Read the record first
An average is context, not your price
An average cost of car insurance in Florida can describe a model scenario, a regulatory dataset, or a third-party study. It cannot price your household. Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) CHOICES tool publishes illustrative sample average rates for three predefined model-risk examples, by county or company. OIR tells consumers those figures are for illustration and to contact an agent or insurer for a premium quote based on individual circumstances.
A model rate, a written quote, and an issued policy are three different records. ShowMyRates is an independent comparison service, not an insurer, agency, or advisor. This guide shows how to read official sample rates on equal terms, then compare written proposals built from the same drivers, vehicles, coverage, and effective date.
Safe next step: Start with your ZIP and request a comparison using one coverage design—or request a written proposal for your actual household record.
What “average cost” means in Florida (and what it does not)
Search results often collapse Florida into one statewide headline. Geography, scenario design, coverage column, and underwriting all change the result. Florida car insurance rates 2026 conversations should separate:
- Regulatory sample averages (OIR CHOICES model risks)
- Written company estimates (quotes based on the information you supply)
- Issued premiums (what appears after underwriting on the declarations)
Model rate vs written quote vs issued premium
- Price record
- OIR CHOICES scenario
- Useful for
- Seeing illustrative variation by county or company for a defined model risk
- Important limit
- Not your household, an endorsement, or a guaranteed offer
- Price record
- Written company quote
- Useful for
- Reviewing an estimate based on the information supplied to that company
- Important limit
- Can change after verification or when inputs and conditions differ
- Price record
- Application
- Useful for
- Confirming answers, requested coverage, and authorizations sent to underwriting
- Important limit
- Not a substitute for reading issued declarations and policy forms
- Price record
- Issued declarations
- Useful for
- Checking named insured, vehicles, term, limits, deductibles, and premium actually issued
- Important limit
- Declarations summarize; forms and endorsements still control coverage
| Price record | Useful for | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| OIR CHOICES scenario | Seeing illustrative variation by county or company for a defined model risk | Not your household, an endorsement, or a guaranteed offer |
| Written company quote | Reviewing an estimate based on the information supplied to that company | Can change after verification or when inputs and conditions differ |
| Application | Confirming answers, requested coverage, and authorizations sent to underwriting | Not a substitute for reading issued declarations and policy forms |
| Issued declarations | Checking named insured, vehicles, term, limits, deductibles, and premium actually issued | Declarations summarize; forms and endorsements still control coverage |
Source: Florida OIR CHOICES tool/disclaimer language; Florida DFS purchasing guidance
Why a statewide headline number is incomplete
CHOICES uses three model households—not one blended “Florida driver”—and two coverage columns for a 12-month term. Treat any statewide “average,” or a monthly teaser, as context—not as your average car insurance Florida monthly bill.
How to use Florida OIR CHOICES for rate context
Start by reading the scenario, not the dollar column. Per OIR's CHOICES overview and Auto Instructions/User Guide:
- Select one of three pre-defined examples: a senior married couple, a single female, or a family with young drivers.
- Review the scenario summary (and the full “More” description) for driver ages, vehicles, use, mileage, accidents or violations, coverages, limits, deductibles, policy term, insurance credit score, safety devices, and discounts.
- Choose By County or By Company.
- Compare the two sample-average columns for the selected view.
OIR states rates are illustrative, reflect information from the most recent rate filings approved by the Office, and that premiums for your circumstances will vary. Companies that submitted data as trade secret are not included. The Office does not endorse or recommend a company and does not imply or guarantee that a company will sell insurance at the stated premium.
The three predefined model scenarios
Use the scenario labels exactly as CHOICES presents them. Do not crown a company “cheapest for seniors” or “best for families” from one model run. Comparable approved rates can differ for the same model risk, so your written proposals still need an equal-terms review.
County view vs company view
- By County: sample average annual premiums for companies shown for the selected Florida county (CHOICES company view covers Florida's 67 counties).
- By Company: that company’s sample averages across counties for the same two coverage columns.
Re-check the live tool before relying on any saved screenshot—filings update.
PIP + PD column vs All Coverages column (12-month term)
Per the CHOICES Auto Instructions:
- PIP + PD represents the minimum auto insurance coverage used in the rating examples. The instructions state that the minimum insurance coverage required to register most personal motor vehicles in Florida is $10,000 each for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage (PD) coverage.
- All Coverages is an illustrative broader combination that, in the instructions, includes coverages beyond that minimum—such as Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists, Medical Payments, Collision, Comprehensive, Towing & Labor, and Rental Reimbursement.
Rates in CHOICES are for a 12-month policy term. Do not treat a sample average as your personal monthly price—payment plans, fees, and underwriting change cash flow. For first payment vs term cost, see car insurance no down payment Florida.
Florida registration baseline that sits under every price comparison
FLHSMV requires proof of PIP and PDL before registering a vehicle with at least four wheels. It describes PIP as covering 80 percent of necessary and reasonable medical expenses up to $10,000 from a covered injury. DFS's Personal Automobile Insurance Overview notes Florida law requires a minimum of $10,000 of property damage liability and describes additional PIP benefits on that page.
That floor is not “full coverage.” Collision, comprehensive, bodily injury liability (when not otherwise required), and UM/UIM are separate. Define one policy design before ranking prices. Start with the Florida car insurance hub.
When financial-responsibility filings also apply
Separate financial-responsibility requirements can apply after certain accidents, citations, or DUI-related convictions. FLHSMV defines an SR-22 as a filing certifying bodily injury and property damage liability for Financial Responsibility Law reinstatement. If your notice names a filing, shop from the notice—not a marketing “minimum.” See Florida SR-22 insurance and Florida FR-44 insurance.
Dated market context for 2026 (group filings ≠ your renewal)
On March 5, 2026, DFS press materials from Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky stated that Florida's top five auto groups—Progressive, Berkshire Hathaway (GEICO), State Farm, Allstate, and USAA (78% of the auto market)—were indicating an average -8% rate change for 2026, with one group indicating as much as -16.5%. The release also cited a 2025 top-five requested change of -7.4% and a February 2026 YTD indicated change of -8.0%.
Treat that as a market/filing signal, not your renewal. Territory, drivers, vehicles, coverage, payment conditions, and underwriting still control the written premium. Compare new declarations to the prior term line by line; if you re-shop, hold coverage and inputs equal. For a lower-price process (not a ranked carrier list), see cheapest car insurance in Florida.
Why quotes diverge from sample rates
Florida DFS's Purchasing Insurance guidance states that the quote you receive from an agent is an estimate and may be changed by the insurance company depending on current rating factors and underwriting guidelines. When underwriting is complete, the company determines the final premium.
For auto, DFS says the company may review vehicle type and age; driver age and experience; violations; accidents; where the vehicle is kept; how it is used; and annual miles driven. DFS also stresses accurate household-driver disclosure on the application.
Accuracy is part of cost comparison. Use the true garaging address, identify exact vehicles (VINs), answer household-driver questions as asked, and keep the same effective date and coverage design on every request. A lower price created by omitted information, lower limits, or a different deductible is not an equivalent offer.
Equal-terms cost comparison worksheet
Before you rank any Florida proposal, lock these lines equal:
- Line to record
- Drivers and vehicles
- Keep equal
- Household record, VINs, use, mileage, and garaging address
- Question before ranking price
- Did every company price the same people and property?
- Line to record
- Coverage design
- Keep equal
- Liability limits, UM selection, PIP options, collision, comprehensive, and benefits
- Question before ranking price
- Was any protection removed or changed?
- Line to record
- Deductibles
- Keep equal
- Collision, comprehensive, and any other applicable deductible
- Question before ranking price
- Does a lower premium shift more of a covered loss to you?
- Line to record
- Policy term
- Keep equal
- Same effective date and comparable term length
- Question before ranking price
- Are totals measured over the same period?
- Line to record
- Payment record
- Keep equal
- Total term premium, amount due to start, later installments, and disclosed fees
- Question before ranking price
- Is the first payment being mistaken for the total price?
- Line to record
- Conditions
- Keep equal
- Autopay, telematics, bundle, document, or eligibility requirements
- Question before ranking price
- Can the household satisfy each condition for the stated price?
| Line to record | Keep equal | Question before ranking price |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers and vehicles | Household record, VINs, use, mileage, and garaging address | Did every company price the same people and property? |
| Coverage design | Liability limits, UM selection, PIP options, collision, comprehensive, and benefits | Was any protection removed or changed? |
| Deductibles | Collision, comprehensive, and any other applicable deductible | Does a lower premium shift more of a covered loss to you? |
| Policy term | Same effective date and comparable term length | Are totals measured over the same period? |
| Payment record | Total term premium, amount due to start, later installments, and disclosed fees | Is the first payment being mistaken for the total price? |
| Conditions | Autopay, telematics, bundle, document, or eligibility requirements | Can the household satisfy each condition for the stated price? |
Enter written proposals in the quote comparison worksheet so term cost, coverage, and deductibles stay visible together. Separating due now from full term premium is covered on the no-down-payment Florida guide.
Official sample rates
How to pull Florida OIR CHOICES yourself (no static premium table)
We do not publish a frozen county premium table here. CHOICES sample averages change with tool updates, and a static copy would go stale or invent precision the regulator does not assign to your household.
Procedure (record your retrieval date):
- Open Florida OIR CHOICES Auto.
- Read the scenario assumptions first (driver ages, vehicles, use, mileage, coverage, discounts)—not only the result.
- View results by county for Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Orange, and Duval (or your county), then optionally by company for the same scenario.
- Note whether you are looking at the state-minimum PIP + property-damage column or the broader “All Coverages” illustrative column for the stated term.
- Write down the scenario label, county, column, and date. Treat the numbers as model-risk context, not a quote for your household.
- Only then request written proposals with one equal coverage design via /quotes.
OIR materials describe CHOICES as illustrative comparison context and direct consumers to contact an agent or insurer for a premium based on their own circumstances. Do not crown a “cheapest” company from a single scenario.
City worksheets for garaging and driving inputs (not price ranks): Miami · Tampa · Orlando · Jacksonville.
Local context without personal forecasts
County CHOICES results are geography context for a model household—not a personal forecast. Use city guides for quote-input worksheets, not price ranks: Miami · Tampa · Orlando · Jacksonville. Return to the Florida hub for statewide requirements; this page stays on how to read averages.
Official Florida sources
Check the rate context at the source
Frequently asked questions
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