We receive several questions about Home Insurance in Florida and figure we would attempt to educate more people by creating a blog to answer some of the most common questions we receive. If you have a question not listed here or would like additional information, then give us a call!

Technically, you can own a home without homeowners’ insurance. However, in some instances, you may be required to carry home insurance—like if your home is financed with a mortgage lender.

Also, if your home is in a designated flood zone, it may also be required that you purchase separate flood insurance. Once you have paid off your mortgage, you can cancel your home insurance but by doing so, you are at risk for all expenses relating to damage or loss after a covered event occurs.

The factors that affect homeowner’s insurance premiums include:

• The location of your home: The location of your home can influence your home insurance premiums. For example, your premiums are likely to be lower if your home is close to a fire station or higher if the area you live in commonly experiences natural disasters (like hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes).
• Characteristics of the home: Certain characteristics of your home, including its age, structure, wiring, garage, roof, etc. can also influence home insurance premiums. In addition, the materials your home is built with or has siding made from, like brick, wood, stone, or synthetic materials can also affect the premium.
• Personal habits: Your activities in your home can also affect your home insurance premium. For example, smokers are more likely to pay higher premiums for Tampa home insurance than non-smokers. Although not necessarily a personal habit but personal information, those who have bad credit may also be charged higher premiums for home insurance.
• The availability of protective or safety devices: Homes with protective devices such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, or other safety systems like burglar alarm systems may lower your home insurance premium.
• History of claims: People with a history of claims on their home insurance policy are also likely to pay higher monthly premiums since they are considered a higher risk to insure.

It is important to create an up-to-date home inventory after purchasing a home and a homeowner’s insurance policy so that you can show proof of your belongings, the original state of the house, and the value of damaged items—all things that can aid you in your claim settlement.

A home inventory is essentially a list of your possessions and their replacement value. Remember to describe each item in detail – the make and model, size/capacity, brand, where the item was purchased, etc. Keep the sales receipts for all big-ticket items if you can, as well as purchase contracts and appraisals., and keep these along with your home inventory list somewhere safe. Also, it is a good idea to take plenty of photos (or videos) to document your belongings and their condition before any damage.

Cancelling and not renewing a Florida home insurance policy are indeed two separate things. An active policy can only be cancelled if:

• It is less than 60 days old
• You do not pay the monthly (or annual) premium
• You lied on your application

However, non-renewal of your home insurance policy is a decision to discontinue coverage at the end of the policy term by either you or your insurance company.

Home insurance policies may sometimes differ in structure. However, most of them contain the basic components below:

• A declaration page: The first page of your homeowners’ insurance policy that contains a summary of your name and address, amount of coverage, description of the property insured (main structure, separate structure, etc.), premium amount, and the name and contact information of the insurance provider.
• Definitions: This is simply an explanation of the jargon used throughout the policy description.
• Coverage: This refers to the detailed pages of what is protected, for both the property and liability coverage.
• Exclusions: This refers to the detailed pages of what is not protected, for both the property and liability coverage.
• Conditions: This is an outline of the responsibilities of both you and your insurance carrier under the policy.
• Endorsements: Includes riders, amendments, or attachments that have been added or make minor changes to the standard coverage previously described on the Coverage pages.

Speak with an independently licensed home insurance agent to discuss all of your questions about home insurance policies.