Updated October 30, 2026.

We’re an independent insurance agency in Gainesville, in business since 1983. Florida agency license L055907, held by Lee C. McGriff and Mack Williams Insurance Agency, Inc. We work with homeowners in St. Augustine and across St. Johns County, from downtown to Anastasia Island and Vilano Beach, by phone, email and video. This guide covers the home insurance questions St. Augustine homeowners tend to ask. For the wider area, see our Jacksonville home insurance page and our Nocatee home insurance guide.

About St. Augustine: a city on the water

St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565 (National Park Service). The city sits between the Matanzas River and the San Sebastian River, with Anastasia Island across Matanzas Bay. The City of St. Augustine lists Hospital Creek, Maria Sanchez Lake, Matanzas Bay, Oyster Creek, Salt Run and the San Sebastian River among the water bodies storms can affect (City of St. Augustine, Flood Hazards).

A St. Augustine mailing address doesn’t always mean the City of St. Augustine. Many homes with a St. Augustine address are in unincorporated St. Johns County, and St. Augustine Beach is a separate city. Your city or county determines which flood maps, floodplain office, building department and local rules apply to your home, and insurers rate homes by location. When you ask for a quote, give us your full street address, not just “St. Augustine.”

Older homes in St. Augustine

Many homes in the city are older than in the rest of the county. The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates that the median year built for housing units in the City of St. Augustine is 1980, compared with 1987 in St. Augustine Beach and 2004 for St. Johns County as a whole (American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25035). These are survey estimates with margins of error.

On older homes, many insurance companies ask for a 4-point inspection of the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning. The age at which they ask varies by company, and the condition of those systems can affect whether a company offers coverage and on what terms.

Under Florida law, an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old. If the roof is at least 15 years old, the insurer must let you have it inspected by an authorized inspector (one the insurer approves), at your expense, before requiring a new roof, and it can’t refuse to issue or renew solely because of roof age if the inspection shows at least 5 years of useful life left (section 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes). Insurers can still decline a home for other lawful reasons. Roof age counts from the last time the whole roof was built or replaced under the building code in effect at the time, so keep the permit and invoice for any roof replacement.

Insurance companies often ask when the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning were last updated. If you’ve updated any of them, keep the permits, invoices and receipts with your insurance records, so you can show the year and the work done.

Wind mitigation and hurricane deductibles

St. Augustine faces the Atlantic, and wind drives much of the cost of Florida home insurance. According to St. Johns County, Hurricane Dora in 1964 is the most recent hurricane to make landfall in the county, and storms that passed offshore or nearby, such as Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017, still brought damaging wind, storm surge and flooding (St. Johns County, Historic Hazard Events).

Florida law requires residential property insurers’ rate filings to include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits or other rate differentials, or deductible reductions, for features shown to reduce wind damage (section 627.0629, Florida Statutes). The amount varies by insurance company and by home. A wind mitigation inspection documents features such as roof deck attachment, roof to wall connections, roof shape and opening protection on the state’s form OIR-B1-1802 (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation). The inspection may be at your own cost. On an older home, a new roof or new shutters is a good time to get a new report.

Your hurricane deductible is usually a percentage of the dwelling limit. Know the dollar amount ahead of time, not after a loss.

Flood: much of the city is mapped high risk

Homeowners policies generally don’t cover flood, so flood coverage is a separate policy. Our St. Johns County flood zones guide found that in the City of St. Augustine, 3,002 of 6,626 residential parcels (45.3%) have their main building in a FEMA high risk flood zone, mapped as Zone AE, and another 2,430 are in shaded Zone X, a moderate risk zone. Many of these sit near the Matanzas River, the San Sebastian River, Maria Sanchez Lake and Salt Run. The City says about 90% of its residents live in a floodplain, and that the city can flood when regular rain happens at the same time as high tides (City of St. Augustine, Flood Hazards).

Nearby areas read differently on the map. St. Augustine Beach has 91 of its 4,273 residential parcels (2.1%) in high risk zones, but about half of all its residential parcels (2,215, or 51.8%) are in shaded Zone X. The Butler Beach Census community, on Anastasia Island, has 1,245 (28.1%) in high risk zones, and the Vilano Beach Census community has 948 (56.9%), including 69 in Zone VE, the coastal zone where FEMA expects waves. These are area figures from FEMA’s effective maps, not a flood zone determination for any home. Check your own address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.

Lower mapped risk isn’t no risk. FEMA’s OpenFEMA data (as of September 8, 2026) shows 7,628 NFIP claims from St. Johns County communities since 1978, and countywide about 15% of them came from buildings rated outside high risk zones (Zone X or the older B and C zones). The ZIP codes with the most claims were 32080 (3,376) and 32084 (2,326), both St. Augustine ZIP codes.

An elevation certificate, completed by a licensed surveyor, records how your home sits compared with the flood level. It can be used in rating an NFIP policy and to support a request to FEMA to remove a building from the high risk area. The City of St. Augustine posts the elevation certificates it has on file through an online property portal (City of St. Augustine, Elevation Certificates). For homes outside the city, ask St. Johns County’s Floodplain Management team or the City of St. Augustine Beach.

The City of St. Augustine, the City of St. Augustine Beach and unincorporated St. Johns County take part in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which gives eligible NFIP policies a premium discount based on the community’s class, including policies outside high risk zones. The discount applies to NFIP policies only, not private flood insurance. Our flood zones guide lists each community’s class.

Repairs, renovations and the 50% rule

In a floodplain, the City of St. Augustine requires major improvements to existing buildings to meet the same flood standards as new buildings. Under the city’s rules, that applies when the total cost of improvements over a five year period equals or exceeds 50% of the building’s market value before the work begins, or when the cost to restore a damaged building to its condition before the damage equals or exceeds 50% of its market value before the damage (City of St. Augustine, Substantial Improvement and Damage Requirements). The federal definitions use the same 50% test and exclude, among other things, work to correct health, sanitary or safety code violations that a local code official has identified, limited to the minimum needed to assure safe living conditions (44 CFR 59.1). Talk with the floodplain office for your city or the county before major work.

If a flood damages a building insured under an NFIP policy’s building coverage, and the community determines it’s substantially damaged, or repetitively damaged under a local repetitive loss rule, the policy’s Increased Cost of Compliance coverage may pay up to $30,000 toward elevating, relocating or demolishing the building to meet the community’s floodplain rules. It’s part of standard NFIP policies with building coverage, but on a home, the building coverage plus Increased Cost of Compliance can’t exceed the NFIP’s $250,000 maximum. An Increased Cost of Compliance claim is adjusted separately from the flood damage claim (FEMA, Increased Cost of Compliance; Standard Flood Insurance Policy, Dwelling Form, Coverage D). An NFIP policy usually takes effect 30 days after you apply and pay the premium, with some exceptions (44 CFR 61.11).

Look up your evacuation zone with St. Johns County’s My Evacuation Zone Locator. Your evacuation zone is not your flood zone.

If your home is insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s state-created insurer, section 627.351(6)(aa), Florida Statutes, requires flood coverage for Citizens personal lines residential policies with wind coverage effective on or after January 1, 2027, or earlier for a home in a FEMA special flood hazard area or with a dwelling replacement cost of $400,000 or more. Policies written on a condominium unit owners form are exempt. See our Citizens flood requirement page.

Condos on the island and the beaches

If you own a condo unit, your association’s master policy and your own unit owner policy each cover different parts of the building and your unit. Read your association’s documents, ask what the master policy’s deductibles are, and ask us about loss assessment coverage. See our condo insurance page.

Coverage amounts

Your dwelling limit should reflect what it would cost to rebuild the home today, not the purchase price or market value, and the land isn’t part of the rebuild cost. Tell us about custom work, a pool, a screened enclosure or other additions. Before issuing a homeowners policy, a Florida insurer must offer replacement cost coverage and law and ordinance coverage, which helps pay the added cost of meeting current building codes when damaged parts of the home are repaired or rebuilt (section 627.7011, Florida Statutes). On an older home, that added cost can be a bigger share of a repair.

Rentals, guests and liability

If you rent your home or part of it to guests, even now and then, tell us. Many homeowners policies limit or exclude coverage for rental activity, and a different policy or an endorsement may be needed.

Pools, docks, frequent guests and teen drivers all add liability exposure. A personal umbrella can add a layer of liability coverage above your home and auto policies, subject to its terms. Most umbrella policies require you to carry minimum liability limits on those underlying policies, and the minimums vary by insurance company, so it helps to look at all three together. See our auto insurance and personal umbrella pages.

What to have ready

  • The full property address, and whether it’s inside city limits
  • Year built, roof year and roof type, with any roof permits
  • The year the electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning were last updated, with any permits or receipts
  • Your current declarations page and policy expiration date
  • A wind mitigation report, 4-point inspection or elevation certificate, if you have one
  • Any rental use, pool, dock or condo association details

A licensed member of our team will review your request and contact you by phone or email. Coverage isn’t in place until it’s bound.

See also our flood insurance page and where we work.

Frequently asked questions

Is St. Augustine in a flood zone?

Much of it is on FEMA’s map. About 45.3% of the city’s residential parcels (3,002 of 6,626) have the main building in a high risk zone, and another 2,430 are in shaded Zone X. A city figure doesn’t tell you the zone of any single home, so check your address.

Do I need flood insurance if my home is in Zone X?

Federal law doesn’t require it outside high risk zones, but any lender can ask for it, Citizens policyholders may be required to carry it, and homeowners policies generally don’t cover flood.

Will an insurance company ask for a 4-point inspection on an older home?

Many do. A 4-point inspection looks at the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning. The age at which a company asks for one varies, so keep records of any updates to those systems.

Can an insurer refuse my home because the roof is old?

Not solely for that reason if the roof is less than 15 years old. If it’s 15 years or older and an authorized inspector finds at least 5 years of useful life left, the insurer can’t refuse to issue or renew solely because of roof age (section 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes). Insurers can still decline for other lawful reasons.

Sources

General information, not legal or coverage advice. Coverage depends on the policy issued, its terms and underwriting. Sources checked October 30, 2026. McGriff-Williams Insurance is an independent insurance agency in Gainesville, in business since 1983 and licensed in Florida. We are not affiliated with FEMA, the NFIP, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the City of St. Augustine, the City of St. Augustine Beach or St. Johns County. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency’s website(s).