Homeowners Insurance in Plant City, Florida (2024)

Hillsborough County residents have been lucky with hurricanes and tropical storms in the past, but they threaten the area regularly, and you don’t want your home to be financially exposed if a direct strike comes.

Learn everything you should know to find the best homeowners insurance in Plant City below.

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Plant City is $3,610 annually for a $150,000 house, $6,541 for a $300,000 house, and $9,379 for a $450,000 house.

Unfortunately, Florida overall has the highest home insurance premiums in the country by some measures due partly to high property values and general hurricane risk on both coasts.

While Plant City is an inland community in Hillsborough County, the town can still feel the effects of a potential hurricane if one struck the Bay area, which causes increased home insurance premiums. Average rates in Plant City are about 13% higher than the state average.

The table below lists average home insurance costs in Plant City from some common home insurance providers based on home value.

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.

While premiums vary by carrier, rates rise across the board as home value increases. More expensive houses cost more to insure because bigger, nicer homes have upgraded features and finishes that would cost more to replace if damaged or destroyed.

This is based on a principle insurance companies use called replacement cost valuation. Providers determine your home’s replacement cost by the cost to rebuild or repair the house from the ground up based on materials and labor prices only. 

When we refer to home value in this article, we’re referring to replacement cost. This isn’t the same as your home’s market value. While both numbers increase as houses become more expensive, the two aren’t the same. Insurance companies generally use replacement costs to value your home, so intangible aspects like location don’t interfere with repair costs.

Home value is one of many factors that influence homeowners insurance premiums. The following table depicts average rates in Plant City for $150,000 homes, accounting for two more critical variables: home age and wind mitigation. You’ll see that older houses have higher premiums.

But first, let’s go over how insurers categorize homes when determining premiums, factoring for wind mitigation and home age.

Now, let’s take a look at average premiums from the top insurers in the city, factoring for wind mitigation features and home age. 

Older houses have higher insurance rates for a couple of reasons. They’re not built up to the latest building codes, which are crucial in Florida for a structure’s ability to withstand hurricane-force winds. This means they’re more likely to suffer damage during a storm.

And, older homes have wear and tear that can diminish their components and make property damage more likely. For example, older pipes generally have a greater chance of leaking than newer ones. Florida insurance companies are also very wary of old roofs, as they don’t handle strong winds well.

Wind mitigation can positively affect your premiums. Insurers are legally required to discount premiums of policyholders whose homes pass wind mitigation inspections. On $150,000 houses in Plant City, wind mitigation reduced average rates by about 40% annually, amounting to about $1,700 in savings per year.

Look how this trend continues on $300,000 homes.

Wind mitigation can save you thousands annually. The final table lists rates for $450,000 houses in Plant City, which get very costly on older homes with no wind mitigation.

State Farm regularly had the cheapest homeowners insurance in Plant City of the companies we analyzed. While this may be true on average, you may find variation when quoting and encounter another company with cheaper rates. Premiums vary by location, carrier, and person.

You should always get quotes from more than one insurance company when looking for the cheapest home insurance in Plant City to guarantee savings. You’ll be able to see who has the coverage you need at the lowest price.

You might notice Universal Property on our companies list. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company is Florida’s largest private home insurer. It was founded in 1997 and is based in Fort Lauderdale.

This differs from Universal Insurance of Plant City, a local company founded in 2012. Both companies offer all sorts of property insurance and may be able to provide you with affordable coverage.

While price varies by company, you’ll always receive the same coverages in your homeowners insurance policy no matter where you buy the plan. Homeowners insurance plans includes coverages for property and liability, as outlined below.

While no default best policy exists, the best homeowners insurance in Plant City will always address all of your coverage needs while staying relatively affordable. This coverage will vary by person, so you need to understand your coverage needs when quoting. Then, you should shop around to find the best policy and save money.

You should adequately know and identify what you need out of your policy when quoting. You can adjust your coverage limits to fit your needs. And, you can change coverage options based on what and how you want your insurance to work for you.

Carriers will suggest many default coverage limits when you’re quoting. You can adjust some of these to reflect your needs and possibly save money. For example, you should create a contents list to guide your personal property coverage selection. A catalog of your possessions, including their values, will give you an exact number you can set for your personal property coverage limit. This will provide you with the necessary coverage without overpaying for unnecessary protection.

 You should also recognize exclusions in your policy. Some risks and items are not included in standard coverage. For example, default plans usually only cover art and jewelry up to $2,500 or $5,000. 

You might want to purchase an endorsement, or added coverage, if you have possessions that exceed sub-limits in your plans. You can purchase endorsements for home-based businesses, water backup, inflation guards, and more.

Shop around to compare rates from home insurance companies in Plant City. This is the best way to ensure you get an excellent policy deal.

You’ll need to know some information about your house to get quotes, such as square footage and construction details. You’ll also need to answer some questions about dog ownership, claims history, and more. Insurers examine many factors about you and your property that we’ll dive into later to determine their rates.

In addition to seeing who has the cheapest rates, you can also assess companies’ customer service and, if shopping online, website ease of use. Qualitative factors like these can play into your choice of company.

Home insurance in Florida isn’t always affordable. You should ask about available discounts and see how you can qualify. The largest discount providers usually offer is associated with bundling. Bundling is housing multiple insurance policies, such as home and auto, with the same carrier. Note different discounts and their reductions when you’re shopping around.

Another good way to save money on the best home insurance in Plant City is to raise your deductible. Raising your deductible increases the cost of property damage you incur before you can file a claim. Insurers prefer this and reward you with lower premiums when doing so. Deductibles generally range from $500 to $2,000.

Homeowners insurance covers your home against various damage sources, from fires to theft to hurricanes. But, one notable exclusion is flooding. Home insurance plans never almost never cover flood damage.

Floods are the country’s most common and costly natural disaster, and home insurers normally can’t afford to cover them in their policies due to their frequency and severity. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) estimates that just one inch of floodwater can cause over $20,000 in damages.

Plant City is prone to flooding from Florida’s heavy rains year-round. And, hurricanes and tropical storms can bring rainfall even when they don’t directly hit the area.

Consider flood insurance in Plant City to protect your property completely. Otherwise, you’re personally on the hook for any flood damage your home sustains.

Insurance companies examine several factors about you and your property to help determine premiums. Rates vary almost on a case-by-case basis since every home and person is slightly different. Some critical factors that affect rates include:

As we mentioned earlier, older houses generally have higher rates due to wear and tear and outdated components, increasing possible damage. Your home’s location can also raise rates when making your property more prone to damage. Homes near water or in high-crime neighborhoods can have higher premiums. 

Home building materials can affect your rates. Masonry homes made with brick or concrete tend to have lower premiums than frame homes because they withstand fire and wind damage better. Having attractive nuisances at your house, such as pools and trampolines, can raise rates as they increase your chances of a liablity claim.

Having more expensive fixtures and belongings will necessitate higher limits and raise premiums. Opting for endorsements will raise rates while qualifying for more discounts will lower rates for property insurance in Plant City.

Plant City home insurance isn’t required by law. But, mortgage lenders can require you to keep a policy as long as you have a mortgage on your house.

Mortgage lenders invest tens of thousands of dollars or more into your house to help you purchase it. If your home got destroyed, they’d be out their money unless they relied on you to pay them back, which is not easily possible for most people.

So, lenders mandate home insurance as part of their home loans. The insurance policy is a safety blanket that can reimburse you and your lender if your house gets destroyed.

With so much information to keep track of, we don’t want to leave you on your own to find the right insurance. Our team at Clovered can help you with your homeowners insurance quotes in Plant City online or over the phone.

We’re an independent insurance agency based in South Florida, so we know how hard it can be to find affordable coverage in the state.

Use our online quoting platform to compare rates and plans on your own time and find the best option. Or, give our licensed agents a call at 833-255-4117 during business hours to quote over the phone. Feel free to email us at [email protected] with any questions, also.

Mobile home insurance in Plant City is likely cheaper than home insurance on a standard house, although it depends on the age and location of your dwelling. 

Although mobile and manufactured home insurance is technically a different policy than standard home insurance, they include many of the same coverage areas for property and liability we described above.

But, you should be wary of the age of your dwelling.

Technically, mobile homes were built before 1976, when the country adopted national building standards. Manufactured homes were built after 1976 and are commonly called mobile homes today, although they’re not very movable once they’ve been put down.

Getting insurance on an older mobile home will be more difficult than a manufactured home due to its age and outdated components. So, you should still shop around for coverage to find the best deal.