Florida insurance guide

Florida is the most distinctive insurance market in the country, on both sides of the household.

On the property side: hurricane deductibles are percentage-based and separate from the all-other-perils deductible, roof age drives eligibility more than any other single factor, and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation operates as a large residual market rather than a marginal one.

On the auto side: Florida operates a no-fault system, and it does not require bodily injury liability of most drivers — which makes uninsured motorist coverage the single most consequential option on the quote.

Advice written for a general American audience transfers here worse than to any other state.

The hurricane deductible

Two deductibles, not one. That is the structural fact.

Your all-other-perils deductible handles ordinary losses. Your hurricane deductible — separate, and expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than as a flat amount — handles the event most likely to produce a large claim.

Because it is a percentage of Coverage A, it rises automatically with your dwelling limit and it can be substantially larger than most homeowners assume. It is the number that decides what a hurricane claim actually pays, and it is almost never presented in dollars at the point of sale.

Ask for it in actual money. Then ask what the next percentage step would cost or save, so you are making a decision rather than accepting a default.

Roof age

In Florida, roof age is the deciding factor in whether a carrier will write your house at all — ahead of location, ahead of construction, ahead of claims history.

Two things it controls.

Eligibility. Many carriers will not write a property with a roof beyond a certain age, and a roof crossing that threshold can trigger a non-renewal on an otherwise unremarkable policy.

Settlement basis. Where an older roof is written, it may be settled at actual cash value rather than replacement cost — paying the depreciated value rather than the cost of a new roof. Combined with a percentage hurricane deductible, that can produce a covered claim that pays very little.

Ask both questions explicitly: what is the settlement basis for my roof, and at what age does this carrier’s appetite change? The second answer tells you when to start planning, which is more useful than finding out at a non-renewal.

Wind mitigation features — roof attachment, opening protection, roof geometry — can materially affect both eligibility and price, and a wind mitigation inspection is one of the few things in Florida insurance that reliably pays for itself.

Citizens

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is a state-created residual market insurer for residential and commercial property that the private market will not write.

Two points worth understanding.

It is large. In Florida, Citizens is not a fringe option for unusual risks — it carries a substantial share of the residential market, which is a symptom of the private market’s constraints rather than a design goal.

Depopulation is a real process. Citizens operates a depopulation programme through which private carriers assume policies. If you receive a takeout offer, it is a genuine decision — the private policy may be better, worse, or differently priced, and it deserves a comparison of terms rather than a glance at the premium.

If the voluntary market will write your property, comparing is generally worth the effort.

The auto side

Florida operates a no-fault system, and it does not require bodily injury liability of most drivers.

Confirm the current statutory requirements with the Florida Department of Financial Services rather than any general guide — but the structural consequence is stable and it is the most important thing a Florida driver can understand.

A large share of the drivers around you may carry no bodily injury liability coverage at all. If one of them seriously injures you or a family member, there may be nothing available from their policy to pay for it.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is the part of your own policy that responds in that situation. In most states it is important. In Florida it is arguably the most consequential option on the entire quote, and it is routinely declined for a small saving by drivers who were never told what it does.

The Client First standard is to offer UM/UIM at limits matching liability and to document any reduction or rejection in writing. Florida is the clearest case in the country for why that standard exists.

Flood

Excluded from every standard homeowners and renters policy. The III is unambiguous: “Floods are not covered under homeowners and renters policies. Only a specific flood insurance policy will cover home flood related losses.”

Source: Insurance Information Institute — Facts about flood insurance · accessed 2026-08-04

Wind and water are separate claims from the same storm. A household with strong hurricane coverage and no flood policy can be uninsured for the damage it actually suffers, and a large share of Florida’s flood losses occur outside mapped high-risk zones.

Flood policies generally carry a waiting period, so this cannot be arranged once a storm has a name.

What to ask an agent in Florida

What is my hurricane deductible in actual money?

What is the settlement basis for my roof, and at what roof age does this carrier’s appetite change?

Have I had a wind mitigation inspection, and what would it save?

Am I with Citizens or a private carrier, and if Citizens, what would a takeout offer need to look like for me to take it?

What are my UM and UIM limits, and do they match my liability?

What would flood cost here, whatever the zone map says?