Florida is screwing homeowners

Florida’s housing market is a disaster waiting to happen. Every time a hurricane hits, homes get wrecked, insurance rates shoot through the roof, and homeowners are left holding the bag. And what’s the state doing about it? Throwing out Band-Aid solutions that don’t fix the real problem.

Banning frivolous lawsuits and bringing in more insurance companies might help a little, but until Florida tackles the actual cause of the destruction, nothing will change. (I just broke it all down in a video—watch it here.)

The #1 Problem? We’re Building Homes the Wrong Way

Wood-framed homes have no business in Florida. It’s a hurricane zone, yet we still allow builders to throw up houses with concrete on the first floor and wood on the second. That’s like putting a steel door on a house made of paper.

What survives a hurricane? Concrete homes.

What gets shredded like a cheap tent? Wood-frame homes.

And it’s not just hurricanes—termites are eating Florida homes alive. Every year, these little monsters cause about $500 million in damage—just in Florida. And insurance companies know it, which is why they charge higher premiums for wood-frame homes.

Solution? Build like the Caribbean. Full concrete homes, concrete roofs, no drywall. That way, if a house floods, you just open the windows and let it air out—no mold, no rot, no massive insurance claims. Plus, concrete roofs could double as rooftop patios. Sunset deck, anyone?

The Hidden Cost That’s Jacking Up Your Insurance

Most people don’t know this, but a huge chunk of your homeowners insurance bill isn’t even going toward covering your house. It’s going straight to reinsurance.

Reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies—they buy it to make sure they can cover massive payouts after a disaster. But it’s insanely expensive and can make up 60% of your policy.

If your homeowners insurance is $6,000/year, about $3,600 of that is just paying for reinsurance. Not fixing your house. Not covering local claims. Just paying a big corporation to back up your insurance company.

And why do Florida insurers need so much reinsurance? Because we keep building weak homes in hurricane zones.The more homes that get wiped out, the more reinsurance they have to buy. And the more we pay. If we build stronger homes, we break the cycle.

The Power Grid Fix Florida Won’t Talk About

Every time a storm rolls through, Florida’s power lines snap like twigs. Transformers blow up, poles fall over, and entire neighborhoods go dark for weeks. The billions in repair costs get passed straight to homeowners through higher utility rates and—yep, you guessed it—higher insurance costs.

The solution? Put the power lines underground.

Texas and California have already started doing it after their own disasters. And yeah, it costs anywhere from $1 million to $5 million per mile, but the long-term savings are in the billions. Plus, it would actually protect homes, businesses, and lives.

But instead, Florida keeps stringing power lines above ground like it’s 1950.

Florida Could Steal This Hurricane Solution From the Netherlands

Flooding is one of Florida’s biggest problems. Every time a hurricane hits, neighborhoods turn into lakes, businesses get destroyed, and people lose everything.

Meanwhile, the Dutch already figured out how to stop this. Their country sits below sea level, but they don’t even need flood insurance because their system actually works.

After a devastating flood in 1953, the Netherlands built the Delta Works, a massive network of storm barriers, levees, and flood protections that keep cities dry no matter how high the water rises.

New Orleans copied this after Katrina, and New York is working on a version, too. But Florida? The most hurricane-prone state in the country? We’re doing nothing.

Imagine if Tampa Bay had a system like the Maeslantkering, a giant storm surge barrier in the Netherlands that closes off the bay when a hurricane comes. It would stop floods from wiping out St. Pete, Tampa, and surrounding areas—saving billions in damage every time a major storm hits.

A Different Approach

Right now, Florida homeowners are paying the price for weak building codes and outdated infrastructure. If we’re serious about lowering insurance rates, we need real solutions—not just band-aids.

That’s why I think we need a Resilient Florida Rebuild Fund. I just made the up. So bear with me. Here’s how it would work:

• Homeowners who tear down an old house and rebuild it to hurricane-proof standards would get their property taxes waived for 10 years.

• The new home must be built with concrete and steel—no exceptions.

• Cities wouldn’t lose tax revenue because the state would cover it through a dedicated program.

• Insurance companies would be required to offer lower premiums for these homes.

The State could target the most vulnerable flood zones on the coast, and pretty soon we’d have a neighborhood of hurricane proof homes!

This isn’t a handout—it’s an investment. Stronger homes = fewer claims = lower insurance for everyone.

Bottom Line

Florida keeps making the same mistakes. We build weak homes, storms destroy them, and insurance rates go up. It’s time to stop throwing money at cleanup and start investing in prevention.

Florida’s a paradise—but if we don’t make some big changes, it’s going to get a whole lot more expensive to live here.

Grant Warrington

Think like an Investor

YouTube Channel

P.S. Watch the full video here: Click here.