If you’re a Florida homeowner, there are likely two main things top-of-mind for you during the fall months: home insurance prices and hurricanes.
Florida’s home insurance market is slowly stabilizing after a years-long homeowners insurance crisis, but it remains one of the most expensive states in the U.S. for insuring homes and other properties. This is exacerbated every year by hurricane season, which begins in June and ends in November, peaking in September.
Citizens Insurance is a state-backed insurer that many homeowners turn to when they can’t find a private insurer in the state’s challenging home insurance market and it is one of the largest home insurance providers in the state. In case you missed it, Citizens’ rates changed in June, varying by region and risk.
Here’s what to know about Citizens’ recent rate changes, who pays more, who pays less and what to know about shopping for a policy during hurricane season.
Citizens Insurance 2025 rate changes: Who pays more, who pays less
In February, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved a rate hike of no more than 14%, which became effective on June 1. The maximum rate increase was even higher for those insuring second or third homes, which aren’t their primary residence, at 50%, according to Insurance Business Magazine.
Most homeowners in Florida (80%) saw an average rate increase of more than 8%, while 20% of policyholders, mainly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, saw an average rate reduction of 5.6%.
If you are covered by Citizens, how much your rate increased this year depends on what kind of policy you have.
“For 2025, Citizens’ dwelling rates will rise 10.4% for multiperil policies and 17.2% for wind-only policies. The mobile home program will see increases of 21.7% for multiperil and 26.6% for wind-only policies,” Insurance Business Magazine reported in February.
“Mobile home dwelling fire multiperil rates will rise 18.8%, while wind-only rates for that program will increase by 20.3%.”
Is Citizens Insurance run by the state of Florida?
Yes. Citizens Insurance is a state-backed insurance company that provides property insurance to people who are “entitled to obtain coverage through the private market but are unable to do so.”
“We serve the people of Florida as the state’s insurer of last resort, and as an innovative thought leader focused on promoting a healthy property insurance market,” the Citizens Insurance website says.
Why is Florida homeowners insurance so expensive? Here’s what it costs
When insurance companies issue a policy, they’re hoping you won’t have to file a claim. If there’s a high risk of you making a claim shortly after applying for your insurance policy or if you live in a high-risk area, insurance companies are less likely to approve you. And most, if not all, of the state of Florida is considered high-risk when it comes to flooding and storm damage, especially during hurricane season.
This is why most insurance companies don’t sell homeowners’ insurance 24 to 48 hours before a storm is anticipated to hit the state and why insurance prices in the Sunshine State are more expensive than in most other states. The riskier it is that you’ll incur damages, the harder it is to be insured at a reasonable price.
How much home insurance costs for you, specifically, depends on where in the state you live, the property and/or home you’re insuring, who you insure with and what kind of insurance policy you need. To get the best pricing possible, insurance experts recommend comparing quotes from at least three different insurers.
According to 2025 data from consumer financial services company BankRate, the average annual cost of home insurance in Florida is around $5,761, with some coastal communities reaching prices as high as nearly $11,000.
“Florida is a notoriously tough market for homeowners insurance due to the state’s risk level,” BankRate says. “The Sunshine State’s long coastline and narrow shape mean that much of the state is at risk for hurricane damage, wind damage and flooding.”
Personal finance company NerdWallet places the average price of home insurance in Florida a little lower, but still around 24% higher than the national average of $2,110, at around $2,625 per year for those with good credit.
“In Florida, those with poor credit pay an average of $3,855 per year,” according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. “That’s 47% more than Floridians with good credit.”
Can you get home insurance during hurricane season?
There are certain times when buying homeowners’ insurance is virtually impossible in Florida. You can sometimes buy homeowners’ insurance during hurricane season, but not always.
Most insurance companies don’t sell homeowners’ insurance 24 to 48 hours before a storm is anticipated to hit the state. Rules around when you can and can’t buy homeowners’ insurance vary depending on which insurance provider you buy from. But it’s usually very difficult to get a new home insurance policy during hurricane season in Florida, no matter who you insure with.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Hurricane season and insurance: Citizens insurance 2025 rate changes, who pays more, less
Reporting by Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
