Is it linked to the value of your estate?
Here insurance for the house+extra stuff is around $200 per $100000 of insured value. Can be a less too if you don't live around the capitol area.
Finally something Finland has cheaper than the US. 
Yeah, insurance premiums are based on risk assessments, the value of the protected assets, and the amount of claims being paid. The state regulates the prices that companies can charge, so when there are big rate hikes like this, it's because the insurance company is paying out more than they can afford to. In the case of Florida, the recession, rising construction costs, and natural disasters (aka hurricanes) all are factors that drive the prices up.
What people also don't realize is that when building contractors overcharge on large jobs paid for by insurance companies, that cost eventually comes back to us consumers in the form of higher premiums. It's a fairly widespread practice in Florida that's hurting consumers. (The contractor I've been working with for much of this year has been in the business for 30+ years, and his wife was an insurance adjuster for 15+ years, so I hear about this stuff from both sides.)
What sucks in particular for me about this rate increase is not that it's $500 for 2013 only -- it's that I'm going to be in this house for another 5 years minimum, which means it's really going to cost me an extra $2500. My personal property insurance is $300 of my policy, so I'm going to talk to my agent tomorrow and see if I can just drop that coverage altogether. I'll just take my chances if I get robbed or something else happens next year.
