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Over the past few years, it seems the cost of insuring one's home has gone up appreciably in many parts of the country, but this may have been more significant for Florida in particular. However, it seems that having gone eight years without being hit by a major hurricane may have finally had a positive impact on such movements, as the cost to insure a property in the Sunshine State actually went down - albeit slightly - last year. As such, insurance agents may be able to better connect with consumers who want to beef up their policies.

Data from the office of the Florida Insurance Commissioner showed that nearly half of all insurers issuing home coverage in the state asked to reduce their rates, by between 2.4 percent and 9.2 percent to start the year, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times. Since that time, though, one insurer actually requested - and was approved for - a rate cut of an even greater amount, at 15.4 percent.

How beneficial is this movement?
Meanwhile, because of the ways in which many insurers have opted to cut rates for Florida homeowners this year, others that originally announced plans to significantly increase them have since walked back those rate hikes to be more reasonable, or even turned them into reductions, the report said. For instance, one insurer originally asked the state to approve a rate hike of 12.2 percent, but upon seeing the way the rest of the industry was going, revised that to a 5 percent drop.

""I am pleased that rates are beginning to improve for homeowners, because Floridians deserve relief and they need to be able to afford the coverage it takes to protect their homes,"" Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater told the newspaper. ""Our goal should be to ensure rates are fair and companies are sound. When [Florida Insurance] Commissioner [Kevin] McCarty provided me his analysis of the property insurance market, he said that he expected lower reinsurance costs to be reflected in lower rates for consumers in future rate filings. I share the commissioner's expectations.""

Because of these positive steps for consumers, there might be a little better feeling about the home insurance industry in Florida in general these days. As such, agents might be able to do a bit more to work closely with their clients to make sure they are as satisfied as possible with their current quality of coverage.

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