July 11, 2023, WKMG-TV News 6, Orlando – “This won’t happen until probably the end of the year. By the time they meet the statutory notice to customers and the Office of Insurance Regulation has to do its review, it’ll be well after hurricane season, which is a good thing. So that should put some people’s minds at ease,” Miller said. (Original story location, including video version: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/07/11/farmers-becomes-latest-company-pulling-out-of-florida-amid-property-insurance-crisis/)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Another insurance company is leaving Florida. The state estimates 100,000 Florida families are about to lose their homeowners insurance when Farmers leaves. One insurance expert says even if your policy is affected, do not worry – you will still be covered for several more months.
“The best option is to call your insurance agent and say what’s next?” said former Florida deputy insurance commissioner Lisa Miller.
Miller says the announcement by Farmers Insurance to terminate coverage in the state comes months after the Florida Legislature pushed for reform during an emergency session. However, she says policyholders won’t notice any immediate changes.
“This won’t happen until probably the end of the year. By the time they meet the statutory notice to customers and the Office of Insurance Regulation has to do its review, it’ll be well after hurricane season, which is a good thing. So that should put some people’s minds at ease,” Miller said.
The company says only policies branded by Farmers will be terminated, adding it accounts for about 30% of all Florida policies that operate under different names. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, in a letter to Farmers, wrote “We are disappointed by the hastiness in this decision and troubled by how this decision might have cascading impacts on the policyholders.”
“It’s not all of their companies. They have several under their umbrella. So it’s a small portion of what they write but still it stings. It’s hard for Floridians to understand that the legislature has done so much but we still have this happening,” said Miller.
Florida CFO Jimmy PETRONAS is calling for an investigation into the company saying in part “They were playing politics and weren’t focused on running a successful company. I sincerely believe that with today’s actions, Farmers Insurance is well on its way to becoming the Bud Light of insurance.”
Miller says one of the biggest issues is that on average, Florida insurance companies pay 40% of their total revenue collected from premiums to pay for their own insurance called reinsurance, and says those costs need to be decreased.
“We also need to do more with some of the pending litigation that’s out there and think of stronger, better ways to stop some of the shenanigans that some of our lawyers do because it’s better for them and not for Floridians,” Miller said.
Petronis also says that litigation payouts have decreased by 40% when compared to last year and again Miller says even if your policy is affected, you will be covered until the end of hurricane season.
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