Florida Homeowners Insurance, Answered

The questions below come up on nearly every homeowners call we take. If yours is not here, call (813) 499-9347 and ask.

My insurer says my roof is too old. Can they just drop me?

Not automatically, and this is the single most useful thing to know about a Florida homeowners policy. Section 627.7011(5)(b) of the Florida Statutes says an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a policy on a home whose roof is less than 15 years old solely because of the age of the roof.

Once a roof is 15 years or older, subsection (5)(c) gives you a second protection. You have the right to have it inspected by an authorized inspector, at your own expense, before an insurer can require replacement as a condition of coverage. If that inspection shows the roof has five years or more of useful life remaining, the insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of its age. If you get a nonrenewal letter, call us before you call a roofer.

What is wind mitigation and is the inspection worth paying for?

Usually, yes. A wind mitigation inspection documents five things carriers give credit for: roof-to-deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, roof geometry, secondary water resistance and opening protection. It is the largest single lever on a Florida homeowners premium that does not involve raising your deductible.

Two things worth checking. If your home had a code-compliant reroof, it may already qualify for credits nobody ever applied, because the new form was never sent to the carrier. And if you have a report, make sure your carrier actually has it on file. A surprising number do not.

Does my homeowners policy cover flood?

No. This catches people every year. Homeowners covers wind-driven damage. It does not cover rising water, and storm surge is rising water. A hurricane can produce two claims under two policies with two deductibles, and if you only carry one of them the other loss is yours.

Flood comes from the National Flood Insurance Program or from the private flood market, and since FEMA moved to Risk Rating 2.0 in October 2021 the price is driven by your building’s own characteristics rather than a zone line alone. We quote both.

I am not in a flood zone. Do I still need it?

Every property has some level of flood risk. FEMA maps properties into different flood hazard zones, and being outside a high risk one is not the same as having no risk. The question is whether it is a high risk one. Lenders require flood insurance in high risk zones, so people there have it. Nobody requires it anywhere else, so almost nobody outside those zones buys it, and more than 20 percent of NFIP claims come from low risk zones. Outside a high risk zone the premium is rated on the property itself under FEMA Risk Rating 2.0, not on a zone-based preferred table, so the only way to know the number is to run it. We run flood zone determinations at no charge.

What is the difference between hurricane, windstorm and my regular deductible?

A Florida homeowners policy usually carries more than one. Your standard deductible is a flat dollar amount and applies to ordinary claims. Your hurricane deductible is a percentage of your dwelling limit, commonly 2 or 5 percent, and it applies once a named storm triggers it. On a home insured for $400,000 a 2 percent hurricane deductible is $8,000 out of pocket before the policy pays. Knowing that number before a storm is more useful than knowing your premium.

Is sinkhole coverage included?

Only in its narrowest form. Every property insurer authorized in Florida must include catastrophic ground cover collapse. Under section 627.706 of the Florida Statutes, that only pays when all four of these are true: the ground cover collapses abruptly, the depression is clearly visible to the naked eye, there is structural damage to the building including the foundation, and the structure is condemned and ordered vacated by a government agency. Settling and cracking do not qualify.

Broader sinkhole loss coverage is a separate purchase, and Florida law requires insurers to make it available for an additional premium. Whether it is worth buying depends on your parcel. We will price it both ways.

My premium jumped and nothing changed. Why?

Usually one of three things: replacement cost was re-rated, a wind mitigation credit expired or was never applied, or your carrier changed its appetite for your area. As an independent agency we can put the policy back out to market rather than accept the renewal, and we do that automatically at renewal rather than waiting for you to ask.