Following damage from Hurricanes Irma and Michael, the Florida homeowners insurance market has become one of the most expensive to negotiate for property owners.

This year saw a huge number of Florida homeowners insurance companies shed customers by refusing to renew policies. Coincidentally, this shedding happened to occur in the third quarter—during or toward the end of the peak part of hurricane season.

According to an article by the Palm Beach Post, state government records offices recorded a stunning 87,000 property owners being dropped by Florida homeowners insurance companies at this time.

The biggest reason for the discontinuance of policies is likely the strength of hurricanes in the past decade or more, minor water claims that have created a public stir, and the location of the homes involved.

Because of the exorbitant cost of insuring properties in the state known for its beautiful yet volatile weather, national companies with well-known names have largely left the playing field.

In their stead are multiple state-based Florida homeowners insurance companies with little reputation or record to help the property owner determine what is a good carrier choice.

The Palm Beach Post published a guide for property owners in need of homeowners insurance. It was designed to provide the insurance shopping consumer with valuable information about company size, number of policies issued, number of complaints received against it, as well as long and short-term loss ratio figures.

The Florida homeowners insurance companies are listed in the guide from the largest to the smallest according to the number of insured they carry. Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Co. is at the top of the list with 636,517 insured property owners. Second to the top is Citizens Property Insurance Corp. with 438,046 customers. Near to the bottom of the list are small insurance companies with no known customers or ratings.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the state of Florida has average home insurance costs of $2,000 annually. This rate is double that of most other regions except within the state itself where coastal costs can be even double or triple that amount.

Hurricanes are of course a major factor in these high costs, but not the only ones. Estimations exist that the last two hurricanes—Irma and Michael—resulted in claims against homeowners policies totaling $15 billion.

Claims related to loss from water damage in the state have fueled an already bad situation. The claims are allegedly being artificially inflated, according to insurance industry report, by the assignment of benefits directly to an involved contractor, attorney, or related entity.

These professionals in turn say that their claims have been unfairly denied or underpaid and have required drastic legal steps. Eventually, this stymied situation will need to be addressed by state government.