Understanding Florida's guaranty association
An annuity isn't FDIC-insured. If a carrier fails, the Florida Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association provides a limited backstop — up to $250,000 in present value per insurance company, per person. It exists to catch a worst case; it is not a reason to buy, and in most states it is illegal for an agent to present it as one. Choose on carrier financial strength first — the right goal is a carrier that never needs the safety net.
Florida's premium tax quietly lowers your yield
Florida levies a 1.00% premium tax on non-qualified annuities. On a $100,000 contract that's roughly $1,000 of drag versus a no-premium-tax state — small, but real, and worth factoring when you compare the headline rate to states without it.
Illustrative, 24% tax bracket, both lines after tax: $9,276 more over 5 years, almost all of it from the rate difference (6.3% vs 4.4%) rather than from deferral. The 4.4% CD leg is an assumed APY, not a quote; the FDIC all-institution average is 1.41%. A MYGA is an insurance contract, not FDIC-insured.
The gap above is mostly the rate difference rather than the tax treatment, but the deferral is the structural reason to prefer a MYGA over a taxable account holding the same rate; Florida's premium tax shaves a little off it. Use the 21-day Florida free-look window to have an independent professional review any contract before it's final.
Go deeper: how to vet carrier safety, the free-look period, and annuity tax rules.