Florida Home Insurance

If you own a home in Florida, you may need to purchase homeowners insurance to protect your property and personal belongings from various perils, such as windstorms, fires, thefts, or vandalism. Homeowners insurance is not required by law in Florida, but your mortgage lender or homeowners association may have their own requirements. Here are some details of Florida home insurance requirements, laws, policies as well as average costs and best companies.

Homeowners insurance policies typically consist of six main coverages: dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, and medical payments. Each coverage has a limit, which is the maximum amount the insurance company will pay for a covered loss. You can adjust the limits according to your needs and preferences.

- Dwelling coverage pays for the repair or rebuilding of your home if it is damaged by a covered peril. The amount of dwelling coverage you need should be based on the estimated cost of rebuilding your home, not its market value. You can use local construction costs, improvements you have made, and building codes to calculate this amount. For example, if your home has 2,000 square feet and the local building cost is $150 per square foot, you would need $300,000 of dwelling coverage.

- Other structures coverage pays for the repair or rebuilding of structures that are detached from your home, such as a garage, shed, fence, or pool. Most policies cover other structures for about 10% of the dwelling coverage limit. For example, if your dwelling coverage limit is $300,000, you would have $30,000 of other structures coverage.

- Personal property coverage pays for the replacement of your personal belongings if they are stolen or damaged by a covered peril. Personal property includes items such as furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances, and jewelry. Most policies cover personal property for about 50% to 70% of the dwelling coverage limit. For example, if your dwelling coverage limit is $300,000, you would have $150,000 to $210,000 of personal property coverage. Some items may have sublimits or require special endorsements to be fully covered.

- Loss of use coverage pays for your additional living expenses if you have to move out of your home temporarily due to a covered loss. This may include costs such as hotel bills, restaurant meals, laundry services, and storage fees. Most policies cover loss of use for about 20% to 30% of the dwelling coverage limit. For example, if your dwelling coverage limit is $300,000, you would have $60,000 to $90,000 of loss of use coverage.

- Personal liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility if you or a member of your household cause bodily injury or property damage to someone else. This may include costs such as medical bills, legal fees, and court judgments. Most policies offer personal liability coverage between $100,000 and $500,000 per occurrence. You can also purchase an umbrella policy to increase your liability protection beyond your homeowners policy limits.

- Medical payments coverage pays for the medical expenses of someone who is injured on your property or by your pet regardless of who is at fault. This may include costs such as ambulance fees,