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The HoneyQuote Data Methodology
Every rate number on this site comes from real quotes returned to real people through the HoneyQuote platform. Here's exactly how we collect them, how we turn them into local benchmarks, and how often they change.
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Why You Can Trust This Page
The insurance internet loves a "free quote" that turns into a week of spam calls. That's not how we work. We only earn a cent when you actually find a policy worth buying- never for passing your number around. The team behind our content is comprised of experienced writers and licensed insurance pros, our rate data and coverage explainers hold to standards we publish out in the open, and no carrier or partner gets to edit what we tell you. Want to know how we keep the lights on without selling you out? Here's exactly how HoneyQuote makes money.
Where our numbers come from
Our numbers come from our own platform. When someone requests coverage through HoneyQuote, our carrier partners return real quotes for that specific property. We keep those quotes, strip out anything that identifies the person, and aggregate what's left into local benchmarks.
That's the whole source. We don't model prices, and we don't buy a rate-filing database and publish what carriers are theoretically permitted to charge. Filed rates and quoted rates are not the same thing — a filing is permission, a quote is a price someone was actually shown for their actual roof, in their actual ZIP code, on an actual date.
As of 08/01/2026, the HoneyQuote Coastal Benchmark is built from 500,000+ quotes returned across 1,000+ ZIP codes, from our network of 20+ coastal carriers.
Our Data Sources
How we build a local benchmark
We require at least 20 quotes
No figure on this site is built on fewer than 20 quotes inside the parameters below. If a ZIP code doesn't clear that, we don't publish a ZIP-level number for it. We show the city or county benchmark instead and label it as such.
We ask every carrier for the same coverage
Before comparing anything, we hold the named-storm deductible at 2% of the dwelling limit and the all-other-perils deductible at $2,500. That way we're comparing prices, not comparing different products with different exposure.
We go tighter than ZIP where the data allows
On the coast a single ZIP code can hold very different pricing, because two homes a mile apart can sit on opposite sides of a flood zone line. Where we have the volume, we tier by distance to open water as well as ZIP, and we label which tier a number represents.
What Our Benchmark Assumes
Two of those matter more than the rest, because they're where coastal pricing actually happens. We hold the named-storm deductible at 2%, so every number reflects the same storm exposure rather than blending a 2% deductible against a 10% one. And we band by dwelling limit instead of averaging everything together, because the gap between a $250,000 home and a $900,000 home is too wide to combine honestly.
The year built and roof age windows are deliberately broad. A 1958 house with a 19-year-old roof and a 2020 house with a new roof both qualify, and they price very differently. So a benchmark describes the middle of your local market, not a house like yours. If your roof is near the end of its life, expect to land above it.
Why a National Average Won’t Tell You What Your Coastal Home Costs
The big comparison sites publish national home insurance averages. Those numbers are built on a generic profile: a mid-size single-story house, a flat dollar deductible, and not much else.
Look at what that profile doesn't contain. No roof age — the single biggest driver of whether a coastal home is even eligible for coverage. No roof shape or material. No named-storm deductible, which on the coast is usually a percentage of your dwelling limit rather than a flat amount, and is the number that actually matters after a hurricane. No wind mitigation credits. No FORTIFIED designation. No distance to open water. No treatment of flood, which a home policy never covers.
A national average isn't wrong so much as it's answering a different question. It describes an inland house. If you live near the water, it can't describe yours, and that gap is the reason we built our own benchmark instead of licensing someone else's.
How We Handle Citizens and Last-Resort Coverage
In Florida, when the private market won't write a home, there's Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state-backed insurer of last resort. It isn't a small corner of the market. For plenty of coastal properties it's the only option on the table.
Citizens prices differently from private carriers, so including it changes a benchmark. Our rule: unless a table says otherwise, our benchmarks reflect private-market quotes only. Where we do include Citizens, because it's the realistic option for the properties in question, we label that table so you know which market the number describes.
We'd rather tell you what you're looking at than pick one rule and apply it where it doesn't fit.
Other coastal states run their own versions. Texas has the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, Louisiana has Louisiana Citizens, and each sets its own eligibility, credits, and deductible rules. As we publish benchmarks in more states, we'll disclose how each one is handled, because those rules don't transfer.
How Often This Data Refreshes
Every rate table on this site carries the date its underlying data was last refreshed. If a number isn't stamped, don't trust it, including ours.
How we protect your information
No personally identifying information is ever part of a published figure. We do not sell customer data, and we guarantee you will not receive spam calls from getting your free quotes with HoneyQuote. Full detail is in our privacy policy.
See It in Practice
Median annual home insurance quote, Tampa, by ZIP code:
Dwelling limit $350k to $500k
Sample data — illustrative only, not published benchmarks
Which Carriers are Included
Our benchmarks draw on quotes from our network of 20+ coastal carriers. The mix isn't identical everywhere. Carriers choose which states, counties, and sometimes which ZIP codes they'll write, and they enter and leave coastal markets regularly. So the carrier set behind one benchmark may differ from another, and it may change between refreshes. Where that shift is large enough to move a number, we note it.
On how we get paid: we earn a commission from the carrier when you buy a policy through us. Our benchmarks are calculated from quote data before any commission consideration, and no carrier can pay to appear lower in them or be excluded from them. We're a licensed independent agency, not a lead broker.
Definitions
Benchmark — the median quote for a defined property profile in a defined area. A reference point, not a price offer.
Quote — a specific price a carrier returned for a specific property on a specific date.
Premium — what you actually pay once a policy is bound.
All-other-perils (AOP) deductible — the flat deductible that applies to non-storm claims like fire or theft.
Named-storm or hurricane deductible — a separate, usually higher deductible that applies to damage from a named storm, typically expressed as a percentage of your dwelling limit.
Wind mitigation credits — premium reductions for construction features that help a home survive high wind, verified by inspection.
FORTIFIED — a construction and re-roofing standard from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety that can qualify a home for credits.
Distance-to-water tier — how far a property sits from open water, a major rating factor on the coast.
Residual market / wind pool — a state-backed insurer of last resort for properties the private market declines.
Flood zone — FEMA's designation of flood risk for a property. Flood is never covered by a home policy.
What this data is not
A benchmark is not a quote. It describes a defined property in your area, not your house. Your own price will differ, sometimes by a lot, because of your roof, your claims history, your coverage choices, your insurance score, and exactly where you sit relative to water.
It is also not a prediction. A benchmark describes what carriers quoted in a past window. Coastal pricing moves with reinsurance costs, storm seasons, and carriers entering and leaving markets, and it can move quickly.
And it is not complete. Where we do not have enough quotes to publish responsibly, we do not publish. Our data is deepest in Florida and the Texas Gulf Coast and thinner in Alabama, Mississippi, and the Carolinas. If you want your actual number, get a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do HoneyQuote's rate numbers come from?
Real quotes returned by our carrier partners to real applicants through the HoneyQuote platform, stripped of personal information and aggregated into local benchmarks.
Are these real quotes, or estimates based on rate filings?
Real quotes. Many comparison sites publish figures derived from state rate filings, which describe what a carrier has permission to charge. We publish what carriers actually quoted for actual coastal properties.
How often is this data updated?
Quote data feeding our benchmarks refreshes monthly. Carrier availability refreshes weekly, and financial strength ratings quarterly. Every rate table on the site shows the date its data was last refreshed.
Why is my quote different from the benchmark for my ZIP code?
Because a benchmark describes the middle of your local market, not your property. Our parameters allow homes built any time from 1950 on, with roofs up to 20 years old, so the pool behind a number includes houses quite different from yours. Roof age, claims history, coverage choices, insurance score, and exact distance to water all move your price. On the coast, two neighbours can be quoted very differently.
How much data do you need before publishing a benchmark for a ZIP code?
At least 20 quotes within the parameters we publish above. Below that, we suppress the ZIP-level figure and show a city or county benchmark instead, labeled as such.
Is my personal information part of these numbers?
No. Names, addresses, contact details, and policy numbers are removed before aggregation, and we never publish a figure derived from a single household. We don't sell customer data.
Contact Us About Our Data
For press inquiries regarding our data and findings, please contact us at pr@honeyquote.com.
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