An Office of Insurance Regulation report on property-market stability found the lowest single-family costs in Sumter ($1,533) and the highest in Monroe ($7,162).
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued its first Property Insurance Stability Report for 2023 last week. On a county-by-county basis, it found that Sumter County has the lowest average cost for single-family home property insurance at $1,533, while Monroe County had the highest average cost at $7,162.
Property insurance: 10 highest priced Florida counties
Monroe County: $7,162 (single-family homes)
Miami-Dade County: $5,391
Palm Beach County: $5,247
Broward County: $5,164
Martin County: $4,756
Walton County: $4,337
Franklin County: $4,267
Collier County: $4,230
Indian River County: $3,386
Gulf County: $3,020
Property insurance: 10 lowest priced Florida counties
Sumter: $1,533 (single-family homes)
Baker: $1,694
Marion: $1,730
Hernando: $1,767
Lake: $1,859
Wakulla: $1,870
Gilchrist: $1,874
Citrus: $1,876
Alachua: $1,877
Columbia: $1,885
However, the numbers were collected before the December special session of the Florida Legislature, and new laws should slowly show improvement during 2023.
The report notes one of the big historical problems in Florida: In 2021, Florida had 6.91% of all U.S. insurance claims in the U.S. – but three out of four property insurance lawsuits (76%) were in Florida. The high rate of property insurance lawsuits cost a lot of money, which insurers added to their individual property owners’ coverage quotes.
A number of insurance experts think December’s legislative changes – coupled with changes made earlier in 2022 – will slowly have a positive impact on the Florida insurance market and the cost to individual homeowners. Specifically, Senate Bill 2A, passed in December and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, will impact two high-cost areas of concern:
One-way attorney fees: The chief driver of Florida lawsuits is a provision known as “one-way” attorney fees that allow a plaintiff (the policyholder) to recover attorney fees, but not the defendant (the insurer). The practice incentivized unwarranted litigation.
Assignment of Benefits (AOB): Under AOB, homeowners who suffered a loss “assign” insurance benefits to a contractor that then deals directly with their insurance company. The contractor-insurer negotiations also led to lawsuits.
Florida county – Single-family ins. average cost – Condo ins. average cost
Alachua: $1,877 (single-family) – $830 (condominium)
Baker: $1,694 – $745
Bay: $2,737 – $1,921
Bradford: $786 – $1,151
Brevard: $2,760 – $1,212
Broward: $5,164 – $1,548
Calhoun: $2,538 – $3.171
Charlotte: $2,364 – $1,081
Citrus: $1,876 – $945
Clay: $1,933 – $747
Collier: $4,230 – $1,795
Columbia: $1,885 – $933
Desoto: $2,500 – $784
Dixie: $2,254 – $878
Duval: $2,096 – $855
Escambia: $2,929 – $1,471
Flagler: $2,016 – $1,1113
Franklin: $4,267 – $1,246
Gadsden: $2,034 – $900
Gilchrist: $1,874 – $1,698
Glades: $2,681 – $772
Gulf: $3,020 – $1,338
Hamilton: $2,023 – N/A
Hardee: $2,502 – $778
Hendry: $2,483 – $1,157
Hernando: $1,767 – $878
Highlands: $2,037 – $840
Hillsborough: $2,513 – $1,073
Holmes: $2,283 – N/A
Indian River: $3,386 – $1,646
Jackson: $2,192 – N/A
Jefferson: $2,160 – N/A
Lafayette: $2,304 – N/A
Lake: $1,859 – $861
Lee: $2,735 – $1,125
Leon: $1,973 – $716
Levy: $2,118 – $1,286
Liberty: $2,283 – N/A
Madison: $2,138 – N/A
Manatee: $2,334 – $1,139
Marion: $1,730 – $825
Martin: $4,756 – $1,408
Miami-Dade: $5,391 – $2,440
Monroe: $7,162 – $3,657
Nassau: $2,282 – $1,156
Okaloosa: $3,014 – $1,418
Okeechobee: $2,797 – $1,227
Orange: $2,629 – $960
Osceola: $2,155 – $908
Palm Beach: $5,247 – $1,923
Pasco: $2,058 – $821
Pinellas: $2,938 – $1,142
Polk: $2,090 – $898
Putnam: $1,910 – $844
Santa Rosa: $2,745 – $1,477
Sarasota: $2,686 – $1,461
Seminole: $2,608 – $916
St. Johns: $2,296 – $1,121
St. Lucie: $2,713 – $1,291
Sumter: $1,533 – $833
Suwannee: $2,094 – N/A
Taylor: $2,119 – $1,014
Union: $1,976 – N/A
Volusia: $2,192 – $987
Wakulla: $1,870 – $1,369
Walton: $4,337 – $1,619
Washington: $2,312 – N/A
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