Florida Flood and Home owners Insurance questions

[Esaul Viramontes]

Hello yall! I am a little sticker shocked today....to say the least. I am relocating to Florida from Utah. In Utah, I pay about $450 annually. Now, I knew beforehand that Florida would be more expensive due to floods/hurricanes and such......BUT around $3,000 annually?!!? Could some locals give me  their 2 cents please? and maybe some Insurance agents they recommend for the best possible rates?!? Thank you in advance

[Dana Whicker]

Your flood zone is not directly correlated to how close to the ocean you are.  Elevation is actually a better indicator but it's still not the best.  The best, and what your insurance and mortgage company will go by is the actual flood zone map.

I have a property (3/1 1150 sq ft.) that's less than a mile from the ocean that I pay $776 per year for liability, hazard and hurricane.  Flood is not required.  The lot's elevation is about 22ft.  It has an 8 year old roof with all the goodies.

You can save a ton with the proper roof.  There are several steps in the roofing process that can, if done properly and documented, save you enough money on insurance to pay for the roof in a few years.  That's a thread-worthy topic in itself and I don't want to derail.

You will most likely be getting insurance from a company you have never heard of or Citizens.

Good luck!