In the years between the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside and hurricanes Helene and Milton, the average annual insurance premium for condominium owners jumped by over 50%.
That far outpaced overall consumer inflation in South Florida — at a time the regional had the highest inflation rate in the country.
"It's an economic problem," said Maria Ilcheva, FIU research professor and associate director at the university's Jorge M. Perez Metropolitan Center.
Data from the center found the average condo owner saw their annual insurance premium for their unit increase to almost $2,000 by the end of 2024. The average premium was closer to $1,100 statewide just four years earlier.
Average premiums for condo owners in Miami-Dade County went up almost 40% during the same time period. While a smaller rate of increase compared to the statewide data, Miami-Dade condo owners pay substantially more to insure their units. The average insurance premium for condos in Miami-Dade was $2,300 at the end of the study period.
This data is for regular homeowner's insurance for condo owners. Windstorm insurance also experienced substantial double-digit price increases.
FIU researcher Victoria Lerma pointed to severe weather and escalating rebuilding costs as two of the drivers.
" We've seen significant increases for both types (of insurance)," Lerma said.
Consumer inflation rose by 26% in the Miami region during the period of the study. It was regularly the highest rate among major metropolitan areas for months coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast rising home and condo prices, and quickly rising rents helped fuel the increases, as did higher insurance premiums.
As the value of a home or condo increases, the price to insure that home and condo may rise to reflect higher costs, including higher labor and building material prices.
The climbing insurance premiums also add to the affordability challenge many Florida communities have experienced since the pandemic, or before.
Property insurance was the top issues named by Floridians in a poll this summer from the University of North Florida. One in five surveyed said it was the biggest problem facing the state. The same survey found just 12% named property taxes as the biggest challenge. Florida Republican lawmakers have pledged to reform property taxes in the upcoming legislative session.
" The rising insurance costs is a big pocketbook issue,"said Ilcheva. She includes renters in her assessment as landlords pass through higher insurance rates.
"We know that housing costs are one of the big ticket items that contribute to the relatively high inflation in our region. And when you look at what creates these costs, insurance is one of the big items there," she said.
READ MORE: Will a lower insurance rate lead to lower premiums for Florida homeowners?
The regional inflation rate has cooled and has remained stable over the past year. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 2.5% in August.
In February, the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation published a booklet entitled "Florida’s Property Insurance Market is Stabilizing. Here's Why That's a Big Deal." It credited legislative reform to reducing lawsuits and going after fraud for pulling the state home insurance market back from crisis.
"You would expect that prices would normalize," said Ilcheva, "and we're not actually seeing that — not in the South Florida market."
A report from Realtor.com released this month found Florida was home to the highest property insurance premiums in the nation.
A separate report released in September from independent credit ratings agency Weiss, which is based in Florida, found "insurance companies are denying home damage claims more aggressively, and their policyholders are fighting back by suing at a higher rate."
