How to Get Health Insurance Quotes in Florida

Last updated November 3, 2026 · By Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance broker, NPN 21032307

Florida at a glance

What a quote takes

1. Book a 15-minute call by phone or video, in English or Spanish. There is no fee.
2. Have ready: your Florida ZIP code, everyone's ages, your doctors (in Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach, Tampa Bay or elsewhere), prescriptions, a rough income estimate for the HealthCare.gov side and your health history for the private side.
3. Frank prices private plans from your health answers and Marketplace plans on HealthCare.gov from your income, and checks each network for your doctors.
4. Next, a private application goes to the insurer for an underwriting decision; if approved, coverage can start the first of the next month. HealthCare.gov enrollment happens in open enrollment or a special enrollment period, with Frank's help.

Private plan vs. the Marketplace in Florida

Short-term plans are sold in Florida but are a bridge of a few months under federal rules and do not cover pre-existing conditions. The private PPO plans we quote most are not short-term and have no such cap.

Florida rules that shape a quote

Florida buyers shop the largest individual market in the country through HealthCare.gov, with no state exchange and no state subsidy above the federal 400 percent income line. Leaving an employer with fewer than 20 workers triggers Florida's own continuation law, which keeps the group plan for up to 18 months at up to 115 percent of the premium if you notify the insurer within 63 days. Florida law also allows short-term plans with an initial term under 12 months and up to 36 months in total, one of the more permissive rules in the country. For 2027, average individual premiums rise about 10 percent, and plan choice and networks vary enormously by county, so the same coverage decision can come out differently in Hillsborough, Miami-Dade and the Panhandle.

Who usually starts with which

Common self-employed work in Florida: Real estate agents, construction trades, charter captains and marine trades, truck drivers working the ports and I-4 corridor, hospitality and tourism gig workers, and early retirees under 65 who moved here from the Northeast and Midwest.

The SBA's 2025 profile counts about 3.5 million small businesses in Florida, 99.8 percent of all firms, and nearly 3 million of them have no employees at all. Census nonemployer data show where those solo owners work. Transportation and warehousing leads with about 406,000 one-person firms, ahead of administrative and support services, professional and technical services, personal services and real estate. Construction adds another 277,000. Hispanic Floridians own about 37 percent of the state's businesses, well above their 29 percent share of the workforce.

No state has more Marketplace enrollees than Florida. CMS counted 4,538,772 plan selections in the 2026 open enrollment, about 4 percent fewer than the 4,735,415 of a year earlier, the first season after the enhanced federal tax credits expired. About 94.6 percent of 2026 enrollees received an advance premium tax credit, leaving roughly 5.4 percent, or about 243,000 people, paying full price, nearly double the 2025 share. Census data for 2024 show about 38.5 percent of Florida households earn $100,000 or more, and many of them sit above the subsidy line.

Business owners with employees

Florida law defines a small employer as one with 1 to 50 employees and its main place of business in the state. For 2027, eight insurers filed small-group rates averaging about 11.4 percent, a simple average because Florida treats enrollment counts as trade secrets, with individual requests ranging from about 8 to 16 percent. Two insurers are leaving the small-group market. Under section 627.6699, premiums may vary only by age, tobacco use, family size and geographic area, rating regions must follow county lines, and composite rating is barred for groups under 10 employees.

Leaving a job or group plan

Floridians leaving COBRA or state continuation shop on HealthCare.gov. When continuation runs out, you have 60 days to choose a plan, and you can apply up to 60 days early so the new plan starts the first of the month after the old one ends. Dropping COBRA early by choice, or just not paying, does not open a special enrollment window, so time a voluntary switch for open enrollment. Questions or complaints go to the Department of Financial Services Insurance Consumer Helpline at 1-877-693-5236.

If you are self-employed in Florida, premiums for you and your family are often deductible on your federal return, whichever kind of plan you choose. General information, not tax advice — confirm with your CPA based on your specific entity structure.

2027 rates in Florida

Marketplace premiums in Florida are set to rise 10.4% on average for 2027 in finalized filings, with small-group plans up about 11.4%; the Florida 2027 premium increase page has the details.

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