Homeowners Insurance in Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida’s state capital and home of the Florida State University Seminoles, is the seventh-largest city in the Sunshine State. It’s a cultural and political hub and boasts plenty to do thanks to its manageable driving distances to beaches and natural springs.

While home insurance in the city is on the cheaper side, Florida always has its share of house-threatening hazards. Let’s take a look at the cost of homeowners insurance in Tallahassee, and some factors that determine the price of premiums.

On average, home insurance in Tallahassee, Florida, costs about $1,661 annually. The average rate in this major Florida city is about 43% below $2,924, the average annual rate for home insurance in the state.

Generally, Florida is one of the most expensive places in the nation for homeowners insurance. Its location along the Atlantic and the Gulf puts homes in the state at an exceptional risk of experiencing hurricanes, heavy winds, and severe storms. With this increased risk comes increased premiums.

You can further understand home insurance in Florida’s capital city by looking at average rates from some insurance companies in Tallahassee and understanding some important cost factors.

It’s crucial to note that these numbers reflect average rates, which may not be available to every customer. Tallahassee home insurance is highly subjective, with rates determined based on various factors about you, your home, your policy, and your insurer. Two of the most critical determinants of premiums in Florida are your home’s age and wind mitigation.

About 20 years ago, legislators passed a law updating building codes for homes in Florida. These new codes mandate that newly built homes have wind mitigation features that help protect homes against damage from high winds.

Homes built before this law was passed may not have the best materials to mitigate damage from high winds. Thus, these homes are more at risk of damage during a storm, therefore, these policyholders may pay higher premiums due to their higher likelihood of filing a claim. 

Homes built after the law was passed have wind mitigation features built into their structures, and are thus better protected in the event of heavy winds. Homeowners in newly built homes in Florida may see lower premiums because of these wind mitigation features protecting them from potential property loss.

Homeowners in older homes who want to fortify their homes against damage from hurricanes and strong winds can install wind mitigation features such as a hip roof, water-resistant seals, and impact-resistant doors and windows. Installing such features not only protects your home, but may lead to a discount on your premiums, as a stipulation of the law that updated these building codes.

Standard homeowners insurance policies are divided into sections specified to cover different areas of your property and your financial well-being. A typical Tallahassee home insurance plan will include the following:

Homeowners insurance isn’t a cut-and-dry process. Every house is different which means there’s plenty to consider for every property insured. Some factors, other than wind mitigation, that affect premiums include:

These factors, and many more, can make determining the cost of a typical premium tricky. Every home and homeowner is different, and an insurance company will analyze as many factors as they can about a potential policyholder to determine a premium.

Additionally, the weather in Tallahassee causes more hazards that policyholders should know.

Tallahassee receives almost 60 inches of precipitation every year, making it one of the rainiest cities in the United States. Anyone who has spent a summer in Tallahassee can attest to this.

Due to these heavy rains and hilly terrain, many areas of Tallahassee are prone to floods and flash floods. This is important to note since flood damage isn’t covered by standard home insurance policies in most cases.

According to the city government website, places near the west, central, east, and northeast drainage ditches see regular flooding. This includes parts of Franklin Boulevard and Orange Ave. Sections of the FSU campus and places around other bodies of water in the city also have experienced floods and flash floods. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, creates maps that designate flood zones in the United States, which affect insurance costs. Many parts of Tallahassee are in A, AE, or X zones. While no law requires flood insurance, property owners in these zones may be required by their mortgage lender to get flood coverage to protect a lender’s financial investment.

As of 2024, the city of Tallahassee has cooperated with FEMA to earn a 25% discount for residents when purchasing FEMA flood policies, which can save homeowners hundreds of dollars annually.

Florida experiences more sinkholes than any other state. Unfortunately, the limestone that makes up the earth in the northern and central parts of the state make this region especially sinkhole-prone. The limestone gets worn away by water, and holes in the rock form underground as a result. Sometimes the surface above these holes dissipates or erodes, and suddenly you’ve got a sinkhole.

Normally, homeowners insurance policies don’t cover the land under your property. It deals with the replacement cost of the physical structures themselves. However, Florida is one of a few states to require insurers to cover “catastrophic ground cover collapse” in standard policies. 

This only provides coverage in extreme and specific instances, though. To be financially protected from catastrophic ground cover collapse, a sinkhole on your property has to meet certain criteria. If you’re not forced to evacuate your house or your home isn’t uninhabitable as a result of the sinkhole, you might not be covered.

To be further safeguarded from sinkholes, you’d need to purchase separate sinkhole coverage. This is always optional.

Even though Tallahassee is 20 miles inland, it lies in the most hurricane-prone part of the state. Florida’s panhandle is exposed to hurricanes that pass through the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters. 

As a result, Tallahassee homeowners sometimes have to deal with the devastating effects of tropical storms and hurricanes, like Hurricane Michael in 2018 and Hurricane Hermine in 2016.

Homeowners insurance covers hurricane damage. But, policyholders in Florida have to pay a hurricane deductible, which is different from their standard homeowners deductible, when filing an insurance claim for hurricane damage. It’s usually more expensive since it’s likely based on a percentage of your dwelling coverage, but you only have to pay it once per storm season if you file multiple times in one season.

You should always compare quotes from multiple providers when looking for insurance policies. Clovered makes this easy with an online quote engine that enables you to compare plans from top insurance companies in Tallahassee to find the right coverage at the right price. We want to help you find the best rate possible.

We’re headquartered in Florida and have helped thousands in the state and across the country find coverage. You can also call one of our licensed agents at 833-255-4117 during business hours or email us at agent@clovered.com with coverage questions.