Gov. Ron DeSantis and his state insurance commissioner recently declared victory in their campaign to make homeowners insurance more affordable in Florida in the wake of crushing rate increases over the past couple of years.

But local insurance experts say the accuracy of that claim depends on how you define “victory.”

Rates don’t seem to be rising as much anymore, and premiums have stabilized somewhat in what has long been a cyclical industry. But staying on the unenviable high plateau still leaves Florida with the costliest insurance rates in the country – and rates aren’t coming down much, if at all.

“Like inflation, once the cost [of insurance] is raised, overall, it seems to become the new norm,” says Harry Howle, an insurance broker and real estate agent with many years of experience in the local insurance market who is also a former mayor of the City of Vero Beach.

Howle added that island homes in the 32963 ZIP code still tend to be more expensive to insure because, although more companies have re-entered the Florida market overall, fewer companies will write insurance in this ZIP code compared to other areas. Properties close to the beach still make many insurers skittish in view of the catastrophic losses they incurred in recent years after monster storms, not only here but on Florida’s West and Gulf Coasts as well.

“Insurance premiums seem to have leveled off for the most part,” Howle said. “Depending on the risk [for an individual property], we have seen both slight increases and decreases, although none seem extraordinary. Thankfully, the days of rates doubling or quadrupling seem to be gone for now. It’s a welcome pause from recent years.

“All things considered, we are in a much better place today,” Howle added. “I’d like to see more competition enter the state, which should theoretically lower premiums, but I’ll take what I can get today.”

Worst off on the scale of increases vs. decreases in today’s climate are older, high-value homes on the island. Howle says rates for those properties continue to “notch up slightly.”

Those increases come on top of continuing demands by insurance companies that homeowners fund expensive home repairs and upgrades as a condition of coverage.

To get any coverage at all, companies often require homeowners to replace relatively new roofs that keep the house dry in pouring rain and older plumbing that still works well, along with other costly systems, to protect the companies from paying claims. “Underwriting restrictions and risk scrutiny have not changed,” Howle said.

Before any policy is written, the company will check the age of every system in a home, from the condition of the roof to hot water heaters to electrical boxes, according to Howle. “It seems to be a matter of endless insurance inspections,” he added.

Different insurance companies offer different quotes on the same home, “so it’s very hard to put a finger on where the rates are going in general, except that most rates have stayed similar when it comes time for renewal,” Howle said.

That said, the older the home and the closer it is to the beach, the more likely it is that rates will continue to creep up and the more expensive it will be to insure.

For example, according to an island insurance source, the annual premium for a $750,000 home built in 1970 on the beach in 32963 was $8,200, while the premium for a similar insurance package on an even more expensive home ($820,000) built in 2020 on the mainland in the 32967 ZIP code area was less than half the price at only $3,200.

A beachside home in 32963 built in 1991 with a total replacement cost of $1.4 million cost $15,000 a year to insure, but a $900,000 home built in 2019 in the 32967 ZIP code area on the mainland cost only a fraction of that amount to insure – $2,600.

Several lawmakers have introduced bills prior to this year’s legislative session to further tinker around the edges of current insurance legislation and try to bring down costs for residents. The reforms heralded by DeSantis and State Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky, which concentrated on curbing excessive litigation to bring down insurance costs, haven’t gone far enough to solve the problem, several legislators argue.

One bill takes aim at insurance companies’ excess profits by requiring companies to be more transparent. Companies are required to refund excess profits to consumers, but under current law they don’t have to show their balance sheets, which are not subject to public records requests. The legislation would require transparency.

Another bill winding its way through state legislative committees would force insurance companies to provide a breakdown of each cost factor in the rate homeowners are paying to help residents understand what factors contribute most to their insurance costs and help them manage their finances.

Insurance companies oppose the effort, saying that information falls into the category of a “trade secret.”