The Best Home Insurance in Florida for 2024
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
Chubb, Nationwide and State Farm are some of the best home insurance companies in Florida.
It's getting harder and more expensive to insure Florida homes, thanks to hurricanes and excessive litigation.
For many Florida homeowners, the only affordable option is Citizens, the state's insurer of last resort.
Although Florida can be appealing to those who enjoy warm weather, living in the Sunshine State has its hazards, too. The average cost of homeowners insurance in Florida is $2,625 a year, or about $219 a month, according to a NerdWallet rate analysis. And that number is on the rise.
Florida home insurance rates have shot up in recent years due to frequent natural disasters and litigation expenses that insurers pass on to consumers. In the face of heavy losses, many insurers have raised rates, stopped selling policies in Florida or simply gone out of business.
Residents of Florida still have options when it comes to getting homeowners insurance. NerdWallet analyzed data from several insurance companies selling policies in Florida to help you find the best home insurance in the state in the following categories:
Best for affordability: Nationwide.
Best for coverage: State Farm.
Best for having few consumer complaints: Chubb.
Best affordable homeowners insurance in Florida: Nationwide
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
With an average annual rate of $2,480 per year, Nationwide charges less than the state average for homeowners insurance. The company offers a variety of ways to customize your policy. For example, you can add coverage for things like identity theft, high-value items and backed-up sewers and drains.
Another option worth considering is dwelling replacement cost coverage, which can pay up to double your policy limit in case it costs more than expected to rebuild your home after a disaster.
Because Nationwide sells homeowners policies through independent agents in Florida, you can’t get an online quote.
To learn more, read NerdWallet’s Nationwide home insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Florida for coverage: State Farm
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
State Farm
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
As America’s largest insurer, State Farm stands out for its long list of coverage options. Its policies generally include extra dwelling coverage in case it costs more than expected to rebuild your home after a covered disaster. You may also be able to add coverage for things like utility lines, damage from backed-up drains and the breakdown of major appliances.
State Farm offers a free Ting device as a perk for home insurance policyholders. Ting is a smart plug that monitors your home’s electrical network to help prevent fires.
To learn more, read NerdWallet’s State Farm home insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Florida for having few consumer complaints: Chubb
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Chubb
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Among the insurers we evaluated in Florida, Chubb drew the fewest complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Chubb serves mostly affluent policyholders with high-value homes, offering lofty coverage limits and lots of perks. For example, the company covers water damage from backed-up sewers and drains, and pays to bring your home up to the latest building codes during reconstruction after a claim. (Many insurers charge more for these types of coverage.)
If you insure a secondary or seasonal home in Florida with Chubb, you can sign up for the company’s Property Manager service at no charge. With this service, a Chubb representative will inspect your home after a hurricane, report its condition to you, submit a claim on your behalf and help prevent further damage.
To learn more, read NerdWallet’s Chubb home insurance review.
Full list of the best homeowners insurance in Florida
NerdWallet analyzed insurance companies across the state to find the best home insurance in Florida. Here are all of the insurers that received a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher:
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
Not available | ||
Not available | ||
Not available | ||
Not available | ||
$2,480 | ||
$2,800 | ||
USAA* | Not available | |
*USAA homeowners insurance is available only to active military, veterans and their families. | ||
More Florida home insurance companies
Having trouble finding an affordable rate or getting coverage from one of the best Florida home insurers above? Here are a few other companies you can try.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
Not rated | $1,755 | |
People's Trust | 3.0 NerdWallet rating | $1,810 |
Tower Hill | 3.0 NerdWallet rating | $1,965 |
Florida Peninsula | Not rated | $2,680 |
American Integrity | Not rated | $2,895 |
Universal Property | Not rated | $3,240 |
Heritage | Not rated | $3,445 |
Homeowners Choice | Not rated | $3,685 |
The insurer of last resort: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Although NerdWallet doesn’t have access to average homeowners insurance rates from Citizens, we include it here because many Florida homeowners find themselves with nowhere else to turn for coverage.
Citizens is a government entity created in 2002 by the Florida Legislature to serve as an "insurer of last resort" for eligible homeowners who can't get coverage on the private market. You may qualify for insurance from Citizens if:
You can’t find a standard insurer willing to sell you a policy.
The premiums offered by other insurers are more than 20% higher than the rates offered by Citizens.
Because Citizens pays claims entirely using the money it collects in premiums, a severe storm can be very costly for policyholders. If Citizens finds itself in a situation where it cannot pay out all claims, it’s legally required to charge an assessment of up to 45% of your annual premium to make up for that shortfall. Read our Citizens home insurance review for further details.
How much does homeowners insurance cost in Florida?
The average cost of homeowners insurance in Florida is $2,625 per year, or about $219 per month. That’s 37% more than the national average of $1,915.
In most U.S. states, including Florida, many insurers use your credit-based insurance score to help set rates. Your insurance score is similar but not identical to your traditional credit score.
In Florida, those with poor credit pay an average of $3,685 per year, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. That’s 40% more than Floridians with good credit.
Average cost of homeowners insurance in Florida by city
You may pay more or less than the state average for your homeowners insurance, depending on where in Florida you live. For example, the average cost of homeowners insurance in Miami is $5,315 per year, while homeowners in Orlando pay about $2,760 per year, on average.
City | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
Boca Raton | $3,250 | $271 |
Bradenton | $2,100 | $175 |
Cape Coral | $2,450 | $204 |
Fort Lauderdale | $4,775 | $398 |
Fort Myers | $2,445 | $204 |
Gainesville | $1,675 | $140 |
Hialeah | $5,270 | $439 |
Hollywood | $4,785 | $399 |
Homestead | $5,470 | $456 |
Jacksonville | $2,100 | $175 |
Kissimmee | $2,815 | $235 |
Lake Worth | $3,240 | $270 |
Lakeland | $2,605 | $217 |
Miami | $5,315 | $443 |
Naples | $2,600 | $217 |
Ocala | $1,865 | $155 |
Orlando | $2,760 | $230 |
Pensacola | $2,395 | $200 |
Pompano Beach | $4,025 | $335 |
Port St. Lucie | $2,995 | $250 |
Sarasota | $2,180 | $182 |
St. Petersburg | $2,385 | $199 |
Tallahassee | $1,655 | $138 |
Tampa | $2,520 | $210 |
West Palm Beach | $3,160 | $263 |
Why is homeowners insurance so expensive in Florida?
The cost of homeowners insurance in Florida is skyrocketing for several reasons. First, the state sees a lot of expensive natural disasters, such as hurricanes. The higher the risk of damage, the more insurance companies charge.
Second, homeowners insurance rates are rising across the country due to inflation and supply chain issues that make it more expensive to rebuild or repair damaged homes.
But most importantly, insurers in Florida face more lawsuits than in any other state, and the cost of all this litigation trickles down to consumers. Florida has 9% of the country’s homeowners insurance claims but 79% of lawsuits against insurance companies, according to data analysis by the Insurance Information Institute.
In 2022, Florida’s legislature passed three bills designed to discourage lawsuits and stabilize the insurance market, with the hope of reducing prices for homeowners in the long term. In the meantime, however, home insurance costs have continued to rise.
One way to bring down your home insurance cost in Florida is to lower your risk of hurricane damage. The Florida legislature recently approved more funding for the “My Safe Florida Home” program, which provides grants to help homeowners strengthen their homes against hurricanes. But the waiting list for grants can be long.
What to know about Florida homeowners insurance
Floridians should make sure their homes are covered for some of the state’s most common natural disasters.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Hurricanes and other tropical storms typically cause two types of damage — wind and water — and a standard homeowners insurance policy may not fully cover them.
Just about every home insurance policy excludes coverage for flood damage. If you’re at risk, consider buying flood insurance through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program or a private provider. To check your flood risk, put your address into the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps or visit RiskFactor.com, a website from the nonprofit First Street Foundation.
If you have a homeowners insurance policy from Citizens, you’ll be required to buy flood insurance, thanks to a 2022 law. Learn more about flood insurance in Florida.
Homeowners insurance usually covers wind damage, but those in high-risk coastal locations may have to purchase this coverage separately.
Note that if your homeowners insurance policy does include wind coverage, there may be a separate deductible for claims stemming from a named hurricane. For example, you may have chosen a $1,000 deductible for your policy, but the hurricane deductible may be a higher amount, such as 2% of your dwelling coverage. On a house with $300,000 in dwelling coverage, you’d be responsible for the first $6,000 of any hurricane-related repairs.
By law, Florida insurance companies must offer homeowners insurance discounts to policyholders whose homes are less likely to suffer wind damage. For example, you can save money by adding storm shutters or upgrading how your roof is attached to the rest of your house.
Learn more about hurricane insurance.
Sinkholes
By law, homeowners insurers in Florida must offer coverage for “catastrophic ground cover collapse,” a specific type of sinkhole damage.
In order for this coverage to apply, the incident must meet all of the following conditions:
The ground cover must suddenly collapse.
The depression in the ground cover must be visible to the naked eye.
There must be structural damage to the building’s foundation.
A government agency must order the building condemned and vacated.
Because some sinkhole damage may not meet all these conditions, you may want to add specific sinkhole coverage to your policy.
Florida department of insurance
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation oversees the state’s insurance industry. You can use the agency’s website to file a complaint against your insurance company, ask questions and get information about different types of insurance. The agency’s toll-free helpline is 877-693-5236.
Looking for more insurance in Florida?
NerdWallet calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from various insurance companies in every ZIP code across the state. All rates are rounded to the nearest $5.
Sample homeowners were nonsmokers with good credit living in a single-family, two-story home built in 1984. They had a $1,000 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$300,000 in dwelling coverage.
$30,000 in other structures coverage.
$150,000 in personal property coverage.
$60,000 in loss of use coverage.
$300,000 in liability coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren’t available.
We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor,” as reported to the insurer, to see rates for homeowners with poor credit.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
Star rating methodology
NerdWallet’s homeowners insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverages, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full homeowners insurance rating methodology.
Complaint methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
On a similar note...
