Why homeowners keep hearing two different stories about Florida insurance
Ask a Palm Beach County homeowner about insurance and you will hear it is out of control. Ask the state and you will hear premiums are falling. Both are working from real numbers. This page tracks the primary-source data each time the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) publishes it, so buyers and sellers can see what is actually happening in Palm Beach County — not a statewide average, and not a headline.
The latest numbers (H1 2026 release, published August 2026)
According to the Florida Insurance Commissioner's data released August 17, 2026, average property insurance premiums fell in 51 of Florida's 67 counties in the first six months of 2026.
| County | Avg premium (start 2026) | Avg premium (mid 2026) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach | $6,412 | $6,323 | −1.4% |
| Martin | $5,993 | $5,899 | −1.6% |
| St. Lucie | $3,522 | $3,491 | −0.9% |
| Indian River | $4,453 | $4,334 | −2.7% |
| Okeechobee | $3,754 | $3,730 | −0.6% |
Statewide, the average homeowners premium with wind coverage is now $3,757 (FLOIR stability report). Palm Beach County still pays roughly 68% above the state average — coastal exposure is priced in — but the direction changed for the first time in years.
Citizens is cutting too. Citizens Property Insurance's approved 2026 rate changes reduce Palm Beach County multiperil rates by 8.0% on average (approx. 70,672 PBC policies affected; average premium moving from about $3,539 toward $3,255 per the approved rate kit).
What is driving it
- The 2022-2023 litigation reforms sharply reduced insurer legal costs; new carriers entered Florida.
- Reinsurance costs softened in 2025-2026.
- The condo insurance market specifically "has softened considerably in the last 12 months" (Insurance Journal, Aug 2026).
What it means if you are selling
An owner quoting their 2023-2024 renewal shock as "the insurance situation" is negotiating against stale facts. Buyers increasingly arrive with current quotes. On estate and probate sales, where the home often carries an older policy or a lapsed one, a current quote is one of the cheapest credibility builds available before listing.
What it means if you are buying
Premiums are hyper-local within the county: distance to coast, roof age, and building code year move quotes far more than the county average does. Use the county figure to sanity-check a quote, not to predict one. On condos east of I-95, ask for the association's master policy renewal before you fall in love with the unit.
Sources (primary)
- FLOIR Insurance Stability Unit report (floir.gov, docs-sf stability-unit-reports)
- Citizens Property Insurance 2026 Approved Rate Changes by County (citizensfla.com)
- H1 2026 county premium data as reported by the Florida Insurance Commissioner, Aug 17, 2026
Data on this page: [floir/citizens, 2026-08-18]. Next update expected with FLOIR's next stability release.
Related