s Office of Insurance Regulation also says 10 new companies have been approved to write homeowners policies in Florida since state legislative reforms took effect.
New companies entering the market means more competition and more choices for consumers for Florida homeowners insurance as the insurance market recovers.
The reduction in rates comes after many homeowners have been paying as much as four times more for Florida homeowners insurance than before Hurricane Ian hit in 2022. Those that were able to find a new insurance carrier paid steep new premiums for the same or even less coverage, and then saw increases spike again the following year.
“Florida’s market is stabilized, even with three landfalling hurricanes in Florida last year, Debby, Helene and Milton,” said Mark Friedlander, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, which has responsibility for regulation, compliance and enforcement of laws related to the insurance business and monitors statewide industry markets, also reports a similar trend.
A decline in insurance rates depends on the age and construction of homes, according to Bob Rollins, who is the past chair of the board of directors of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents. “We still have homes built in the 50s and 60s with the same tile roofs,” he said. “Whether you have wind mitigation is also a factor in lowering costs. There’s more and more emphasis on windstorm mitigation than ever before.”
“I think some of these changes the Legislature has done in the last couple of years have helped tremendously,” Rollins said.
The Insurance Information Institute suggests consumers conduct an insurance check-up with your insurance agent to make sure you have the right types and amounts of insurance coverage so you are financially protected for hurricane season. That means both property insurance and flood insurance are two separate policies.
“Many homeowners are confused about that,” Friedlander said. “They think they have a robust policy for property insurance, but it doesn’t include flood. They don’t know that until it’s too late.”
“In a state like Florida, you have windstorm coverage and you have a windstorm deductible,” Friedlander said. “That means for hurricanes. So you figure, ‘I have hurricane insurance.’ Well, yes and no. You have insurance for the windstorm component. You don’t have coverage for the flood component. Totally separate.”
Sometimes homeowners don’t purchase flood insurance to try to save money. Typically, that could only be done if you don’t have a mortgage when you live in a FEMA designated flood zone. Otherwise, your mortgage lender will require a policy that includes flood coverage.
In a standard Florida homeowners insurance policy, homeowners have a declarations page and it lists all coverage limits right up front in the policy. It lists deductibles and provides how to file a claim.
The most important aspect to consider is the dwelling replacement cost because that is the replacement cost value of your home – how much labor will cost and materials to rebuild will cost to repair your home in the case of a claim.