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Since we are in Florida which is a state prone to hurricane losses, we pay much higher insurance rates than most other states. However, we have been spared of major hurricanes during the past three years. Therefore, the rates have started to come down as more companies have started to underwrite in Florida again.

If you are still paying high rates you may want to consider the following steps to decrease your insurance rates:

• When considering the location of your property, just be aware that you will pay more for insurance if the house is east of I95.
• Age of the property being considered does matter for insurance purposes. Some insurance companies do not insure properties older than 40 years(the number could vary) and those that do charge a much higher premium. The best thing to do is call your insurance agent for details before buying. Look in our trusted partners page for an agent.
• If you already own a house have a mitigation inspection done. This is an inspection that checks mostly your roof construction, to determine how it can withstand the force of a hurricane. Check our trusted partners page and look under the home insurance category for an insurance agent. The insurance agent will most likely have a trusted inspector to do your inspection. Or go to www.mysafefloridahome.com/InspectionFirmList.asp for a list of approved inspectors with the state. Once the inspection is done you get a report with the findings. The insurance agent will need to see your report to give you a quote.
• The report will contain among other things improvements to your roof to better withstand a hurricane. You don’t have to implement them. But if you do the state of Florida may be able to help. At this point there is no more funding for this but please continue to check their website(www.mysafefloridahome.com/GrantEligibility.asp) to see when funds will become available again.

For more information go to www.mysafefloridahome.com.