Rise of Florida insurance property costs affecting local homeowners

Local homeowners are feeling like they are caught in a storm of rising insurance costs and soaring premiums.

The issue is driven by a perfect storm of natural disasters, fraud and insurers fleeing the state.

No one is happy about paying more money. It’s hard enough to afford to buy a home, and when you do, you have to think about all the expenses that go with it.

Mention property insurance to any homeowner in Florida, and this is your reaction:

“It’s out of control. It’s completely off the charts,” said Jennifer Fehrs, a homeowner.

“It’s gone up, went up immediately after the hurricane, and it hasn’t gone back down. That’s for sure,” said Seth Ford, a Fort Myers homeowner.

Ford said it’s on his mind way too much.

“As a matter of fact, I would like to spend less time thinking about property insurance,” he said.

Wouldn’t we all? But these bills are making it hard to forget.

Florida Tax Watch said premiums have gone up about 42% since 2019, so what’s causing this increase?

Researcher Meg Cannan said it’s a mix of things: natural disasters, property insurance fraud and limited competition from insurers leaving.

“As people are trying to combat inflation, they’re trying to combat high prices everywhere, when you have to worry about your homeowner’s insurance. That’s another thing that can push you out of the state,” Cannan said.

Having insurance helped Ford out after his roof was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

“I was someone that was fortunate. They did their job; they covered my costs of fixing my home,” Ford said.

However, he’s still stuck paying an expensive premium, so what are some solutions for this?

For the most part, Tax Watch said, it’s a waiting game, but you can also take it into your own hands.

“With the things that are within our control as Floridians, we can look into home hardening [like] hurricane-proof windows,” Cannan said. When you have a building that’s in better code, sometimes you get a lower premium.”

Tax Watch said that, hopefully, in the next three to four years, homeowners will see some relief. That is if they are still here since they said so many are getting priced out of the state.