JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Floridians are more concerned about property insurance than they are about property taxes.
That’s according to a new University of North Florida, Orlando Sentinel, and South Florida Sun Sentinel public opinion poll.
The poll found that 63% of Floridians are more concerned about property insurance while 36% are more concerned about property taxes. 1% said they don’t know.
It comes as Amendment 3, which aims to eventually eliminate property taxes on homesteads in Florida, will be on the ballot this November.
“There’s been a lot of rhetoric around property taxes and yet property insurance still seems to be an issue that’s cutting through,” said Dr. Sean Freeder, Director of UNF’s Public Opinion Research Lab. “Partisanship. Democrats, Republicans and Independents, all generally concerned about property insurance more than property taxes.”
Dr. Freeder is also an associate professor of political science at the University of North Florida.
He says one of the reasons why property insurance is such a prevalent issue for Floridians is the types of insurers available in the Florida market versus the national market.
“Some of the really big insurers that have more stability, they operate across a lot of states, but often they’re not operating in Florida,” said Dr. Freeder. “That leaves the average Florida property owner with fewer options, maybe more unstable options. Some of those insurers are smaller.”
Jose Sellas moved to Jacksonville in 2021. He says he’s more concerned about property insurance due to being 100% disabled from the military.
“When I first moved in, I think it was around $1800 and now it’s close to $3000,” said Sellas about his property insurance rate. “I’ve been living here for about 6 years now, and every year it keeps going up.”
Dr. Freeder says overall the biggest takeaway from this poll is that elected officials need to keep property insurance at the top of their minds and not just property taxes.
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