Best Landlord Insurance in Florida

Within the last few years, Florida has seen a surge in property prices and people flocking into the state, which has caused an increased demand for rental properties. It’s imperative for Florida landlords to understand the importance of landlord insurance and how it can help them.

Landlord insurance, also known as rental property insurance, is the best way to protect yourself and your investment in your rental property. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about finding the best landlord insurance in Florida, average costs, critical price factors, and much more.

In Florida, our home state, landlord insurance costs about $3,040 on a $150,000 house, $5,263 on a $300,000 house, and $7,019 on a $450,000 house. Florida has some of the highest home insurance rates in the nation.

Many factors affect insurance premiums, and landlord insurance is a particularly diverse type of property insurance, with many variables that carriers must consider. So, your average rate will fluctuate depending on where you are in Florida, the type of property you want to be covered, and much more.

It’s widely reported that landlord insurance premiums are 15% to 25% higher than homeowners premiums on corresponding homes. At Clovered, we’ve tirelessly created in-depth homeowners insurance guides for the states we operate in.

In Florida, homeowners insurance costs about $2,533 per year for a $150,000 house, $4,386 on a $300,000 house, and $5,849 for a $450,000 home as of 2022.

Based on those numbers, and accounting for a 20% average increase to reflect landlord insurance premiums, we determined average landlord insurance in Florida at different home price levels:

These numbers are averages, but they don’t accurately reflect the variance in cost based on your location within the state at first glance. Premiums change depending on where you are — due to hurricane (and other natural disaster) risk, crime rates, and more. 

To get a more accurate number for yourself, look below at the average landlord insurance rates in Florida by county.

As you can see, Alachua, Clay, Leon, and Putnam counties are on the cheaper side for landlord insurance. Many of the coastal counties in Florida are on the higher end, with South Florida counties like Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade being the most expensive for landlord protection insurance in Florida. 

Monroe County, which almost entirely consists of the Florida Keys, is the most costly overall due to the hurricane and flood risk of the islands.

Even in the most expensive regions, there is a crucial way you can lower your rental property insurance premiums: wind mitigation. Florida law requires insurers to discount premiums for policyholders who properly outfit their homes to withstand strong winds. You can get a wind mitigation inspection to determine what you need to do to your house to comply.

Getting hurricane doors and windows, modifying roof attachments/anchors, and sealing certain openings to prevent water intrusion are all elements of wind mitigating your property. Look below at Florida landlord insurance costs for $150,000 homes to see the difference wind mitigation can make.

You’ll notice that older homes have higher premiums than new construction. Modern building techniques are much better regarding hurricane protection. Older homes are less sturdy and more prone to wind damage.

The landlord insurance rates on $150,000 older houses with wind mitigation were around 45% lower than those without wind mitigation. That means you can save thousands of dollars per year through wind mitigation. Depending on the cost of bringing your house into compliance, the investment may be well worth it.

Unfortunately, as Florida residents know, homes in the $150,000 price range are becoming rarer. Look at the table below that compares the same costs for a policy on renting out a home worth $300,000.

Again, newly constructed homes had the lowest average landlord insurance rates in Florida of the three categories. Older homes with wind mitigation had rental property insurance premiums over $3,000 cheaper on average per year than homes without wind mitigation. You can see that older houses without some form of wind mitigation are starting to reach possible premiums of well over $10,000 per year.

Finally, we broke down the numbers for average homeowners insurance for a Florida rental property for $450,000 houses. You’ll see that the trends for wind mitigation and modern construction continue. 

Landlords renting out larger, more expensive homes will pay more for coverage simply because there’s more property to cover. But, you can still save big with wind mitigation.

Landlord insurance policies cover different areas of your property and personal liability. While you may not receive all the coverages, depending on the type of landlord policy you buy, the available coverage options remain the same no matter which insurance company you buy your plan from. They are:

Even if you seek an agent’s help, you should understand what landlord insurance coverage you need to be fully prepared to bind a policy. Normally, you can get one of three types of rental property insurance in Florida. The one that’s best for you depends on your budget, coverage needs, and property type.

A dwelling policy one form, abbreviated as a DP-1, is the most basic type of landlord coverage you can get. It will only cover damage from a few specific perils, like fire, while excluding damage from theft, water, and more. DP-1 policies also have no protection for loss of use or personal liability and only sometimes include other structures coverage. 

DP-1 policies only reimburse you at actual cash value, meaning insurers will factor in depreciation for all damaged items before compensating you for them in a claim. As a result of their limited coverage, DP-1 policies have very few writing restrictions. Buildings won’t have age limit requirements, and you should be able to get a DP-1 on multi-family dwellings, condo units, and traditional houses.

A DP-2 insurance policy covers more perils than a DP-1, with falling objects (such as tree branches), freezing pipes, and theft covered under the plan. It’s still a named perils policy, which means you’ll only be covered for the perils listed on the policy. But, with more named perils and coverage at replacement cost rather than actual cash value, it’s a more comprehensive option than a DP-1 plan.

DP-2 policies are more expensive than DP-1s but are still the more popular option.

A DP-3 insurance policy in Florida is the plan that most closely resembles a homeowners insurance (HO3) policy. It includes protection from the most perils (an open-peril policy) and covers losses at replacement cost. Liability coverage may be optional or included, depending on your carrier.

As a result of its comprehensive protection, DP-3 insurance in Florida will likely be the most expensive type of rental property insurance policy you can get. It will also have more writing restrictions, like roof and home age requirements. But, it offers the most protection, so those with the budget to afford it may be happy to oblige.

A DP-3 policy in Florida may only be available on traditional homes and townhomes, not apartment-style or multi-unit housing.

The best homeowners insurance for a rental property in Florida is one that covers what you need at an affordable price. Different landlords have different needs. The best landlord insurance in Florida for you will depend on the property you need to be covered, the type of policy you want, and much more.

You should always compare policies from several providers to see who has the best rates. You can also compare reviews online or even get in touch with a company to gauge their customer service. You can ask neighbors, friends, or relatives for carrier suggestions. You can also employ an independent insurance agent to help you get coverage. They can use their industry expertise and regional connections to find you the best coverage. 

There are nearly a hundred companies that write rental property insurance in Florida. Many of the largest names in home insurance, like State Farm, Allstate, and other well-known carriers are among them.

But, not every homeowners insurance carrier will cover rental properties. Florida has many reputable regional insurers that are worth checking out. You shouldn’t limit your search to just the biggest names, as smaller companies may give you better customer care and different rates.

All things considered, an affordable price is almost always a top concern for people when deciding which policy is the best for them, so we broke down average rates for many Florida companies below.

Based on our analysis, Stillwater, Tower Hill, Castle Key (an Allstate company), and American Traditions have some of the cheapest landlord insurance in Florida. But, remember that rates will vary depending on your coverage needs and personal factors. The cheapest carrier for you may not be the cheapest for someone else.

Rather than provide estimates for the best rental property insurance in Florida based on types of policies, we broke down the average cost of landlord insurance based on the value of a property you may want to be covered. Property value via replacement cost is crucial in determining landlord insurance rates in Florida.

Thus, the numbers below reflect approximate landlord insurance premiums in the state from different landlord insurance companies in Florida based on their rental property insurance premiums being about 20% more than their homeowners premiums.

You may note that Citizens Insurance offers cheap landlord insurance in Florida, but Citizens is meant to be an insurer of last resort for people who can’t find coverage in the private market. Citizens has strict coverage limits, and in the coming years, all Citizens policyholders will be required to get flood insurance with their plan. Before choosing Citizens, be sure to shop around with different carriers in the private market.

Be aware that some providers may have writing restrictions in certain parts of Florida. For instance, since south Florida is especially hurricane-prone, some carriers may have paused writing new landlord policies in that area. 

Insurance providers must examine many factors about you and your property to determine your premiums. Since the policyholder isn’t the only person living in the covered property, that extra level of the unknown regarding the tenant raises premium costs compared to standard homeowners insurance rates.

The insurer will want to know plenty of information about the property that influences rates, such as:

The size of the property is needed to determine your replacement cost coverage. In insurance, a home’s replacement cost is the amount of money it would take to rebuild from scratch based on materials and labor costs. As a result, bigger, more lavish properties will have higher replacement costs and, in turn, higher premiums.

Providers need to know when your property was built because the age of certain features will influence the risk of the property. Old plumbing pipes and electrical wiring are red flags. Especially old residences may be denied coverage if they contain components no longer used in modern construction. Additionally, carriers will want to know the age of your roof before giving you coverage.

In Florida, roofs are heavily scrutinized due to the potential effects of wind damage from tropical storms and hurricanes yearly. Nowadays, a roof over 20 years old may be considered risky and raise your premiums depending on your carrier. Also, homes with metal roofs may have more favorable premiums than buildings with shingle roofs because metal roofs are sturdier and last longer.

The type of dwelling also impacts premiums. Carriers need to know if a property is:

Landlord insurance on properties with multiple residences often has higher premiums than single-family dwellings due to their larger size and the increased risk of more tenants.

Insurance companies will also want to know whether you, the policyholder, will live on or off the covered premises. You may receive a rate discount for living on-premises because being closer to the insured property means you can oversee its care more intently and respond quickly if something goes wrong.

No law requires you to have landlord insurance, but if you’ve financed your rental property with a mortgage, your lender will require landlord insurance coverage to protect their investment.

When doing business, any lender will expect a rental property to be appropriately insured before giving a loan for purchase. But, this is often done through limited liability companies and may require some sort of commercial insurance policy, which is different from what we’re going over here.

If you’ve moved and are renting out your old house, or you live in one apartment in a small building with several tenant-occupied units that you own, your lender will require insurance coverage. And, a homeowners insurance plan won’t cover you when tenants are involved. Thus, you need a landlord insurance policy in Florida in these scenarios.

A carrier will also likely ask if you or a holding company owns the property for which you seek coverage. Any houses owned by LLCs, trusts, or other companies typically need commercial landlord insurance, which many residential providers won’t cover. Residential carriers will cover second homes, vacant homes, and investment property insurance in Florida. 

If you’re in the market for landlord insurance quotes in Florida, Clovered can help you compare options from the top providers in the state. We make insurance easy.

As an independent insurance agency headquartered in Fort Lauderdale with expertise in all areas of property insurance, we’ve helped over 30,000 policyholders with their coverage needs. We’re very familiar with the Florida rental property insurance market.

You can use our online quoting tool to compare landlord insurance in Florida with our partners. Or, you can call us at 833-255-4117 during business hours to speak with one of our licensed agents, who will help you with your Florida rental property insurance quote.

You can also email us at [email protected] with questions, comments, or concerns.