120+ moreFlorida homeowners have seen insurance prices soar in recent years as insurance companies have folded or pulled out of the state due to the weight of claims caused by multiple catastrophic weather events.
High levels of insurance fraud by contractors and excessive legal costs have also contributed to what the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) calls an “insurance crisis” in the Sunshine State.[?]
But Florida has also earmarked $1 billion to help insurance companies pay future hurricane claims and hopefully slow rising costs. It has also closed legal loopholes that exposed insurance companies to excessive expenses and promoted fraud by contractors.
Here are some other things you need to know about getting condo insurance in this complex market.
Florida’s insurance crisis has led some homeowners to “self-insure” their condos.
HO-6 insurance policies covering condos and co-ops protect against losses from 16 different perils.
Optional coverages include loss assessment coverage, which protects you against assessment increases for damage to common areas resulting from covered perils.
Insuring your Florida condo can be more complicated than insuring a condo located in another state. One reason is fast-rising costs. Another is that many Florida homeowners insurance companies are insolvent or have stopped writing new policies.
Fortunately, a handful of major insurers still have a presence in Florida, including the three that follow.
Insurify analyzed more than 15 criteria to calculate each company’s IQ Score. These criteria are grouped into five categories: third-party financial strength ratings, customer satisfaction, cost, customer support and transparency, and availability.
The IQ Score uses a 5-to-10 scale to assign a score to insurance companies for each criterion analyzed. The higher the score, the better.
Once scores are collected, Insurify calculates the average score of each criteria category based on a predetermined weighting and adds the weighted scores to create a unique IQ Score for each insurer.
If an insurer doesn’t have data for a particular criteria, it’s excluded from the IQ Score calculations.
Condo insurance provides liability and personal property protection for covered emergencies occurring in or to your unit and your belongings.
The liability portion covers your legal expenses if someone sues you after suffering an injury or property damage while in your unit. It may also reimburse their medical bills.[?]
Condo policies also provide wall-to-wall dwelling coverage in the event of a covered loss. In addition, condo insurance usually covers living expenses if the damage is so severe that you have to live elsewhere while the unit is being repaired or rebuilt.
It’s also important to note that your homeowners condo insurance is separate from your condominium association’s master insurance policy.
Florida law doesn’t require condo owners to carry condo insurance, but your condo association might. If you have a loan on your unit, your mortgage lender will require you to carry condo insurance.
The specific coverages you need depend on your financial situation, the value of your belongings, and the types of coverage — if any — offered by the association’s master policy that protects your unit.
This table shows the types of coverage condo insurance policies typically offer.
Type of Coverage  | Coverage Limit |
|---|---|
| Personal liability | $100,000 |
| Dwelling | Varies |
| Personal property | 50%–70% of dwelling coverage |
| Additional living expenses/loss of use | Varies |
Generally speaking, you’ll want enough liability coverage to protect your assets in case someone sues you. You’ll also want enough coverage for your condo and belongings to ensure that you can repair your home and repair or replace belongings that are important to you.
Remember that your condo or homeowners association master policy covers the condo building(s) and other common areas. You’re only responsible for your unit’s interior and, perhaps, any infrastructure that primarily benefits your unit.
It’s always a good idea to get clarification from your condo association about the master policy’s coverages and how they might affect your insurance needs.
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You aren’t legally required to carry flood insurance. But having such coverage could be a good idea, even if you don’t live in a high-risk area, as general condo insurance doesn’t cover flood damage.
About 20% of all flood claims in Florida come from moderate to low-risk areas, and you can use the flood maps on the FEMA website to determine your own flood risk.
If you do determine flood insurance could be a good idea for you, you can purchase it from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or some private insurers.
Standard coverage doesn’t always provide all the protection you need. Fortunately, additional coverage options are available to fill gaps and let you customize your policy.
Common optional coverages you could consider include:
Your condo insurance covers damage from hurricane winds and rain but not from flooding.
Some policies have a separate deductible for hurricanes. It remains in effect for 72 hours after the last hurricane warning or watch issued by the National Hurricane Center for any part of Florida. If your policy has this clause, it’s the only deductible that applies to any claim you file because of storm damage.
Condo insurance specifically excludes some perils. Floods are the most notable ones, even if they happen during a covered event like a hurricane. Here are a few more:
Injuries and property damage you cause intentionally
Earthquakes
Sinkholes
Sewer line backup
Damage from wood-boring insects
Normal wear
Structures other than your dwelling
Insurance companies consider many factors when calculating your condominium insurance rates, and they’re all based on risk. Location is a major factor because it determines how susceptible your condo is to crime, catastrophic weather, and other perils. Coastal properties are especially vulnerable to severe weather, which is one reason Florida’s rates are high.
Insurers also look at your:
Claim history: If you’ve filed claims in the past, you might be more likely to file future claims, which could increase your rates. The number of local claims from other homeowners in your area can also affect rates.
Coverages: The amount of standard and optional coverages you have determines how much an insurance company might have to pay out on a claim. Potentially higher claims mean potentially higher rates.
Safety features: Insurers look at whether you have security systems, fire safety equipment, storm shutters, and other risk-reducing improvements installed. Such equipment protects your condo from damage and can lower your rate.
Cost to repair or rebuild: Although your condo’s master plan covers the building, expensive materials in your unit could drive up your rates.
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Unit owners’ homeowners insurance doesn’t cover tenants’ belongings, so if you rent, you’ll need your own insurance policy.
Renters insurance pays to repair or replace your personal property if it has damage from a covered peril such as fire or theft. This is true even if you store your items elsewhere, like in a storage unit. It also covers your basic living expenses if you have to move out of the home while it undergoes repairs for a covered emergency.
Even if you don’t have a lot of belongings, you can benefit from the liability coverage renters insurance policies offer. If someone hurts themselves while in your unit or suffers property damage and sues you, liability insurance can help cover the costs.
Florida condo insurance is expensive, and it can even be difficult to find. The better informed you are, the more likely you’ll be to successfully navigate the purchase process. The following answers can help with any lingering questions you may still have.
Allstate, Progressive, and State Farm rank as three of the top insurers in Florida. Allstate offers comprehensive coverage you won’t find with many other insurers, and Progressive has numerous discount opportunities to help you save money. State Farm, meanwhile, can be an attractive option for short-term condo residents.
A type of homeowner’s insurance form known as an HO-6 covers condos. This type of policy typically provides wall-to-wall (and ceiling-to-floor) coverage against 16 named perils, such as fire, wind, vandalism, and falling objects. HO-6 insurance also covers co-ops.
Florida condo owners should have at least a standard HO-6 policy covering their dwelling, personal property, and additional living expenses. Depending on your situation, you might also consider adding umbrella coverage to raise your coverage limits as well as flood insurance.
If you can’t find affordable home insurance, you can register a quote request through the Florida Market Assistance Program. If that isn’t helpful, you can check your eligibility for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. coverage. Citizens is Florida’s insurer of last resort.
Yes. A growing number of Florida homeowners are self-insuring. This involves saving or investing money to cover costs that an insurance claim would normally reimburse. Unfortunately, many homeowners will never be able to dedicate that much savings to covering possible future claims.
Insurance companies have increased rates in response to several situations. One is the number of claims filed after hurricanes in 2016 and 2017. Rampant fraud and exorbitant legal fees have also contributed to rising rates.
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