Insuring Florida Property When You Live Outside the United States

Read this guide in Español or Português.

Buying property in Florida from another country is straightforward. Insuring it well is where foreign owners run into trouble, and the problems rarely show up at closing. They show up a year later, during a claim, when the policy turns out to describe a different property, a different owner or a different use than the one that actually exists.

Most of those problems have the same root. The policy was bought quickly to satisfy a closing, by someone who never asked how the property would be used, who would look after it or which entity owns it. This guide covers what changes when the owner lives abroad, and what to settle before the first renewal rather than after the first loss. For the issues every remote owner shares, including vacancy, water damage, hurricane preparation and property managers, see our guide to out-of-state and international property ownership in Florida.

The Insurance Is Usually Decided at Closing, Under Pressure

A buyer financing a Florida purchase with a foreign national mortgage can’t close without proof of insurance, and the lender sets the terms: the property insured at an adequate value, the lender named as mortgagee, and flood coverage if the property sits in a flood zone the lender’s rules cover. Cash buyers have no lender requirement, but a title company or association may still ask for proof of coverage, and a cash buyer has the most to lose by leaving the property underinsured.

The pressure of a closing date is why so many foreign owners end up with the first policy anyone could bind. The better sequence is to start the insurance conversation when the contract is signed, not the week of closing. That leaves time to find a carrier that actually accepts the owner’s situation, to arrange flood coverage before the closing date rather than scrambling around a waiting period, and to get the named insured right the first time.

Some Carriers Won’t Write an Owner Who Lives Abroad

This is the detail most foreign buyers don’t expect. Florida’s property market is tight, and many carriers restrict or decline owners who live outside the United States, particularly when the property is vacant for long periods, rented to others or held in a company. Others will write it but ask for a U.S. mailing address, a local contact who can provide access, or a U.S. bank account for payment.

None of that makes the property uninsurable. It means the placement has to start with carriers that accept foreign ownership, rather than with whichever company quotes fastest and then declines at underwriting or, worse, accepts the application without asking the questions that would have changed the answer. An application that describes the owner as living at the property, or leaves the residence question unanswered, is the kind of misstatement that can void coverage when the carrier discovers it during a claim.

The Policy Has to Match How the Property Is Actually Used

Foreign buyers tend to use Florida property in one of three ways, and each needs a different form.

A second home the family uses for part of the year is written as a seasonal or secondary residence, with underwriting attention on who checks the property while it’s empty. Our page on secondary home insurance covers that form. A property rented to tenants on annual leases is an investment, and it belongs on a dwelling or landlord policy that covers the structure, the lost rent after a covered loss and the owner’s liability, as our page on rental property insurance explains. A property rented to guests by the night or the week is treated as a business by most carriers, with its own form and its own liability questions, covered in our Florida short-term rental ownership guide.

The common mistake is a homeowners policy, written for an owner who lives in the house, on a property the owner visits twice a year and rents out the rest of the time. That isn’t a pricing technicality. It’s a description of a risk the carrier never agreed to take.

Condominiums Carry Risks the Unit Owner Doesn’t Control

Many international buyers purchase condominiums, particularly in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, and condo ownership splits the insurance between the association and the unit owner. The association’s master policy covers the building and common areas; the unit owner’s policy covers the interior, the owner’s contents, liability inside the unit and, importantly, assessments.

Florida’s condominium rules have tightened in recent years, with structural inspections and reserve requirements producing large special assessments in some buildings. A unit owner’s policy can include loss assessment coverage, which responds when the association assesses owners for a covered loss to common property, such as hurricane damage that exceeds the master policy’s deductible. It doesn’t pay for assessments that fund repairs, reserves or inspections, which is a distinction worth understanding before buying in an older building. Our condo insurance page covers the unit owner’s side, and the association’s governing documents describe where the master policy stops.

Owning Through a Company Changes the Insurance

International buyers often hold Florida property through a U.S. limited liability company, sometimes one per property, for liability, estate and tax reasons that are for their attorney and accountant to decide. The insurance has to follow that decision exactly. The named insured on each policy must be the entity on the deed, and a property deeded to one company but insured in the owner’s personal name, or in the name of a different company, is a problem a carrier can raise at claim time.

Company ownership also affects what’s available. Some carriers that write individuals won’t write a company-owned home, and a personal umbrella generally covers the individuals named on it rather than the companies that hold the properties. An owner with several properties in several companies needs the liability structure designed as a whole, so that every entity is named and the umbrella sits above all of them. Our Florida real estate investor guide covers portfolio structure in more depth.

Hurricane and Flood Decisions Can’t Wait for a Visit

Two coverage decisions matter more for an owner abroad than for anyone else, because neither can be fixed once a storm is in the forecast.

The named storm deductible on a Florida property policy is a percentage of the insured value rather than a flat amount, which makes it larger than most owners expect, and it’s due at the moment the owner is furthest from the property and every contractor is booked. Convert it to dollars at binding and keep that amount available in a U.S. account.

Flood is excluded from homeowners, dwelling and condo policies and needs its own policy, with a waiting period before most new flood policies take effect. Coastal and low-lying Florida property often needs flood whether or not a lender requires it, and arranging it in the quiet months is the only reliable way to have it in place for the season. Our flood insurance page explains the options.

Claims From Abroad Need a Plan Made in Advance

A claim requires someone to give the adjuster access, document the damage, approve emergency repairs and answer questions quickly, and the policy requires the owner to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage. Doing that from another country, in another time zone, with policy documents written in English, is difficult unless it’s arranged before anything happens.

The practical answer is a named local contact, whether a property manager, a family member, an attorney or a caretaker, with a key, the policy information and the authority to act. Keep copies of the policy, photos of the property’s condition and contents, and the agent’s contact information somewhere the local contact can reach them. Florida has also shortened the window for reporting hurricane claims, so a loss discovered months after a storm, on the owner’s next visit, may face a deadline problem on top of the damage.

The Vehicle in Florida Is Its Own Question

Owners who keep a car at their Florida property face a separate set of underwriting questions. Insurers look at the driver’s license, whether a foreign license or a Florida one, the driving history they can verify and where the vehicle is garaged, and some markets are limited for drivers without a Florida license. High-value and exotic vehicles are better placed with carriers that insure them at an agreed value, often together with the home, than on a standard auto policy. Our high-net-worth insurance page covers that approach.

One Agent, One Program, Reachable From Anywhere

The foreign owners who handle Florida well tend to have one thing in common: a single agent who knows every property, every vehicle and every company, reviews them together each year and can be reached quickly from abroad. Premiums are paid in U.S. dollars, most carriers accept card payment or a U.S. bank account, and paying annually avoids installment plans that can require a U.S. account and lapse if a payment fails while the owner is traveling.

What to Confirm

• Does each policy describe how the property is actually used: second home, annual rental or short-term rental?
• Does the carrier know the owner lives outside the United States?
• Does the named insured match the entity on each deed?
• Is flood in place, and has its waiting period run?
• What is the named storm deductible in dollars, and is it available in a U.S. account?
• For a condo, does the unit policy include loss assessment coverage?
• Is there a local contact with a key, the policy information and the authority to act?
• Is there an umbrella above every property and company?
• Is the Florida vehicle insured with a carrier that accepts the driver’s license?

Insurance for International Owners of Florida Property

Prestige Insurance Group works with owners from Latin America, Canada and Europe who hold homes, condominiums, rentals and investment property in Florida, and we place them with carriers that accept owners who live abroad. Most of our international clients work with us by email and WhatsApp, sign documents electronically and review their whole Florida program with us once a year. Send us your closing documents or current policies, and we’ll tell you whether each one matches how the property is owned and used. Call the office nearest you. Se habla español.

Miami: 305-969-8776
Orlando: 407-993-2331

Related: Out-of-State and International Property Ownership · Florida Vacation Home Ownership Guide · Secondary Home Insurance · Condo Insurance · Vacant Home Insurance · Umbrella Insurance

General information only, not legal or tax advice. Carrier appetite for foreign ownership, policy forms, deductibles and claim reporting requirements vary and change; ownership structure should be decided with your attorney and accountant, and your policy governs the terms that apply to your property.