An investor closes on a 1980s garden-style apartment complex off Kirkman Road, planning to renovate the units and raise rents. The property insurance is placed in time for closing, and the liability policy rolls over from the seller’s program with the same limits. Six months later, a resident is assaulted in the parking lot at night, and the lawsuit claims the lighting was poor, the gate didn’t work and the owner knew about prior incidents. The investor learns two things at once: the liability policy carries a sublimit for assault and battery, and the property hadn’t put in place the security measures that, under Florida law, can create a presumption against the owner’s liability in exactly this kind of case.
Orlando’s apartment market is often described as newer and easier to insure than South Florida’s, and in some ways it is. But the claims that cost Orlando owners the most often have nothing to do with building age or distance from the coast. They come from water, from liability at amenity-heavy communities, and from crime at older complexes. The program has to be built around the property’s actual risks.
Newer stock, with plenty of exceptions
Orlando has been one of the most active multifamily construction markets in the country, so a larger share of its apartment stock is newer than in older Florida metros. That reduces some of the conversations that dominate older Miami and Tampa buildings, such as undocumented roof age, cast iron plumbing and outdated electrical panels.
But the market also has a large inventory of 1970s and 1980s garden-style complexes in areas like Pine Hills, Kirkman and Conroy, Semoran and the older parts of Kissimmee. Those properties face the same underwriting questions as older buildings anywhere in the state, and the same risk of non-renewal if roofs and systems haven’t been updated. Our article on why insurers non-renew older apartment buildings in Florida explains what carriers look for. Either way, habitational property in Florida is placed mostly in the surplus lines market, and our article on why apartment insurance is hard to place in Florida explains why.
Wind, flood and sinkholes inland
Orlando’s inland position keeps it outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone and largely free of storm surge, which helps on comparable construction. It doesn’t eliminate wind: storms that cross the peninsula still reach Orlando with damaging winds, and the named storm deductible applies the same way it does on the coast. Convert it to dollars before the season. Our article on commercial property insurance in Orlando covers how the inland position affects underwriting.
Flood is excluded from every commercial property policy, and Central Florida’s flat terrain, lakes and heavy summer rainfall produce flooding well outside mapped high-risk zones. Skipping flood because the building isn’t coastal is a decision based on a map rather than on where the water actually goes. Our guide on whether apartment buildings need flood insurance in Florida covers how that coverage is structured.
Parts of Central Florida also have sinkhole activity. Commercial property policies typically cover only a narrowly defined sudden sinkhole collapse, while settling, cracking and other earth movement are excluded, so it’s worth asking what your policy actually covers. Our article on sinkhole coverage vs. catastrophic ground cover collapse explains the difference.
Crime, security and the liability side
Negligent security claims, where a resident or visitor is the victim of a crime and alleges the owner failed to provide reasonable security, are among the most expensive claims an apartment owner can face in Florida. They’re especially relevant for older complexes in higher-crime areas of Orlando.
Florida’s 2023 tort reform created a presumption against liability for owners of multifamily residential property who implement specific security measures, including security cameras, lighting in parking areas and walkways, proper door and window locks, peepholes, a crime prevention assessment and training for employees. Meeting those requirements is a legal question as much as an insurance one, so confirm the details with counsel, but it’s one of the most valuable steps an Orlando owner can take, and underwriters increasingly ask about it.
On the policy side, many habitational liability policies exclude or sublimit assault and battery. For an older complex, that provision can matter more than the overall liability limit. Some communities also add patrol or gate security; our article on why more apartment communities are hiring security patrol services covers that trend, and our article on security guard insurance in Orlando covers what the security company should carry.
Amenities and student housing
Orlando’s newer communities tend to be amenity-rich, with pools, fitness centers, clubhouses, dog parks and parking structures. Each one adds foot traffic and injury exposure, which shows up on the liability side of the program. That’s the trade in this market: a newer building often underwrites better on property and carries more on liability than an older, simpler complex.
Student housing near UCF is its own category. Higher turnover, parties, pools and shared units make it a class many carriers price separately or decline, and it needs to be identified as student housing on the application rather than written as conventional multifamily.
New construction and the handoff to a permanent policy
Much of Orlando’s recent supply was built by owners who are now leasing up or selling. A building under construction needs builders risk coverage rather than an apartment policy, and the transition from builders risk to a permanent program is a specific moment that needs planning. Our guide to builders risk insurance in Florida covers the construction phase. Once the building is complete, the permanent program should reflect the actual as-built systems and values rather than figures carried over from the construction budget.
Newer doesn’t mean no water claims
Newer construction removes the cast iron drain conversation, but not water losses. Stacked plumbing, supply line failures, water heaters and air conditioning condensate lines produce claims in five-year-old buildings as well as fifty-year-old ones, and in a multifamily building the water travels the same way regardless of the year built. Water is the most frequent habitational claim in Florida, and leak detection and automatic shutoff devices are as worthwhile in a new Orlando community as anywhere else. Our article on water damage claims in apartment buildings covers how those losses unfold.
Submarkets matter
Orlando’s growth hasn’t been uniform. Kissimmee and Osceola County have absorbed a large share of new supply, Lake Nona and Horizon West have added newer communities, and the older inner-ring areas carry most of the aging stock. Two properties in the same metro can need very different programs, which is why the submarket and the specific property matter more than the city name.
Worth confirming on your policy
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Insured values based on today’s replacement cost
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Named storm deductible calculated in dollars
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Flood coverage evaluated on the property’s drainage and elevation
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Sinkhole coverage reviewed for what the policy actually includes
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Security measures in place under Florida’s multifamily liability presumption
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Assault and battery covered, not excluded or sublimited below what you need
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Student housing identified on the application if it applies
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Builders risk transitioned to a permanent program at completion
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Water leak detection and shutoff devices
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Vendors carrying their own insurance, with certificates on file
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Loss of rents with a realistic restoration period
For more, see our apartment building and habitational insurance page, what apartment building insurance covers in Florida, how much apartment building insurance costs, apartment insurance for real estate investors, why apartments require vendor certificates of insurance and property manager insurance in Orlando.
Talk to us
Prestige Insurance Group works with apartment owners, landlords and real estate investors across Orlando, Kissimmee and Central Florida, from older garden-style complexes to newly built communities. We’ll review your program against the property you actually own and compare options with the carriers and surplus lines markets that write Florida habitational business. Call our Orlando office. Se habla español.
Orlando: 407-993-2331
This article is general information, not legal advice. Coverage forms and carrier appetite vary and change over time, and the requirements for Florida’s multifamily security presumption should be confirmed with legal counsel. Prestige Insurance Group, Florida agency license L057894.
