Why is Florida home insurance so expensive and hard to get?

If you’re moving to Florida from almost anywhere else, the home insurance situation will be the biggest sticker shock of your purchase — sometimes bigger than the price of the house itself. Here’s what’s going on and how it affects buying.

Why it’s a crisis

Several forces hit at once:

• Frequent, severe hurricanes drive enormous insured losses.
• Carrier withdrawals and insolvencies — a number of insurers stopped writing new Florida policies or left the state entirely, shrinking competition.
• High litigation and reinsurance costs pushed premiums up across the board.
• The result: rising premiums, fewer choices, and stricter underwriting, especially in coastal and flood-prone areas.

How it affects your purchase

Insurance isn’t a side detail in Florida — it can make or break the deal:

• It changes affordability. A high premium raises your monthly housing cost and your debt-to-income ratio, which can affect loan approval.
• It can delay closing. With fewer carriers, underwriting delays are common. Start your insurance shopping the day you go under contract, not the week before closing.
• Even cash buyers need it. No lender requires it, but going uninsured against Florida storm risk is a major gamble.
• The home’s history matters. A roof over ~15 years old, prior claims, or a coastal flood zone can make a property expensive — or hard — to insure.

What to do

1. Get an insurance quote before you make an offer, not after inspection.
2. Ask the seller for a wind mitigation inspection and the roof age — both heavily affect your premium.
3. Compare private carriers first; treat state-backed Citizens as a last resort, not a default.
4. Remember flood insurance is a separate policy from your homeowners policy.

The bottom line

Budget for insurance as a real, large line item — and shop it early. The buyers who get surprised are the ones who treat it as a formality at closing.

Have more questions? Browse our full FAQ library or get your free Florida Home Buying Guide.