Title insurance in Florida: state-set rates and who pays

Who sets the rate?

Florida Statutes § 627.782 requires the Financial Services Commission to adopt a rule “specifying the premium to be charged in this state by title insurers.” The rates may not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory, and they “apply throughout this state.” The Commission must review the premium at least once every three years and revise it if the review warrants.

That rule is 69O-186.003 of the Florida Administrative Code, administered by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). Its current version was last amended on January 27, 2002, and its rate schedules took effect on July 1, 2002. The rule register shows no later amendment in force as of October 2026: a 2007 proposal was challenged and declared invalid in 2008.

Under § 627.780, no one may knowingly quote, charge or collect a title premium other than the one the Commission adopted. A title insurer can petition OIR for a specific deviation (§ 627.783). The Department of Financial Services (DFS) sums it up: anyone issuing a $100,000 owner’s policy in Florida “should be charging the exact same base premium rate of $575. No more. No less.” For how title insurance works in any state, see title insurance explained.

How the premium is calculated

Rule 69O-186.003(1) prices the original owner’s policy per $1,000 of coverage, with any fraction of $100 counted as a full $100:

The minimum premium is $100. The owner’s policy must be issued “for the full insurable value of the premises,” which DFS describes as the sale price.

What the premium includes. The premium covers the risk and the “primary title services”: judging insurability from the title search, clearing objections and issuing the commitment and the policy (§ 627.7711). Title searches and closing services may be charged separately. The rule requires the search, examination and closing charges to appear separately from the premium on the closing statement, and they must be at least actual cost (Rule 69O-186.003(11)).

Discounts written into the rule

• Reissue rate. If the seller’s title was insured by an owner’s policy that took effect less than three years earlier, and the agent and underwriter keep a copy of it, the reissue rate applies: $3.30 per $1,000 up to $100,000 and $3.00 per $1,000 up to $1 million, with a $100 minimum (Rule 69O-186.003(2)). On $400,000 that is $1,230 instead of $2,075; on $500,000, $1,530 instead of $2,575. Coverage above the prior policy amount is charged at the original rate.
• New home purchase discount. On the first sale of a new one-to-four-family home that the seller never leased or occupied, the premium is reduced by what was paid for prior loan policies on the seller’s mortgage, with a $200 minimum (Rule 69O-186.003(3)).

Owner’s policy and lender’s policy

DFS lists three types of policy: owner’s, leaseholder’s and lender’s. The owner’s policy protects the buyer and has no expiration date. The lender’s policy protects the lender. It must cover at least the full principal debt and can be issued for up to 25% more to cover interest and foreclosure costs (Rule 69O-186.003(1)(b)); DFS notes that it lasts until the loan is paid off.

You pay a single premium at purchase. DFS lists common exclusions: defects, liens or encumbrances you create or agree to after the policy date, eminent domain, and laws or regulations restricting the use of the land.

Who pays

No Florida statute or rule assigns the owner’s premium to the buyer or the seller; your purchase contract does. DFS states one practical consequence: the person paying the title insurance premium gets the first choice of closing or title agent, though the lender must approve that agent. DFS adds that buyer and seller may also do a split closing, each using its own agency. To check that an agent or agency is licensed, see how to verify a license in Florida.