How to Review Your Florida Homeowners Insurance Before You Renew

Florida's homeowners insurance market has turned, and the renewal notice that lands in your mailbox this fall is the one to shop rather than sign. Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed carrier of last resort, was down to 254,413 policies on October 9, 2026, from a peak of about 1.41 million in 2023 (Citizens Property Insurance). Private carriers took those policies because they want to write Florida again, and regulators are approving rate decreases, not just increases.

That does not mean your bill will fall on its own. The average admitted-market homeowners premium in Florida is still $3,736 including wind coverage (Florida Realtors). The savings go to owners who get the right inspections, document their roof, take the state's hardening grant where it fits, and compare quotes every year. Here is how to do that in Orlando and on the Space Coast.

Where Florida's insurance market stands in late 2026

Since January 2024, 48 insurers have filed for rate decreases with the Office of Insurance Regulation and 53 have asked for no change. In September 2026 regulators approved four more cuts of 3.2% to 10.4% covering more than 62,000 policies, and Commissioner Mike Yaworsky said he expects "more aggressive rate cuts in the near future and going into 2027" (Florida Realtors). Florida homeowners rates fell 0.92% in 2025 while the national weighted average rose 5.5%, according to S&P Global data cited by the regulator.

Citizens itself is cutting. Its 2026 filing produced an average 8.8% decrease for homeowners multiperil policies and 5.5% for wind-only policies, with every personal lines policyholder seeing at least a 2% reduction at renewal on or after July 1, 2026 (Citizens Property Insurance). The headline average is not your policy, though. Rate changes are spread by territory, construction type and roof age, so two neighbors on the same street can see very different numbers.

If you are on Citizens, understand depopulation

Citizens is required to move policies to private carriers when a comparable offer comes in. If a private insurer offers coverage at a premium no more than 20% above your estimated Citizens renewal, you lose eligibility to stay with Citizens and your policy transfers at the end of the term. If the offer is more than 20% higher, you can register your choice to remain (Citizens Property Insurance).

Treat a takeout letter as a quote, not a verdict. Ask your agent to compare the takeout carrier's coverage, deductibles and financial strength against two or three other private quotes. Citizens' own president has told owners facing large renewal increases that "they should shop it" (Florida Realtors), and the same advice applies to a takeout offer.

Three inspections that change your premium

Florida law requires insurers to discount premiums for construction features that reduce wind losses, and the credits are documented on the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802, which stays valid for up to five years if nothing material changes. OIR adopted an updated version of that form effective April 1, 2026, based on a 2024 engineering study (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation). If your last inspection is more than five years old, or you have replaced a roof, added shutters or impact windows since, order a new one. It is the single most effective step most owners have not taken.

On roofs, Florida Statute 627.7011 bars an insurer from refusing to write or renew a policy solely because of roof age if the roof is under 15 years old. For an older roof, the insurer must let you obtain an inspection, and if it shows at least five years of useful life left the company cannot decline you on age alone (Florida Statutes 627.7011). Keep the permit and invoice from any roof replacement. Those two documents answer most underwriting questions.

Key point: Insurers price what they can verify. A current wind mitigation form, a roof permit and a four-point report turn your home from an unknown into a documented risk, and documented risks get the lower rate.

My Safe Florida Home: free inspection, grants up to $10,000

The state's My Safe Florida Home program provides a free wind mitigation inspection by an authorized inspector and grants of up to $10,000 toward roof improvements, impact windows and doors, garage door reinforcement and a secondary water barrier (My Safe Florida Home). The inspection report also lists the discounts the home could earn, so even an owner who never applies for a grant walks away with a usable form.

Grant funding has been prioritized for lower and moderate income households and for owner-occupied homes with a homestead exemption, and availability depends on what the Legislature appropriates each year. Start with the free inspection and check the program's current status before you plan a project around the grant.

Flood insurance is separate, and the math has changed

A homeowners policy does not cover flood. The National Flood Insurance Program's Risk Rating 2.0 prices each property on its own characteristics, and in Florida the full-risk average for a single-family home is $1,363 per year, with county averages of $1,009 in Brevard and $640 in Orange (Insurify, citing FEMA data). Increases are capped at 18% per year for primary residences, so older policies are still stepping up toward the full-risk number. NFIP coverage tops out at $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for contents, and a new policy usually carries a 30-day waiting period, while private flood policies can start sooner.

If you own on Merritt Island, in Cocoa Beach, along the Indian River or near any of Orlando's chain-of-lakes neighborhoods, get a flood quote even if your lender does not require one. A policy that costs less than $100 a month is cheap compared with an uninsured loss.

What this means in Orlando and on the Space Coast

On the Space Coast, wind is the premium driver. Barrier island and riverfront homes carry the highest wind territories, which makes the mitigation credits worth more in dollars there than anywhere else we work. A current OIR-B1-1802 on a Satellite Beach or Merritt Island home with a hip roof, a post-2002 roof deck and rated openings can be the difference between an affordable renewal and a takeout letter.

In Orlando, wind credits still apply and flood deserves more attention than most owners give it. Inland neighborhoods flooded in 2022 that had never flooded before, and Orange County's $640 average full-risk NFIP premium is a small number against a repair bill. Insurance also feeds directly into affordability: a premium is part of the monthly payment a lender qualifies you on, so a $1,200 annual reduction is $100 a month of buying power. Our mortgage team at Don Harkins Mortgage sees that trade-off on every application.

A 20-minute policy review

• Check the dwelling coverage against what it would actually cost to rebuild today, not what you paid.
• Know your hurricane deductible (2%, 5% or 10% of dwelling coverage) and what that is in dollars.
• Confirm whether the roof is covered at replacement cost or actual cash value.
• Look for water damage sublimits and ordinance or law coverage.
• Ask what discounts the policy is applying and whether a new wind mitigation form would add more.
• Get two private quotes alongside the renewal, plus a flood quote.

Next step

If you are buying, selling or simply renewing, insurance is now a negotiation rather than a fixed cost. We help our buyers and sellers line up inspections, pull permit history and get quotes early so that coverage never delays a closing. Reach out and we will point you to the inspectors and agents we trust in Orlando and on the Space Coast.