Home and condo insurance in Palm Beach County, outside the high-velocity hurricane zone.

A county of houses, with towers on the coast

The 2020–2024 Census estimates count about 719,000 housing units in Palm Beach County and about 1.53 million residents. About 46% of units are detached houses and about 12% are attached houses. About 11% are in buildings with 50 or more units: the condominium coast from Boca Raton through the barrier-island towns, not the whole county. Of the occupied homes, about 70% are owner-occupied. About 68,600 units, roughly one in ten, were vacant for seasonal or occasional use. About one in four residents is 65 or older. The median year built is 1986, and about 60% of units were built before 1990. Census table C16001 counts about 14,800 people age 5 and older who speak Russian, Polish or another Slavic language at home, about 1% of that age group. The line is not a count of Russian alone.

Palm Beach County is not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Section 1620 of the Florida Building Code limits that zone to Miami-Dade and Broward. Here the design wind speed comes from the code’s wind maps, and it changes with the parcel and the risk category. The county publishes those maps and states that all of unincorporated Palm Beach County is in the wind-borne debris region. A city such as Boca Raton, West Palm Beach or Jupiter is incorporated, so the map for the lot controls. This page does not print one miles-per-hour number for every house from Boca Raton to Belle Glade.

We serve the county from Florida City. Boca Raton is about 80 miles north. In light traffic that is roughly an hour and 40 minutes, and closer to two hours when I-95 is slow. The rest of the county is farther. Phone, WhatsApp, text and email are the main path. We do not have an office in the county.

Wind credits on the statewide form

A wind-mitigation inspection records roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, roof geometry, secondary water resistance and opening protection. Florida Statute 627.0629 requires insurers to reflect the credits for what the form actually documents. In Miami-Dade and Broward, opening protection is tied to High-Velocity Hurricane Zone product approvals. Palm Beach County is outside that zone. Florida product approval is the usual path here, and the design pressure still depends on the contour for that parcel. If you have the inspection, send it with the declarations page. If you do not, the missing form is a gap we can name. My Safe Florida Home is a separate state program of inspections and grants. A grant is not automatic, and this page does not promise one.

Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 put hurricane-force wind on this coast, with stronger wind on upper floors than at the standard 10-meter measurement, according to the National Hurricane Center. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, the National Weather Service reported Category 1 gusts of about 80 to 90 mph across the county and sustained winds of about 55 to 65 mph on the southern coast. That history is a reason to read the deductible and the roof settlement. It is not a reason to invent one design speed for every city. Hurricane deductibles are offered at $500 or at 2%, 5% or 10% of the dwelling limit and apply once per calendar year. For policies issued or renewed since July 1, 2022, an insurer cannot refuse coverage only because the roof is under 15 years old. Law and ordinance coverage is the part that can pay to rebuild to the current code. On a pre-1990 house, check that limit.

The condo coast is not the whole county

About one unit in ten is in a building of 50 or more. Those buildings cluster on the barrier islands and along the Intracoastal, including Boca Raton. Florida Statute 718.111(11) requires the association to insure the building and to exclude the interior of the unit: flooring, cabinets, appliances, the water heater, fixtures and personal property. That interior is an HO-6. Statute 627.714 requires at least $2,000 of loss-assessment coverage for a share of a covered loss to property the association insures. Two thousand dollars is a floor. Buildings of three or more habitable stories need a milestone inspection, generally at 30 years and every 10 years after, or at 25 if the local official requires it, plus a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years. With a median year built of 1986, a large share of coastal condominiums is inside or near that clock. An assessment for reserves or for inspection repairs is generally not a loss-assessment claim. Inland, in Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and the western communities, the more common question is the house roof and the wind-mitigation form, not a master policy. Send whichever documents you have. We will not treat a house and a tower as the same contract.

Flood panels with two dates

No homeowners policy and no HO-6 covers flood, including storm surge. Palm Beach County’s flood-zone layer was revised on December 20, 2024. The county’s guide still identifies the prior countywide maps of October 5, 2017, and the Flood Insurance Study index shows that not every panel took the 2024 date. A coastal lot and a lot near a canal in the same city can sit on different panels. An NFIP policy usually takes 30 days to start unless it is tied to a loan closing. The program caps are $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for contents. Those caps are not a rebuilding estimate. We read what you have. We do not quote a price on this page. Property claims have a clock: notice of a new claim is generally due within one year, supplemental claims within 18 months, and a loss-assessment claim on the timetable in the statute and the form. M&K Agency is family-owned, with a team of 12 and more than 5,000 clients across Florida. Send us your policy and we’ll check your coverage.

More for this area

• Car insurance in Palm Beach County
• Guide: if someone gets hurt at your home (liability and umbrella)
• Florida hurricane deductible, explained

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