Orange County · Central Florida

Home Insurance in Orlando, Florida

Orlando sits roughly fifty miles from either coast, which changes the wind exposure on your house but changes nothing at all about the hurricane deductible on your policy. Most Orange County homes are outside the wind-borne debris region that drives South Florida pricing — and most Orlando homeowners are still carrying a percentage hurricane deductible they have never actually worked out in dollars.

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Your hurricane deductible is statewide, not coastal

Florida sets hurricane deductibles by statute (Fla. Stat. 627.701): $500, 2%, 5% or 10% of your dwelling limit, and at a dwelling limit of $250,000 or more the insurer does not have to offer you the $500 option at all. The part inland homeowners are most often surprised by is the trigger — it applies once the National Hurricane Center issues a hurricane watch or warning for ANY PART of Florida, not for your county, and it stays in force until 72 hours after that warning ends. On a $400,000 dwelling limit, 2% is $8,000 you pay before the policy pays anything. It applies once per calendar year; a second hurricane in the same year falls back to your ordinary deductible.

Inland does not mean dry

Orlando's worst storm damage tends to be rainfall and river flooding rather than surge — Ian in 2022 put water into Orange and Seminole County homes that had never flooded before, miles from any coast. No homeowners policy in Florida — or anywhere in the United States — covers flood. It is always a separate policy, either through the NFIP or a private flood carrier, and outside a mandatory flood zone your lender will usually not require one. That is a decision you make, not one the mortgage makes for you.

The credits inland homeowners skip

Florida law requires every residential property insurer to give actuarially reasonable discounts for verified windstorm mitigation features (Fla. Stat. 627.0629) — they are not a courtesy. The credits come from a wind mitigation inspection recorded on form OIR-B1-1802, and a revised version of that form became mandatory for inspections performed on or after April 1, 2026. An inspection done on the older form is still accepted if it was performed within five years before that date and nothing structural has changed since. Inland homeowners skip the inspection far more often than coastal ones, on the assumption that wind mitigation is a coastal concern. The discount applies to the windstorm portion of a premium you are already paying statewide.

What actually moves your premium in Orlando

Roof age and covering — the single strongest rating factor on most Florida homes
Whether the home was built to the 2002 statewide Florida Building Code or before it
Prior claims at the address, which follow the property through the industry CLUE database, not just the owner
Coverage A set to rebuild cost rather than market value — in Orlando those two numbers have diverged sharply
Wind mitigation features actually on file with the carrier, not merely present on the house

See what Orlando carriers will actually quote

Harvest is a licensed independent Florida agency. Share your property basics once and a licensed agent reviews the markets available for your address — including the wind mitigation credits and deductible options above, which change the number more than most people expect.

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Orlando home insurance questions

Do I really have a hurricane deductible in Orlando?

Yes. Every Florida homeowners policy carries one, and it is set by state law rather than by distance from the coast. Which one you choose — 2%, 5% or 10% of your dwelling limit — is one of the largest single levers on your premium, and on a $400,000 home the gap between 2% and 5% is $12,000 of your own money at claim time.

Is flood included in an Orlando home insurance policy?

No. Flood is never part of a homeowners policy anywhere in Florida. Orange County has flooded from rainfall and river rise well away from the coast, so being outside a mandatory flood zone is not the same as being outside flood risk.

Will a newer roof lower my Orlando premium?

Usually, and often substantially. Roof age and roof covering are among the strongest rating factors Florida carriers use, and a newer roof also tends to unlock roof-deck and roof-to-wall credits on a wind mitigation inspection. The credit only applies once the inspection report is on file with the carrier.

This page explains how Florida coverage and rating rules work in Orange County. It is general information, not advice about a specific policy, and it does not quote a rate — premiums depend on the property, the coverage selected and the carrier’s own underwriting. Statutory references are to the Florida Statutes and the Florida Building Code as they stand in 2026.

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