The 25 questions, in English.

Insurers price what it would cost to rebuild your home after a major storm, not what you paid for it. In South Florida that number is high, and reinsurance (the insurance insurers buy) costs more here than almost anywhere. Florida's market has steadied since the 2022 and 2023 reforms and more companies are writing again, but coastal, older and high-value homes still need the most careful shopping.

What you control: how your home is built and protected (roof, openings, mitigation features), your deductible choice, and having someone shop the whole market for you, including specialty insurers that only work through brokers.

Wind-driven rain coming through a broken window is usually a homeowners claim. Rising water, storm surge, or water that comes in at ground level is flood. After a hurricane, many homeowners learn the difference the hard way.

Flood coverage comes from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or from private flood insurers, and you can sometimes layer the two. The long version: Flood vs. Homeowners.

FEMA reports that nearly one third (29%) of NFIP flood claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside high-risk flood areas. Flood maps show the government's minimum risk line, not where water stops.

If you're insured by Citizens, flood may not be optional. See Is flood insurance mandatory in Florida now?

Zones that start with A or V are FEMA's high-risk flood areas (special flood hazard areas). AE means a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any year. VE is the coastal high-hazard version: the same flood odds plus damaging waves, which is common on oceanfront lots. X shaded is moderate risk; X unshaded is minimal risk.

Why it matters: with a government-backed mortgage, flood insurance is required in an A or V zone. The zone also affects NFIP pricing and building rules when you renovate. It does not decide whether water reaches you. Nearly one third of NFIP claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside high-risk areas.

• Find yours: FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov, by address. Miami-Dade publishes its own viewer too, and your town may have one.
• Maps change. Check again when you buy, renovate or renew, and keep any elevation certificate you have.
• Ask your broker how private flood insurers rate your exact elevation, because they may price differently than the map suggests.

Lenders: if your home is in an A or V flood zone and the mortgage is government-backed, flood insurance is required. Some lenders ask for it outside those zones too.

Citizens: under Florida Statute 627.715, Citizens is phasing in a flood requirement for homeowners policies that include wind coverage. It already applies to every home in a high-risk flood zone and, in 2026, to homes with $400,000 or more of dwelling coverage. From January 1, 2027 it applies to most new and renewing policies regardless of value or zone. The flood limit generally has to match your Citizens dwelling limit, or the NFIP maximum if that's lower. Condo unit-owner policies and policies that exclude wind are exempt.

Buying a home: Florida sellers now have to give buyers a flood disclosure at or before signing, saying whether they know of past flood damage, filed a flood claim, or got FEMA help. Read it before you shop for insurance.

Under Florida Statute 627.70132, an insurer generally has to receive notice of a new or reopened property claim within 1 year after the date of loss, and a supplemental claim (more damage found later on the same loss) within 18 months. For a hurricane, the date of loss is the day the storm made landfall. Your policy may also ask for prompt notice, so don't wait for the deadline.

• Wind and flood are usually two separate claims: wind goes to your homeowners or wind policy (with its hurricane deductible), rising water goes to your flood insurer. Report both if you have both.
• Take photos and video before you clean up, keep damaged items if you safely can, and save receipts for emergency repairs.
• Federal flood policies have their own paperwork clock: a signed proof of loss is generally due within 60 days of the loss unless FEMA extends it.
• Stuck with an insurer? Florida's Department of Financial Services runs a free consumer helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO.

If your home would cost more than that to rebuild, the gap is yours. Private flood policies and "excess flood" policies can sit on top of the NFIP policy, or replace it, to cover the full rebuilding cost and your belongings.

A broker can line these up side by side, including how each one handles basements, pools, landscaping and the cost of living elsewhere during repairs. More on the layers: Flood vs. Homeowners.

NFIP policies generally take effect 30 days after purchase. The main exceptions: buying flood insurance as part of closing on a mortgage, and certain flood map changes. Private insurers also typically stop issuing new policies once a storm is threatening.

One 2026 wrinkle: Congress has extended the NFIP only through December 11, 2026. If it lapses again, new NFIP policies and renewals pause until it's restored. Another reason not to wait.

Buy flood insurance well before hurricane season starts on June 1.

• Typical options: 2%, 5% or 10% of dwelling coverage (smaller homes also get a $500 option). Homes insured for $1 million up to $3 million may be offered 3% instead of 2%. At $3 million and up, insurers don't have to offer 2%, so 5% or 10% is typical.
• How much that is: a 5% deductible on $2 million of dwelling coverage is $100,000 out of your pocket before the policy pays.
• When it applies: from the time the National Hurricane Center issues a hurricane warning for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for Florida ends.
• Once a year: it applies once per calendar year with the same insurer group. A second hurricane that year uses whatever is left of it, or your regular deductible if that's larger.

Surplus lines policies (see below) can work differently, so read yours or ask.

The test is what it would cost to rebuild, not the home's market value. A bill to raise those caps in 2026 died in committee, so the limits stand for now.

Above the line, your options are the private market: standard insurers, high-value home insurers, and surplus lines insurers. That's where a broker earns their keep.

Florida law generally requires insurers to give at least 120 days' written notice before a homeowners policy is non-renewed, and the notice must state the reason. If a non-renewal would take effect during a hurricane, the date is pushed back until the hurricane is over.

• Read the reason. Roof age, an inspection finding, or a company leaving the state each points to a different fix.
• Gather your paperwork: declarations page, any wind mitigation and 4-point reports, and roof permit dates.
• Have a broker shop the market, including insurers you can't reach directly.

Under Florida Statute 627.7011, an insurer can't refuse to write or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old. For roofs 15 years or older, the insurer must let you get an inspection from an authorized inspector, at your expense, before requiring a new roof. If it shows at least five years of remaining useful life, the insurer can't refuse to write or renew solely because of the roof's age. Age counts from the last full roof replacement.

The roof still affects price and terms. Keep your permit dates and inspection reports handy.

The inspector checks how the roof is attached, the roof shape, roof-to-wall connections, and whether windows and doors are impact-rated or shuttered. Insurers use the form to apply mitigation credits, which can be significant on the wind portion of the premium.

The state's My Safe Florida Home program offers free inspections to owner-occupied, homesteaded single-family homes and townhouses. Its grants, while funding lasts, are narrower: generally homes built before 2008 with $700,000 or less of insured dwelling value, with priority for lower-income households. Many high-value homes won't qualify for a grant. The inspection is still worth doing.

Insurers commonly ask for one on older homes before they'll write a policy. It isn't a full home inspection. It's a snapshot of age and condition. An old electrical panel or aging plumbing can mean a higher price, a required repair, or a decline, so it helps to know what the report will say before an insurer does.

• Read the master policy first. Some cover the building's bare structure only; others include fixtures and finishes. Your policy fills whatever is left: interior walls, cabinets, floors, upgrades and belongings.
• Loss assessment. Florida requires at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage on unit-owner policies. That's a floor, not a recommendation. If the association's deductible or a big loss is passed on to owners, your share can be far larger, so ask for higher limits.
• Flood and liability. The building's flood policy may not cover your unit's contents or improvements. Make sure your personal liability is high enough (and that your umbrella sits on top).

Florida's post-Surfside building safety rules have raised reserve and repair costs at many associations, so it's worth knowing which special assessments insurance can cover and which it can't. Most routine repair assessments aren't covered.

They're common for coastal, high-value and hard-to-place homes. The trade-offs are real: Florida doesn't approve their rates or policy forms, and policyholders aren't protected by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association if the company fails.

That's why the insurer's financial strength and the policy wording matter more here. A good broker reads both before you sign.

Many standard insurers limit how many homes they'll write near the South Shore of Long Island, or won't write wind coverage there at all. Homes that are large, custom-built or empty for part of the year push you toward high-value and specialty insurers.

New York's FAIR Plan (NYPIUA) exists as a backstop for people who can't find coverage elsewhere, but it offers basic coverage with a dwelling limit that tops out at $600,000, so it is rarely the right fit for a high-value home.

New York now standardizes the trigger. Under the state's updated hurricane deductible rule, it applies only when the National Weather Service says a hurricane made landfall in New York, and only to wind damage from 12 hours before landfall until 12 hours after the last New York hurricane watch or warning is cancelled. It can't apply to loss-of-use (additional living expense) coverage. Insurers are rolling this into policies at renewal, so check which wording yours has.

Find the hurricane deductible on your declarations page; insurers have to show it in dollars. On $3 million of dwelling coverage, 5% is $150,000.

Homeowners policies don't cover flood. The NFIP caps out at $250,000 for the structure and $100,000 for contents, which rarely covers a Hamptons rebuild. Private and excess flood policies can fill the gap. The long version: Flood vs. Homeowners.

NFIP policies generally have a 30-day waiting period, so buy before the season, not the week a storm is named. (And see the 2026 NFIP deadline.)

Many policies limit coverage for certain losses, like burst pipes, vandalism or glass breakage, when a home has been vacant or unoccupied for an extended period. Pipes don't know it's the off-season.

• Have someone check the house on a regular schedule and keep a record.
• Install water-leak detection with automatic shutoff, and low-temperature and alarm monitoring.
• Make sure the policy treats the home as a secondary or seasonal residence, not a primary one.

These devices can also earn credits with some insurers.

Tell your broker before you sign a lease. Depending on the insurer, the fix may be an endorsement, a different policy form, or a separate policy. Check that your liability and umbrella still apply when tenants are in the house, and ask tenants to carry their own renters coverage.

The same applies to a Miami Beach condo rented on a short-term platform. Check the association's rules too.

On a standard policy that theft cap is often around $1,500. Valuable items are better insured on a separate valuables ("collections") policy or a scheduled endorsement. These can list items individually at an agreed value, cover them worldwide, and often include accidental loss and breakage.

• Keep current appraisals for significant pieces.
• Tell your broker when items move between homes or go on loan to a museum.
• Revisit values every few years. Markets move.

An umbrella (personal excess liability) policy sits above your home, auto and boat liability. Things that push the number up include multiple homes, a pool, household staff, young drivers, a boat, a public profile, and serving on boards.

Two details matter as much as the limit. Your underlying policies need to meet the umbrella's required minimums, or you'll pay the gap. And every home, car, boat and entity should be listed, so nothing falls outside the umbrella.

A common gap is a home deeded to a trust or LLC while the policy still names only the individuals. At claim time, that mismatch can cause trouble. Your broker can name the entity as the insured and add the family members who live there, so property and liability coverage both line up.

Make sure your umbrella also recognizes the entity. Bring your estate attorney's documents to the conversation.

The exact legal labels vary by state, so ask anyone you work with who they represent and which insurers they can actually reach.