Florida Releases County-by-County Property Insurance Report

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

1. Monroe County: $7,162 (single-family homes)
2. Miami-Dade County: $5,391
3. Palm Beach County: $5,247
4. Broward County: $5,164
5. Martin County: $4,756
6. Walton County: $4,337
7. Franklin County: $4,267
8. Collier County: $4,230
9. Indian River County: $3,386
10. Gulf County: $3,020

Property insurance: 10 lowest priced Florida counties

1. Sumter: $1,533 (single-family homes)
2. Baker: $1,694
3. Marion: $1,730
4. Hernando: $1,767
5. Lake: $1,859
6. Wakulla: $1,870
7. Gilchrist: $1,874
8. Citrus: $1,876
9. Alachua: $1,877
10. 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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