SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Many Floridians are now realizing when either shopping for homeowners insurance, or their new rates from their current provider come rolling in, the rates are up.

What You Need To Know

  • Home Insurance Policies on average are up 30-40% this year

  • Governor DeSantis says relief to homeowners is likely a year away

  • Insurance policies are up over 100% from five years ago

A big reason for those increases – new roofs.  

Tucked away under tall oaks in Seminole County is Marcos Robles' home.

He admits when a nasty storm comes through, he gets anxious with the amount of tall oaks near the proximity of his home.

His family has had their home for over 20 years. Last year, Robles says their home insurance policy was about $1500. This year he says it is going up $1,000.

“Angry and disappointed,” Robles says in his backyard. “Everything keeps going up, up, up. Then this, it’s something that is disappointing.”

Robles isn’t alone. According to the National Association of insurance Commissioners from 2014 to 2018, the average homeowner's insurance policy in Florida was a little under $2,000. According to Insurance.com, Florida now ranks third in the country, with the highest average homeowner's insurance policy at $3,643.

 

“Right now we are seeing some massive rate increases, just based off of previous losses in the state,” Andrew Ray an Executive Sales Agent for Blanchard Insurance explains. “Specifically, we are seeing a lot of hail damage.”

Hail damage is what got Robles a new roof in 2020.  He says a roofer came to his house, and asked if they could examine his roof. Then he says, they submitted a claim after a previous roofer said his roof was fine. He admits to paying about $500 for a new roof, but says the hike increase for now is fine.

“You know how expensive those roofs are?” Robles asks rhetorically. “If you take account of it and say, well, we came out ahead.” 

Insurance carriers, however, are not.

“With the total carriers that there are in the state of Florida, they lost $1.2 billion in the last quarter of last year,” Ray reports.

 

Much of the losses now being passed on to Florida homeowners.

And as the year continues to roll on in Florida, homeowners are finding that out, or risk of being uninsured.

Andrew Ray at Blanchard Insurance also states the average home insurance policy from last year to this year is increasing about 30-40%. In the past five years, it has increased by over 100%.