Insurance Challenges, Pitfalls, and Best Practices for Florida Landlords

Florida landlord insuranceFlorida is a particularly challenging insurance market, and many out of state real estate investors are surprised when they get their first homeowners insurance quote for a Florida investment property. 

But what makes Florida such a tough insurance market? (It’s not what you might think!)

In this video from the Copeland Morgan Media Real Estate Podcast, Jeff discusses the Florida homeowners, property, casualty, and liability insurance markets with Florida Insurance expert Mike Tonsetic, owner of Blanchard Insurance. 

Topics Include:

  • Why insurance carriers don’t like Florida.
  • How fraudulent roofing claims have driven up Florida insurance costs.
  • The difference between homeowners (HO-3) and landlord (DP-3) insurance policies.
  • How named storm deductibles work for tropical storms and hurricanes.
  • How flood insurance differs from homeowners insurance.
  • Florida’s requirement for a 4-point inspection for insurance coverage.
  • How to bind insurance for closing on an investment property with a bad 4-point inspection.
  • What is Florida Citizens Insurance and do you want it?
  • Why an uninsured loss can ruin a real estate investor.
  • Personal injury and wrongful death liability for landlords.
  • Umbrella liability policies for landlords.
  • Flood Permits

Jeff Copeland

Jeff Copeland is the Broker/Owner of Copeland Morgan LLC. Recognized as one of the best property management companies in St. Petersburg, FL by Expertise.com in 2020 and 2021, and more recently by Home Team in 2026, Copeland Morgan LLC provides full-service real estate sales and property management in St. Petersburg and across the Tampa Bay area. Licensed as both a Florida real estate broker and a certified residential contractor, Jeff also owns Copeland Construction & Restoration LLC He is a 22-year military veteran and holds a master's degree in public administration and a bachelor's degree in management and international business. In addition to decades of experience across federal, state, and local government, Jeff has owned, operated, and sold multiple Florida businesses. He is also the founder and CEO of The Jackson Copeland Foundation, a charity in St. Petersburg, Florida dedicated to supporting leukemia patients and their families while sponsoring high-impact leukemia research.