Homeowners Insurance in Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is both the largest city in Florida by population and land area, and it’s pretty easy to see why Jax is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Situated on the winding St. John’s River and just minutes from world-class beaches, Jacksonville, Florida is the epitome of a water-centric city.

Even though Jacksonville is the furthest big city north inside the state of Florida, it still faces its fair share of perils that can cause significant and costly damage to homes. Luckily, a Jacksonville homeowners insurance policy can help you protect your house, belongings and financial futures from a multitude of unexpected events, like fires and hurricanes.

Florida is the most hurricane-prone state in the country and much of the state has been hit hard by hurricanes in the past. Luckily for Jacksonville residents, the northeast part of Florida has been hit by the fewest number of hurricanes through the years.

But that doesn’t mean a hurricane, or another peril, won’t come out of nowhere when you least expect it. That’s why you always have to be prepared for anything with adequate and affordable homeowners insurance in Jacksonville, Florida.

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Jacksonville, Florida is $2,303 per year for a house worth $150,000, $4,170 for a house worth $300,000 and $5,984 for a house worth $450,000. Since Jacksonville isn’t as susceptible to hurricanes as other areas in Florida, it has lower premiums than the rest of Florida’s major cities. Many factors go into pricing homeowners policies, so you could pay less or more than these numbers. 

While Florida’s property insurance market has seen somewhat of a crisis in recent years, with premiums rising to the point of unaffordability for many homeowners, it seems that the insurance market is stabilizing, at least in Jax. 

Let’s take a look at the annual average cost of homeowners insurance in this Florida city. 

The premiums displayed in this article were obtained by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. They represent the most recent rate filings from the state’s largest insurers and can be utilized as an average of what Floridians can expect to pay for homeowners insurance each year. The example premiums are based on a policy for a Florida masonry home with a $500 non-hurricane deductible, a 2% hurricane deductible and no claims in the past three years.

Even though Jax’s premiums are already less than the state’s average, a few key factors could allow you to reduce your rates even further. If your home was built from 2001 to the present day, its building codes were already updated to withstand heavy winds. But if your home was constructed prior to 2001, getting a wind mitigation could save you even more.

A wind mitigation is any protection on your home that helps decrease the damage caused by strong winds like a hurricane. This can include certain roof attachments and coverings, extra water-resistant seals and impact-resistant doors and windows. Wind mitigations typically result in deep discounts on your home insurance premiums, so you’ll want to get one.

Since all Florida insurance companies must submit an average annual homeowners insurance premium, it gives us a good scope of which companies are the most affordable and which have relatively high premiums.

If you own a home that was built before 2001, which is the year that brought on more stringent hurricane building codes for homes, getting a wind mitigation for your home could save you more than $1,000 per year on premiums. If your home was built from 2001 to the present, your home was built using these codes, so the wind mitigation discount is already enforced.

Jacksonville’s real estate market has been booming in recent years, so you’d probably be hard-pressed to find a house for less than $150,000. Many homes are going for $200,000 or more.

So we calculated the average cost of homeowners insurance in Jacksonville and found that homeowners pay an average of $4,170 per year for a $300,000 home and just over $1,500 more for a $450,000 home.

While the estimates provided are an overall average of each company’s insurance premiums, you could pay less or more for your Jacksonville homeowners insurance policy depending on a multitude of factors that help to determine your individual premium.

A few other factors that can lead to rate increases or decreases in the Jacksonville area are:

Depending on where you live in Jacksonville, whether it’s closer to the St. Johns River or a safe distance from any water that could cause significant damage, will be a huge factor in your premiums. Property crime is also a bit higher in Jacksonville than other cities in Florida, so that could impact your rates as well.

The best homeowners insurance companies in Jacksonville, Florida for premiums and customer service are undoubtedly Citizens Property Insurance and State Farm. If you have a home valued at $150,000 or less, you could potentially get a Jacksonville homeowners insurance policy for less than $1,500 per year.

While Citizens has some of the most affordable rates in this Florida city, it’s generally regarded as a last resort for homeowners who can’t get coverage on the standard insurance market. Citizens is a non-profit insurer that helps homeowners who can’t find coverage on the voluntary market. While many residents have turned to Citizens during Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis, some are finding better rates with standard insurers than with Citizens, signifying a healing insurance marketplace in the Sunshine State.

When you consider the average cost of homeowners insurance in Florida is $3,325 for that category, you’re getting a steal of a policy. And the average premium for a $300,000 home in Florida is $6,026 per year, which is almost double Jacksonville’s annual cost of $4,170.

As a licensed insurance agent in Jacksonville, we can pair you with the best policy from Citizens Property Insurance and State Farm for the best prices. To do so, simply get a quick and free quote from our online quoting tool.

If you want to go a different route, we can also pair you with a policy from FedNat, Florida Penn and People’s Trust, as well as a few other carriers.

Homeowners insurance in Jacksonville, Florida is designed to cover your home, everything you keep on your property and certain incidents you may be found liable for, such as a friend coming over and getting hurt in the pool. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of coverages.

Dwelling coverage protects the elements of your home, like the siding, roof, foundation, walls, and windows. In short, it protects the structure of your home should a covered peril damage it. It’s also called Coverage A.

Other structures coverage covers the structures on your property, like detached garages, carports, and sheds. Generally, it covers the elements of your property that aren’t attached to your main home. It may also be referred to as Coverage B.

Personal property coverage protects the belongings you store on your property, like your patio furniture, that fancy electric lawnmower you got for your birthday, your TV, and almost anything else you can think of. It can also be called Coverage C.

Loss of use coverage can help you financially if your home becomes unlivable due to damage from a covered peril. It may help you cover expenses like gasoline or temporary housing. It’s also called Coverage D.

Personal liability coverage can help you cover medical expenses and legal fees if you’re found liable for a guest’s injuries on your property or damage to someone else’s property. So, you may invoke this coverage if a neighbor falls and breaks a hip while graciously shoveling snow from your driveway or if your wild children take a science experiment too far and damage the neighbor’s garage. It may also be called Coverage E.

Medical payments coverage can be used to cover medical expenses if a guest sustains a minor injury on your property. So, if your kid’s friend busts their knee after performing a trick on the diving board that needed more practice or if your neighbor falls walking up the steps to your house and breaks a wrist, that may be covered. This may also be called Coverage E.

Since Jacksonville is along the coast and the St. Johns River runs directly through the city, the entire city of Jacksonville, Florida is prone to flooding. Unfortunately, homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flood damage anywhere in the U.S.

To be covered by the existential threat of flooding Jacksonville, you’ll need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy, which protects against storm surges from hurricanes, overflowing bodies of water and heavy rains that cause flooding — which are common threats to homes in Jax.

Getting home insurance in Jacksonville is super simple and extremely quick when you use our intuitive online quoting engine. Simply input a few details about your home and yourself, our archive of data sources will fill in the blanks and you’ll be on your way with your brand new homeowners insurance policy in Jacksonville.

And if you have any questions along the way, our live-chat feature manned by in-house licensed agents is a go-to option. We’re also a big fan of the old-school ways, so you can reach one of our licensed agents by phone Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 833-255-4117 or email us anytime at agent@clovered.com.