Justine Johnson, 35, moved into her three-bedroom, two-bath home in Vero Beach in 2020 through Habitat for Humanity. A single mother, she works in medical billing and has two children, ages 6 and 1. Her mortgage is fixed at $400 a month, but her escrow for insurance and taxes jumped last year by $303, taking her overall payment up by 52.5%. Part of that increase owes to an assessment to pave the roads in her neighborhood, and part comes from increased government taxes. But most of the increase is from higher property insurance. She had expected to be able to save money this year once she stopped paying for childcare for her oldest when she entered kindergarten, but no longer. “I really can’t save anything. If I didn’t luck out with my daughter going to kindergarten, I would be negative. I’m just getting by. It’s definitely been difficult.”

Surging Premiums

Rising home and auto insurance costs have dealt a double whammy to Florida consumers in recent years. Floridians pay some of the highest rates in the nation for property insurance, with premiums tripling over the past five years. During the same period, Florida car insurance rates have climbed nearly 42% and are 59% higher than the U.S. average.