Beaches homeowners facing rising property insurance costs will choose a new governor on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The two major-party candidates offer different plans for bringing those costs down.

Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly lead an eight-ticket ballot to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis, who cannot run again because of term limits, Folio Weekly reported in an analysis published Oct. 21. The next governor will write budgets, lead hurricane response and shape insurance, education and environmental policy that reaches Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach.

A UNF survey released Sept. 28 found 63% of insured Florida homeowners were more concerned about property insurance than property taxes. A majority in each party-registration group chose insurance. The online survey covered 1,511 homeowners with property insurance July 16–31, 2026; its overall margin of error was plus or minus 3.18 percentage points.

Among respondents who had lived in their current home for at least five years, 47% reported premium increases of at least 50% over that period. Across the full sample, 25% had been dropped by a private insurer or Citizens, or had to change coverage because their insurer left Florida.

Donalds: market reforms and insurer transparency

Donalds, a U.S. representative from Southwest Florida's 19th Congressional District, would keep the state's recent litigation restrictions, according to Folio Weekly's analysis. He would let policyholders and insurers choose binding arbitration to settle disputes.

He would also reduce Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund surcharges when the fund's reserves are adequate and tie My Safe Florida Home grants to premium discounts from insurers.

Donalds proposes a public "Insurer Scorecard" showing each carrier's prices, claim approval rates and how long it takes to pay claims.

Donalds supports Amendment 3, according to the Jax Daily Record. The Legislature's final analysis says it would increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Property owners who are not permanent Florida residents by Dec. 31, 2026, would face a five-year phase-in before receiving the expanded exemption. The amendment requires 60% voter approval.

Legislative analysts estimated reductions in local non-school property-tax revenue of $4.95 billion in fiscal year 2027–28 and $8.78 billion in fiscal year 2028–29.

The Jax Daily Record reported that municipal planners warned staffing cuts could weaken floodplain-management work that helps communities qualify for flood-insurance discounts. The 10% to 20% discounts described in that report apply to properties in the City of Jacksonville.

On education, Donalds supports school choice, free tutoring for third graders struggling with reading and bonus pay for teachers whose students show reading gains, according to Folio Weekly.

Jolly: state catastrophe fund and school spending

Jolly, a former Republican congressman from Pinellas County who registered as a Democrat in April 2025, has made a state catastrophe fund his signature proposal. The fund would absorb natural disaster risk now priced into private policies, according to Folio Weekly.

Jolly's campaign projects savings of 60% to 70% from removing hurricane and wind risk from private policies. The campaign says the fund would need sufficient reserves, backup reinsurance and legislative action on funding. The projected savings depend on those policy choices and implementation. Donalds and other critics say the proposal shifts risk to taxpayers, Folio Weekly reported.

Jolly also proposes state-backed, no-interest loans for condominium associations facing major repairs.

Jolly's campaign platform calls for more public-school funding and more competitive teacher salaries. It also proposes means-testing voucher eligibility and requiring participating private schools to meet public-school standards and provide the same specialized services.

What it means at the Beaches

Folio Weekly's analysis noted that Jolly's insurance plan, if approved by the Florida Legislature, could change how homeowners in hurricane-exposed areas such as the Beaches buy coverage. Donalds' approach would rely on private-market reforms paired with storm-hardening grants and new transparency tools.

Both plans would need legislative approval. Six other tickets are also on the ballot, including Libertarian Scott Jewett and no-party-affiliation candidate Charles Burkett, a former Surfside mayor who proposes eliminating homestead property taxes entirely.

Duval County's official election information lists early voting through Sunday, Nov. 1. The deadline to request a mail ballot was Thursday, Oct. 22. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Clarification, Oct. 26: The Amendment 3 explanation now distinguishes tax years from fiscal-year revenue impacts and identifies the non-school-tax exemption and residency phase-in. The survey description has been clarified to identify the homeowners included in each result.