Homeowners Insurance in North Florida,
Built for the Way We Live Here
We place homeowners insurance from our Tallahassee and Fort Walton Beach offices out through the 30A beaches, Pensacola and the I-10 corridor, comparing more than 20 carriers so your roof age, your wind mitigation features and your hurricane deductible are handled before renewal season decides them for you.
What Makes a
Florida Home Policy Different
Florida home insurance is priced on things that never come up in other states: how old your roof is, how your home is built, how far you sit from the water, and how the market feels about your ZIP code this year. Two homes on the same street can get very different answers.
We start by reading your home the way an underwriter reads it, then we shop it. That is the difference between a quote and a strategy, and it is why we review your home coverage alongside the rest of your
personal insurance rather than one policy at a time.
What Does a Standard Homeowners Policy Cover?
A standard Florida homeowners policy is built from four parts. Knowing which part pays for what is what keeps a claim from turning into a surprise.
Dwelling coverage pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home, including attached features like a garage or a screened porch.
Personal property coverage pays for what is inside, from furniture and electronics to clothing and tools, with special limits on categories like jewelry.
Liability coverage responds when someone is injured on your property or your family causes damage elsewhere.
Additional living expenses cover lodging and meals when a covered loss makes your home unlivable.
Flood is the one most homeowners assume they already have. Flood insurance is not included in a standard home insurance policy and has to be written separately, whether through the NFIP or a private carrier.
Hurricane, Windstorm and Mold Coverage That Holds Up in a Storm
Your hurricane deductible is not a flat dollar amount. In Florida it is written as a percentage of your dwelling coverage, commonly 2, 5 or 10 percent, so a home insured for $500,000 with a 5 percent hurricane deductible carries $25,000 of exposure before the policy responds. That is the number to know before a storm gets a name, not after.
Windstorm damage, water intrusion after a wind event, and the mold that follows are all handled differently from policy to policy. We walk through how yours is written, what your
hurricane and windstorm coverage actually triggers on, and whether your mold limit is realistic for a humid Gulf climate.
The Three Things
Florida Underwriters Look At First
Most of what decides your premium, and whether a carrier offers a policy at all, comes down to a short list of physical facts about your home. We tell you where you stand before we submit anything.
Roof age
Roof age is the single biggest factor in whether a North Florida home gets offered coverage and on what terms. Carriers set their own cutoffs by roof material and condition, and those cutoffs move with the market. If your roof is approaching one, we tell you which carriers still write it and what documentation they want to see.
The four point inspection
A four point inspection reviews the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, and it is commonly required on older homes before a carrier will quote. It is a short visit, not an appraisal, and knowing what it will show lets you fix a small item before it becomes a declination.
Wind mitigation credits
A wind mitigation inspection documents features that reduce hurricane loss, including roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections, secondary water resistance and opening protection. Those features can lower what you pay, and many homeowners are already sitting on credits nobody has filed for them. We fold the report into your
hurricane and windstorm coverage review.
Independent, With More Than 20 Carriers to Work From
We are independent, so we are not defending one carrier's appetite. We compare across more than 20 companies, then recommend placement based on how the coverage is built and how the carrier handles claims in Florida.
- Quotes compared across more than 20 carriers, personal and commercial
- Your home reviewed alongside auto, umbrella and any rental property, as one portfolio
- A three-stage process: we discover the landscape, design the protection strategy, then advise and evolve it as your home and market change
- Two Florida offices, in Tallahassee on Thomasville Road and in Fort Walton Beach on Racetrack Road
- Military-aware service for families near Naval Air Station Pensacola and throughout the Eglin-area Okaloosa County market, including transfers and deployments
If you own a condo or rent your property out, the coverage question changes shape. An HO-6 policy has to sit correctly against your association's master policy, which is what
condo insurance is built for, and a rental property needs
landlord insurance rather than an owner-occupied form.
Holding a Takeout Offer
or a Non-Renewal Letter?
Both of those letters have a clock on them, and the deadline is usually shorter than it looks. A Citizens takeout offer asks you to accept a private carrier's policy within a set window, and a non-renewal notice means you need a new home somewhere before your current term ends.
Bring us the letter and we read it with you, line by line, then quote the alternatives so the decision is a comparison instead of a guess. Our
Citizens takeout and non-renewal help page walks through how the process works and what to have ready.
Counties and Cities
We Write Home Coverage In
We write homeowners insurance out of our Tallahassee and Fort Walton Beach offices, across the Panhandle coast and along the I-10 corridor, where wind exposure, flood zone and distance to open water change the answer street by street.
- Leon County, including home insurance in Tallahassee and homes in Betton Hills, Killearn Estates and Southwood
- Okaloosa County, including Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Crestview, with a large military and rental-property base
- Walton County, including Santa Rosa Beach, Seaside, Rosemary Beach and the rest of the 30A beach communities
- Escambia County, including home insurance in Pensacola and the barrier island properties west of it
- Bay County, including Panama City and Panama City Beach coastal construction
- The I-10 corridor between Tallahassee and Pensacola, including Marianna, Chipley, DeFuniak Springs and Milton
- Duval County, including Jacksonville and the neighborhoods along the St. Johns
Both of our offices sit inside this corridor, so the person reviewing your policy knows the difference between a 1960s Betton Hills roof and new coastal construction in Destin.
Your Home Insurance Questions, Answered
What does homeowners insurance cover in North Florida?
A standard North Florida homeowners policy covers the structure of your home, your personal property, your liability to others, and your living expenses if a covered loss forces you out. Hurricane and windstorm damage is typically included but carries its own percentage deductible. Flood is excluded and has to be written on a separate policy.
Why does my Florida home insurance need a four point inspection?
Carriers use a four point inspection to confirm the condition of the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, and it is commonly required on older homes before they will quote. It protects the carrier from insuring a known problem and it protects you from finding one during a claim. We tell you in advance whether your home is likely to need one.
How does roof age affect Florida home insurance?
Roof age is the biggest single factor in whether a Florida home is offered coverage and at what price. Each carrier sets its own limits by roof material and inspection results, and homes near those limits get fewer offers. A wind mitigation inspection can document features that improve the picture, which we cover on our hurricane and windstorm coverage page.
What is my hurricane deductible in Florida?
Florida hurricane deductibles are set as a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount, most often 2, 5 or 10 percent. On a home insured for $400,000, a 2 percent deductible is $8,000 out of pocket before the policy pays. Check your declarations page, or call us and we will translate the percentage into dollars.
Does homeowners insurance cover flooding in Florida?
No. Rising water, storm surge and ground flooding are excluded from every standard homeowners policy and require separate flood insurance through the NFIP or a private carrier. Wind-driven rain that enters through storm damage is usually handled by the home policy, which is why the two coverages are read together.
Who insures homes across North Florida and the Panhandle?
We do. Proper Insurance Advisors places homeowners insurance from Tallahassee and Fort Walton Beach out through the 30A beaches, Pensacola and the I-10 corridor, working out of offices in both markets with access to more than 20 carriers. We also write for homeowners as far east as Jacksonville.
Let's Look at Your Home Policy Together
Send us your current declarations page and we will tell you what your hurricane deductible costs in real dollars, whether your roof is near a carrier cutoff, and what a wind mitigation report could do for your premium. No obligation, and you talk to an advisor by name.
