Florida Homeowners Hit With High Rebuilding Costs After Hurricane Ian

As Florida markets work to rebuild from devastating Hurricane Ian, homeowners are confronted with inflated prices for building materials, adding insult to injury amid comprehensive recovery efforts across the Sunshine State. Building material prices fell 0.3% in September and are down 2.3% from June, but remain elevated after soaring to record highs during the pandemic, Insurance Journal reports.

Worst of all, surging demand for materials from builders reconstructing after Ian could send prices even higher, and Florida homeowners could also see much higher insurance premiums in the near future, experts say.

This underlying inflation is “definitely a problem,” [Bob] Hartwig said, “but less of a problem than it would have been six months or a year ago, and that’s because of the cooling of new home construction, which is leading to greater availability for building materials and even labor.”

On the provider end, he explained that insurers will look to build that inflationary trend into 2023 rates and beyond. When this happens, Hartwig estimated hundreds of thousands of Floridians will experience dramatic increases in premiums. Others may be dropped from their providers entirely.

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