Moving to Florida insurance: how your home and auto coverage changes — and how to set it up right
Welcome to Florida — the move is exciting, and we want it to go smoothly. The honest part: insurance works differently here than almost anywhere else, and your old carrier may not even write in Florida. One local advisor at Cornerstone, who lives and works here, can set up your home, auto, and umbrella the right way — with financially strong Florida carriers. (Any savings depend on your home, your vehicles, and the carrier.)
What changes when you move here
One local advisor, many financially strong Florida carriers — not a faceless ZIP widget.
The short version
- Moving to Florida insurance works differently than your old state: you likely can’t bundle home and auto the same way, and your prior carrier may not write in Florida — so plan to set up new policies, ideally with one local advisor.
- Two deadlines, often confused: a new resident must have Florida auto insurance from a Florida-licensed carrier and register the vehicle within 10 days of the triggering event (a job, enrolling kids in public school, or otherwise establishing residency), and must get a Florida driver license within 30 days. (FLHSMV.)
- Your hurricane deductible is a percentage of your dwelling limit (Florida law requires insurers to offer 2%, 5%, and 10% options), not a flat dollar amount — on a $400,000 home, 5% means $20,000 out of pocket on a hurricane loss.
- Flood is never covered by a homeowners policy and is always a separate policy — mandatory with a federally backed mortgage in a high-risk FEMA zone, now phasing in for many Citizens policyholders, and strongly advised even in low-risk areas.
- Florida is a no-fault (PIP) state with minimums of $10,000 PIP + $10,000 PDL and no required bodily-injury liability — with roughly one in five Florida drivers uninsured (IRC, 2023 data), most relocating families should add real BI plus uninsured-motorist coverage.
- One local advisor at Cornerstone shops many financially strong Florida carriers and sets up home + auto + umbrella under one relationship — start with our quote request form and we can often have you covered the same day.
Moving to Florida insurance is one of the first things to get right after you arrive — and the honest truth is that it works differently here than in almost any other state. Welcome to Florida; the move itself is the exciting part, and we’re glad you’re here. We just don’t want anyone to assume their old policies simply follow them across the state line, because in Florida they often can’t.
Here’s the reframe that saves new residents a lot of stress: your insurance doesn’t transfer the way you might expect. The national brand that covers your current home may not write homeowners business in Florida at all, you likely can’t bundle home and auto the same way you did before, and the state sets short, specific deadlines for getting Florida auto coverage and registering your vehicle. None of this is a reason to worry — it’s simply a reason to set things up deliberately, with someone local who does this every day.
That’s what Cornerstone is. We’re an independent Florida agency with 17 years in business, an office and agents who live and work in Florida (Odessa, in the Tampa Bay area, north of I-4), a 4.9-star rating across 609 Google reviews, BBB A+ accreditation, and Trusted Choice membership (Florida agency license L061107; principal Joshua Butts holds a 2-20 license). We shop many financially strong Florida carriers and set up your whole program — home, auto, and umbrella — under one relationship. The best place to start is to complete our quote request form, or get us your dec page in one click with Canopy Connect and we’ll take it from there — often the same day.
How is Florida insurance different from your old state?
Before the to-do list, it helps to see what actually changes between your old state and Florida, side by side. These are the differences that surprise new residents most — from how deductibles work to whether your old carrier even operates here.
| What changes | Most other states | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Bundling home + auto | One national carrier writes both competitively; you keep a single bundled account with a multi-policy discount. | Often two different companies — many FL home specialists don’t write auto, and many national auto brands have pulled back from new FL home business. A local advisor places the split and captures a companion discount where possible. |
| Hurricane / wind deductible | One flat-dollar deductible (e.g., $1,000) applies to any covered loss, including wind. | A separate hurricane deductible set as a % of your dwelling limit. FL law requires insurers to offer 2%, 5%, and 10% options. On a $400,000 home: 2% = $8,000, 5% = $20,000, 10% = $40,000 out of pocket — and it applies only once per calendar year. |
| Flood | Excluded from homeowners everywhere; bought separately via NFIP or private flood. Often treated as optional. | Same exclusion, far higher stakes. Mandatory with a federally backed mortgage in a high-risk FEMA zone; now phasing in for many Citizens policyholders; strongly advised even in low-risk Zone X, since many flooded homes sit outside mapped high-risk zones. |
| Auto system | Usually at-fault (tort): the driver who causes the crash is liable through their bodily-injury liability coverage. | No-fault (PIP) state. Your own PIP pays your initial medical costs regardless of fault. Minimums are $10,000 PIP + $10,000 PDL, with no required bodily-injury liability — among the lowest in the nation. (As of mid-2026, FL remains no-fault; repeal has been proposed repeatedly but not enacted.) |
| Uninsured drivers | National uninsured share is about 14% (IRC, 2023 data). | Roughly one in five FL drivers is uninsured (~20%, IRC 2023 data) — a big reason relocating families should add uninsured/underinsured-motorist (UM/UIM) coverage rather than registering on minimums alone. |
| Registration & license timeline | Typically 30–90 days to register a vehicle and convert your license. | Two short, separate deadlines: register/title your vehicle within 10 days of the triggering event (and have FL insurance in force first), and get a FL driver license within 30 days of establishing residency. (FLHSMV.) |
| Wind-mitigation credits | Rare or nonexistent. | Required by law (Fla. Stat. 627.0629). Verified features — hip roof, sealed roof deck, roof-to-wall straps, impact-rated openings — earn mandated credits on the wind portion of your premium, documented on form OIR-B1-1802. No fixed %, but often meaningful. |
| Carrier landscape | Household-name nationals (State Farm, Allstate, Travelers, USAA) write most home business and carry A.M. Best ratings. | After Hurricane Andrew and later crises, many nationals pulled back. A large share of the home market is now FL specialty carriers rated by Demotech — and increasingly Kroll/KBRA — so the company that insured your old home may not write here at all. |
| Rates | Closer to the national averages for both home and auto. | Among the highest in the nation for both lines, driven by hurricane exposure, litigation, reinsurance, and the high uninsured share. |
Statutory deadlines and minimums per FLHSMV; uninsured-driver share per the Insurance Research Council (2023 data). As of mid-2026, Florida remains a no-fault/PIP state — widely circulated claims that PIP was repealed effective July 1, 2026 are not accurate; repeal bills were filed but did not become law.
Set up your whole program with one local advisor
In most states, you keep one bundled account — home and auto with the same national carrier, one multi-policy discount, done. In Florida that’s structurally harder. A large share of the home-insurance market is written by Florida-domiciled specialty carriers that don’t write auto at all, while many national brands that do write auto have pulled back from new Florida homeowners business. The practical result: your best home carrier and your best auto carrier are frequently two different companies. A true single-carrier bundle is still possible for some homes, but a thoughtfully placed “split” — home with a strong Florida specialty insurer, auto with a national carrier — is just as common, and a good agency can capture a companion discount along the way.
This is exactly where a local independent advisor beats a national 1-800 number or an online aggregator. One local advisor who shops many financially strong Florida carriers — not a faceless ZIP widget — can line up home, auto, and umbrella so the pieces actually fit together, instead of leaving you to stitch three unrelated quotes from three websites. You get one person who knows your file, knows these carriers, and answers the phone in Florida.
Home + auto + umbrella, one relationship
Setting up all three lines together lets us coordinate your liability limits and add a personal umbrella on top — usually about $400–$600 a year for the first $1 million in today’s Florida market (your price depends on your household). See how the pieces work together on our home, auto & umbrella bundle page.
Ready when you are: complete our quote request form as the best first step, or get us your dec page in one click with Canopy Connect so we can match your current coverage to a Florida program quickly.
Which Florida home insurers are financially strong?
Because your old carrier may not write in Florida, the carrier that ends up protecting your new home will likely be a Florida specialty insurer rather than the national brand you’re used to — and that makes financial strength the thing to look at first. Here’s how the carriers we shop stack up; for the full explanation of these grades and the rating agencies behind them, see our Florida home insurance financial-strength ratings guide.
Demotech A (Exceptional)Kroll BBB+
Demotech A (Exceptional)Kroll BBB+
Demotech A (Exceptional)
Demotech A (Exceptional)Kroll A-
Demotech A (Exceptional)
Demotech A (Exceptional)Kroll BBB+
Demotech A (Exceptional)
Demotech A (Exceptional)Kroll BBB+
Demotech A (Exceptional)
Demotech A (Exceptional)
Demotech A (Exceptional)Kroll BBB
AM Best A+ (Superior)
Financial-strength ratings from Demotech, AM Best, and Kroll (KBRA), the recognized rating agencies for these carriers; most Florida-domiciled homeowners carriers are rated by Demotech and national carriers by AM Best. Ratings are current as most recently affirmed in 2026 and can change — we re-check each carrier’s current rating before we place you.
Wind-mitigation credits: how Florida rewards a tougher home
Here’s some good news that’s almost unique to Florida. Under Florida law (Fla. Stat. 627.0629), insurers are required to reduce the windstorm portion of your premium for verified wind-resistant features — things like a hip roof, a sealed roof deck or secondary water resistance, reinforced roof-to-wall connections (clips, straps, or wraps), and impact-rated windows and doors. These are mandated credits, not optional courtesies.
To claim them, a licensed inspector completes the state’s Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802 — the current revision became mandatory April 1, 2026), which is generally valid for up to five years. Because the wind portion is a large share of a Florida premium, these credits can be meaningful. There’s no single guaranteed percentage, though — the actual savings depend on which features your home truly has and each carrier’s filed rates, and they apply only to the wind portion of the premium. If your home was built to the modern Florida Building Code (especially post-2008), it may already capture many of these credits. We’ll tell you whether an inspection is worth ordering for your specific home.
A quick note on rising rates
Florida is among the most expensive states in the nation for both home and auto, driven by hurricane exposure, litigation, reinsurance costs, and the high uninsured-driver share — not by anything you did. If you’re comparing what you paid before, our why did my home insurance go up in Florida page explains the real drivers honestly.
Your first days in Florida: the new-resident insurance checklist
Now the practical part. Your first days in Florida come with a short, specific set of insurance and DMV steps — and the order matters, because you generally need Florida auto coverage in force before you can register your vehicle. Here’s the checklist we walk new residents through.
- Get Florida auto coverage from a Florida-licensed insurer — first
You must show proof of Florida PIP and PDL from a carrier licensed in Florida before you can title and register your vehicle; an out-of-state policy won’t satisfy the requirement. Minimums are $10,000 PIP + $10,000 PDL, but most relocating families should add real bodily-injury and UM/UIM coverage. Don’t cancel your old policy until the new Florida one is bound. - Register and title your vehicle within 10 days of the trigger
If you accept a job, enroll your children in a Florida public school, or otherwise establish residency, you have 10 days to register a vehicle you intend to drive on Florida roads (Fla. Stat. 320.38). Your Florida insurance must already be in force to register. - Get your Florida driver license within 30 days
A new resident must obtain a Florida driver license within 30 days of establishing residency. Spouses and dependent children who will drive generally need theirs in the same window. (FLHSMV; Fla. Stat. 322.031.) - Set up your Florida home policy — or a binder if you’re buying
Your prior carrier often won’t write the Florida home, so plan a new policy. If you’re purchasing, your lender needs a binder by closing — start early so inspections and the wind-mit form don’t crowd your closing date. Set Coverage A on replacement (rebuild) cost, not market value. - Check your FEMA flood zone — before you assume you’re fine
Flood is never in a homeowners policy. It’s mandatory with a federally backed mortgage in a high-risk zone and now phasing in for many Citizens policyholders — and many homes that flood sit outside mapped high-risk zones, so it’s worth carrying even in low-risk areas. Look up your zone before buying. - Line up a personal umbrella
With Florida’s low required auto limits and high uninsured-driver share, an umbrella adds liability protection on top of your home and auto — usually about $400–$600 a year for the first $1 million in today’s Florida market (your price depends on your household). - Keep coverage continuous — and surrender the plate before you cancel anything
Florida requires continuous PIP/PDL for as long as a vehicle is registered, even if it’s parked. A lapse can suspend your license, registration, and plate, with reinstatement fees. Before cancelling a policy or selling/exporting a vehicle, surrender the Florida plate first.
One call gets most of this moving at once: complete our quote request form, or get us your dec page in one click with Canopy Connect, and we’ll set up auto, home, and umbrella together — often the same day. Deadlines and requirements per FLHSMV.
Buying a home while relocating? You’ll need a binder by closing
If you’re purchasing a Florida home as part of your move, there’s one more piece to plan around: your lender will require proof of homeowners insurance — an insurance binder — in place by closing. Because your out-of-state carrier often won’t write the Florida home, you can’t simply add it to an existing policy; you’ll be shopping for and binding a new Florida homeowners policy, ideally well before the closing date.
Start this earlier than you think you need to. Florida underwriting can require a roof age, a four-point inspection on older homes, or a wind-mitigation form, and you don’t want any of that to crowd your closing. When you set the dwelling (Coverage A) limit, base it on replacement cost — what it would cost to rebuild at today’s labor and materials prices — not the purchase price or market value, which include land and location that a policy never has to rebuild. We line all of this up so the binder is ready on time. Our Florida homeowners insurance binder page walks through exactly how it works and what your lender will ask for.
Let’s get you set up — the right way, with a real local advisor
You’re welcome here, and getting your insurance squared away doesn’t have to be the stressful part of the move. Cornerstone is an independent Florida agency with 17 years in business, an office and agents who live and work in Florida (Odessa, in the Tampa Bay area), 4.9 stars across 609 Google reviews, BBB A+ accreditation, and Trusted Choice membership — and we shop many financially strong Florida carriers so you don’t have to chase quotes one website at a time.
The best way to start is to complete our quote request form. Already have policies from your old state? Get us your dec page in one click with Canopy Connect and we’ll match your coverage to a Florida program fast — often the same day. Prefer to talk it through? Call or text us at 813.920.8181 and you’ll reach a real person who lives and works right here.
Moving to Florida: insurance FAQ
Do I need new car insurance when I move to Florida?
Yes. To title and register a vehicle in Florida, you must show proof of Florida PIP and PDL coverage from an insurer licensed in Florida — an out-of-state policy generally won’t satisfy the requirement. So you’ll need a Florida auto policy in force before you register, and it’s smart to keep your old policy active until the new one is bound. We can set up Florida coverage quickly when you complete our quote request form or send your dec page via Canopy Connect.
How long do I have to get car insurance and register my vehicle after moving to Florida?
You have 10 days. If you accept a job, enroll your children in a Florida public school, or otherwise establish residency, you must have Florida auto insurance in force and register your vehicle within 10 days of that triggering event (Fla. Stat. 320.38, per FLHSMV). The Florida coverage has to be in place first, because you can’t register without showing proof of it.
Is the driver-license deadline the same as the registration deadline?
No — and this is where competitors and even AI answers often get it wrong. The vehicle insurance-and-registration deadline is 10 days, while the Florida driver license deadline is 30 days from establishing residency (FLHSMV; Fla. Stat. 322.031). They’re two separate clocks. Spouses and dependent children who will drive generally need their Florida license within the same 30-day window.
What is the minimum car insurance required in Florida?
Florida’s minimums are $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability (PDL). Florida is a no-fault state, so your PIP pays your own initial medical costs regardless of fault, and Florida does not require bodily-injury liability to register an ordinary vehicle. Those minimums are widely considered too low for asset protection — with roughly one in five Florida drivers uninsured (IRC, 2023 data), most relocating families should add real bodily-injury and uninsured-motorist coverage.
Will my out-of-state home insurance company cover me in Florida?
Often not. A homeowners policy covers a specific property and doesn’t transfer when you move — and in Florida many national carriers have pulled back from or stopped writing new homeowners business. A large share of the market is served by Florida-domiciled specialty insurers rated by Demotech and, increasingly, Kroll/KBRA. Plan to shop for and bind a new Florida homeowners policy for your new address rather than assuming your current insurer can add it. We shop many financially strong Florida carriers and explain the grades on our financial-strength ratings page.
How does the hurricane (wind) deductible work in Florida?
Unlike the flat-dollar deductible most states use, your Florida hurricane deductible is a percentage of your dwelling (Coverage A) limit. Florida law requires insurers to offer options of 2%, 5%, and 10% (a $500 option applies only on smaller dwelling limits). On a $400,000 home, a 2% deductible is $8,000, 5% is $20,000, and 10% is $40,000 out of pocket before coverage applies. It’s triggered by a named storm and, by law, applies only once per calendar year rather than per storm.
Does homeowners insurance cover flooding in Florida, and is flood insurance required?
No standard homeowners policy covers flood — rising water and storm surge are excluded everywhere and need a separate flood policy. Flood insurance is required if you have a federally backed mortgage on a home in a high-risk FEMA flood zone, and it’s now phasing in for many Citizens policyholders regardless of zone. Even in low-risk areas it’s strongly advised, because many homes that flood sit outside the mapped high-risk zones. Look up your property’s FEMA flood zone before you buy — it drives both whether coverage is mandatory and what it costs.
Can I bundle home and auto insurance in Florida like I did before?
Usually not in the same single-carrier way. Many Florida home specialty carriers don’t write auto at all, and many national auto brands have stepped back from new Florida home business, so your best home carrier and best auto carrier are frequently two different companies. A true bundle is still possible for some homes, but a well-placed split — home with a strong Florida specialist, auto with a national carrier — is common, and an independent agency can often capture a companion discount. See how we coordinate it on our home, auto & umbrella bundle page.
Should I cancel my old car insurance before moving to Florida?
No — keep your old policy active until your new Florida policy is bound. Florida requires continuous coverage for as long as a vehicle is registered, and a lapse can suspend your license, registration, and plate, with reinstatement fees. If you’re selling or exporting a vehicle, surrender the Florida license plate before you cancel the policy. The simplest path is to line up Florida coverage first; complete our quote request form and we’ll time it so there’s no gap.
New to Florida? Let’s set up your insurance the right way
One local advisor for your home, auto, and umbrella — with financially strong Florida carriers, and the deadlines handled. The best way to start is to complete our quote request form — or get us your dec page in one click with Canopy Connect.
