Florida Braces for a Storm of Homeowners Insurance Rate Hikes
Climate and financial markets combined to keep policies artificially cheap for years.
A thunderstorm moving over the Intracoastal Waterway and out to sea in Fort Lauderdale.
Photographer: Chris Kridler/Getty Images
Every year since 2010, Florida has gained about 300,000 residents. The consistent stream has become the state’s lifeblood, keeping taxes low while injecting billions into new-home construction and associated businesses. When Covid-19 hit, there was concern the migration would stop.
The reverse happened. “We’ve never written more [sales] contracts in our 94-year history than we did in June this year,” says Mike Pappas, president of the Keyes Co., a privately held real estate, mortgage, and insurance company based in Miami. “You’re definitely getting, from the Northeast, a surge of people looking for housing.”