How to Get Homeowners Insurance in Florida: A 2026 Guide

Getting homeowners insurance in Florida isn’t a five-minute online form anymore, especially for an older house. Insurers want to know the roof’s age, what’s behind the electrical panel and how the house would hold up in a hurricane before they’ll name a price. If you’re buying a home, renewing after a nonrenewal notice or trying to get out of Citizens, the order you do things in matters.

This guide walks through how Florida homeowners insurance works as of October 2026: the policy forms, what underwriters look at, where Citizens fits and what to gather before you ask for a quote.

Do you need homeowners insurance in Florida?

Florida law doesn’t require it, but your lender almost certainly does. The Department of Financial Services says plainly in its homeowners toolkit that state law doesn’t require you to buy homeowners insurance. Mortgage lenders, though, typically make it a loan condition, and you’ll need a policy bound before closing.

If you own the home outright, the decision is yours. Keep in mind what’s at stake: the house, your belongings, a place to live while repairs happen, and personal liability if someone is hurt on your property.

HO-3, HO-8 and other policy forms: which fits your home?

The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) describes the main homeowners forms on its consumer page and calls the HO-3 the form “commonly offered by today’s leading home insurers.” The differences between forms come down to which perils are covered and how claims are paid.

Form	Who it’s for	How it covers the house
HO-3 (special form)	Owner-occupied single-family homes	Open peril: covers everything except what the policy excludes
HO-5 (comprehensive)	Owners who want broader coverage on belongings	Open peril on both the house and your contents
HO-8 (modified form)	Older homes that don’t fit an HO-3	Named peril only, paid on a common-construction basis
HO-6 (condo unit owner)	Condo owners	The unit’s interior and your belongings; the association insures the building
HO-4 (renters)	Tenants	Belongings and liability, no building coverage

The HO-8 matters for older Lakeland neighborhoods. Citizens describes its HO-8 as a named-peril policy that pays “on the basis of the cost of common construction materials and methods” and says it can pay significantly less than an HO-3 after a loss. Citizens’ own FAQ lists eligibility for its HO-8 as an owner-occupied home 51 years or older with a replacement cost and Coverage A of $200,000 or less. Coverage A is the dwelling limit, the amount the policy carries on the house itself.

If you own a 1920s bungalow in Dixieland or near Lake Morton, ask whether an HO-3 is available before you accept an HO-8. The City of Lakeland’s historic district narratives date much of that housing stock to the early 1900s through about 1940, much of it wood frame. Some of those homes qualify for an HO-3 once the roof and systems have been updated. It depends on the carrier and the home.

What do Florida underwriters look at?

Underwriters look at the roof, the home’s systems and you. The Department of Financial Services lists typical underwriting criteria as the age of the home, construction type, roof age, plumbing and wiring materials, the brand of electrical panel and the age of the heating and cooling system.

Roof age and condition

Roof age is one of the first questions on a Florida application. Under section 627.7011, Florida Statutes, an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old. For a roof that’s 15 or older, the insurer must let you get an inspection by an authorized inspector, at your expense, before requiring replacement. If that inspection shows at least five years of useful life remaining, the insurer can’t refuse to write or renew solely because of roof age. We cover the details in our Florida roof age rules guide.

The 4-point inspection

A 4-point inspection documents the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems. It’s an underwriting requirement, not a state law, and thresholds vary by insurer. Citizens requires one for homeowners applications on homes more than 20 years old. Our 4-point inspection guide explains what inspectors look for.

Wind mitigation features

A wind mitigation inspection on the state’s uniform form records features like roof-to-wall connections, roof shape and opening protection. Section 627.0629, Florida Statutes, requires insurers’ rate filings to include discounts for qualifying wind mitigation features, so this report can lower your premium.

Claims history and continuous coverage

Many insurers check LexisNexis C.L.U.E., a claims exchange that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says holds up to seven years of home and auto claims. You can request a free copy of your own report once every 12 months, which is worth doing before you shop. A lapse matters too. The Department of Financial Services warns that some companies may charge a penalty if coverage hasn’t been continuous, so avoid gaps when you switch.

Private insurer, surplus lines or Citizens?

You have three broad places to land, and a licensed agent works through them in order.

1. Authorized (admitted) insurers. These companies hold a Florida certificate of authority, and OIR reviews their rates and forms.
2. Surplus lines insurers. They write homes that admitted companies decline. The Department of Financial Services points out that their rates and forms are not approved by any Florida regulatory agency, and the policy must say so on its face. Read these policies closely.
3. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Citizens is the state-created insurer of last resort. Under section 627.351(6), Florida Statutes, a primary residence generally isn’t eligible if an authorized insurer offers comparable coverage at a premium no more than 20% higher than Citizens’. Our Citizens guide covers the rules, and you can run a free Citizens estimate to see a baseline.

How an independent agent shops your home

An independent agent is appointed with several insurers and can submit one set of information to multiple companies. A captive agent represents one company. For a Florida home that’s older, near water or coming off a nonrenewal, the difference is real: each carrier has its own appetite for roof age, construction and location, and one company’s decline isn’t another’s.

You can see the companies we’re appointed with on our carriers page. Our agents in downtown Lakeland work with homeowners across Polk County and the rest of Florida, and the Lakeland insurance page covers local coverage questions.

Deductibles and coverage choices to decide before you buy

Decide your deductibles before quotes come back, so you’re comparing like with like. Most Florida policies carry two: an all other perils deductible and a separate hurricane deductible. Under section 627.701, insurers must offer hurricane deductible options of $500, 2%, 5% and 10% of the dwelling limit, with exceptions for higher-value homes. Pick the percentage you could actually pay after a storm.

Also check whether the policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value on the house and belongings, how much ordinance or law coverage it includes, and whether there’s a separate roof deductible. Homeowners policies don’t cover flood. If flood is a concern for your property, that’s a separate policy with its own deductible.

If you get a nonrenewal notice

Under section 627.4133, Florida Statutes, an insurer must give you written notice of nonrenewal at least 120 days before the policy ends, with the reason, outside of limited exceptions such as nonpayment. Insurers must also send the renewal premium at least 45 days ahead. Start shopping as soon as a nonrenewal arrives. Four months goes faster than it sounds when you need a fresh inspection.

What to have ready before you request a quote

Gathering these up front gets you firm quotes instead of “it depends”:

1. Property address, year built, square footage and construction type (frame, masonry).
2. Roof covering type, the year it was installed and the permit date if you have it.
3. Years of the last electrical, plumbing and HVAC updates, plus the electrical panel brand.
4. A recent 4-point inspection if the home is older. Citizens wants one completed within the last year, and private carriers set their own rules.
5. A wind mitigation report on the current OIR-B1-1802 form, if you have one.
6. Your current declarations page, with your dwelling limit and deductibles.
7. Five years of claims history, or your C.L.U.E. report.
8. Mortgage company name and loan number if you’re financing.
9. Any nonrenewal notice you’ve received.

When you have those, you can start a homeowners quote online or read more about our homeowners coverage. A licensed agent will review your answers and tell you which options fit before anything is bound.