We can only hope that insurance rates for Florida homeowners will soon be on the decline, as Gov. Charlie Crist and others passed insurance reforms on Monday, January 23, 2007. Most homeowners in Florida were hit hard after the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, and lawmakers have responded by reducing homeowners insurance premiums by 5 to 20 percent.

When we lived in evacuation zone “C”, in our former house, our insurance (through Citizens) was less than $1000 per year. After the storms, and just after we sold, I received a notice that our premiums were going up to $2400 a year! At that point, we were quite glad that we had sold and moved to higher, dryer ground. At our new home, we were able to get coverage from a company other than Citizens, for less than $2000 a year. Not back when you take into consideration that our current home is worth twice as much as our former residence.