Florida Homeowners Drop Insurance Over High Premiums

MIAMI – Property insurance on the rise Costs are causing some Florida residents to drop their coverage altogether.

“We are seeing more and more people across the state of Florida choosing the risky option of switching from insurance to self-insurance,” said Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute.

According to a report released Friday by Florida Tax Watch, the average annual income in Florida prime is almost three times the national average, and rates are even higher in South Florida.

Friedlander said a recent study showed that 15 to 20 percent of Floridians choose to drop their insurance.

Matt Friedman, who had assets insurance After living in his Coral Gables home for 17 years, he wonders if he should change course.

“We’re now at a point where it really becomes a matter of mathematics,” Friedman said.

Even with the improvements he made to reduce the cost of insurance premiums, his annual premium is more than $10,000.

“I know a lot of people have seen their premiums go up further,” Friedman added.

One of them is a neighbor who told CBS News Miami off camera that her annual premium is more than $20,000. She’s considering going without insurance.

However, Friedlander said most homeowners can’t afford to pay out of pocket for a catastrophic loss of their property. He advises people to stay insured, even though insurance costs are higher in South Florida — “sometimes two to three times higher than in other parts of the state.”

Friedlander believes the major problem is that properties on the coast or at higher risk of extreme weather, such as in South Florida, tend to have more excess insurers – companies that write high-risk policies.

These excess insurers “don’t have to follow the same regulations as standard insurers, which means they don’t have to get their rates approved,” Friedlander said.

Friedlander said eight new companies entered the market this year, nine companies asked for their rates to be lowered and 10 asked to stay the same.

“It’s a big market turnaround,” Friedlander said.

But some local owners tell us that this is not enough to improve their situation.