As hurricane season nears its peak, Florida homeowners are once again facing an unsettling trend: rising property insurance rates.
A new report from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reveals that, for the ninth time in the last 10 quarters, insurance rates have increased — climbing a staggering 40% since 2022.
“It’s phenomenal. Mainly since Ian, they’ve gone up,” said Mary Bousquet of Cape Coral, referencing the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian.
“We’ve never made a claim, so you expect them [insurers] to be there,” added homeowner Maureen Martinello, echoing the frustration felt by many who are now paying more for less peace of mind.
Skyrocketing premiums
Many Floridians report dramatic increases in their premiums, with some families now paying thousands more each year.
“It was affordable for me, now it’s $4,800 a year,” said Jovan Millet of Fort Myers.
Another Cape Coral resident, Bob Esposito, shared: “Almost double — and my insurance company isn’t even here anymore.”
The broader picture
Despite these individual hardships, insurance industry experts argue there may be reason for cautious optimism.
“We look at the bigger picture,” said Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute. “And that is for rates to flatten across Florida over the last 18 months.”
Friedlander attributes the recent uptick not to natural disasters but to economic pressures. “There is a slight uptick in rates primarily due to inflation — meaning higher costs of materials and labor,” he explained. However, he cautioned that insurance is highly personalized: “Not every policy is apples to apples — every property is rated on individual risk.”
What can homeowners do?
Doug Nellans of The Insurancenter in Fort Myers says while rate hikes are real, they’re not always dramatic.
“I would say 5% or less,” he noted. “Certainly much more manageable than the massive double-digit increases from recent years.”
Nellans advises that homeowners be proactive in seeking discounts and making improvements. “Wind mitigation discounts have been a significant way to reduce the cost of homeowners' insurance,” he said. Those upgrades include features such as hurricane shutters, impact-resistant windows, and additional nails securing roofing systems.
Most important, he emphasized, is to shop around: “The best single advice I can give to anybody out there is talk to your local insurance agent.”
Mixed outcomes
While some homeowners are bracing for higher premiums, others are seeing modest relief, especially if they’ve made improvements or switched providers.
Still, for the vast majority of Floridians, mailboxes are once again filling with insurance renewal notices — and few of them come as welcome news.
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