Homeowners Insurance in Jacksonville, Florida

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

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

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Jacksonville is about $2,617 annually.  Since Jacksonville isn’t as susceptible to hurricanes as other areas in Florida, it has lower premiums than many of Florida’s other major cities.

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, there are early signs of it settling, at least around Jacksonville. 

Take a look at the average cost of homeowners insurance in the city from some major carriers.

While Jacksonville’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 inspection could save you even more.

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.

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 are Southern Oak and Safepoint, but many factors go into pricing homeowners policies that could cause you to find differently when quoting.

Note that Citizens, which often has affordable rates, is 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.

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

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.