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A standard homeowners policy does not cover flooding. Flood is a separate policy, from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, and an NFIP policy usually takes 30 days to start, so it cannot be bought the day a storm is named.
Your lender will require it if the home is in a FEMA high-risk flood zone and the mortgage is federally backed. Citizens Property Insurance now requires flood coverage from its homeowners too: homes insured for $400,000 or more since January 1, 2026, and every remaining policy at renewals from January 1, 2027. Outside the high-risk zones it is still worth pricing: FEMA's own count is that about one third of flood insurance claims come from outside them. Look up any address on FEMA's flood maps before an offer. Since October 1, 2025, Florida sellers must tell buyers in writing, at or before the contract, about past flood insurance claims, any help they received to repair flood damage, and any flooding they know damaged the home while they owned it; landlords owe tenants the same on leases of a year or longer.
Hurricane wind is the main cost in a Florida home policy, and the price is set by the address, the age and shape of the roof and how the house is built, so it can differ a great deal between two homes on the same street.
Read the answer →The six checks that decide whether a Florida county is right for you: housing cost, flood and wind, schools, healthcare, daily travel and storm readiness.
Open the page →Since the Surfside collapse in 2021 Florida has changed what condo buildings must do, and it shows up in the monthly fee.
Yes, through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the state's housing agency. Its homebuyer loans are made by approved participating lenders, not by the agency, so the first step is a loan officer on its list.
Help with rent runs through local housing authorities, not through the state and not through HUD directly.
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