Lisa Miller at the We Insure 2025 kickoff event in Orlando, FL, January 30, 2025.
As you’ll read in this newsletter, this past week was very interesting and eventful on the Florida legislative and regulatory front, and this new week promises to hold its own intrigue. Last Monday, the Governor released his proposed budget for the next fiscal year that includes more money for insurance regulation and disaster mitigation and recovery. On Tuesday, Citizens President Tim Cerio made his case to the Florida Insurance & Banking Subcommittee on why and how Citizens rates are “subsidized” and too low. That’s why the state-backed insurer of last resort filed last year for the maximum allowed yearly glide path rate increase for 2025.
In a strange twist of timing on Wednesday, the Governor brought along the insurance commissioner to a news conference in Miami, the backyard of the House Speaker, to do a preemptive announcement of the commissioner’s formal order reducing Citizens’ requested 14% statewide average rate increase for 2025 to 8.6% instead. Further, the Governor said 73% of Miami-Dade homeowners would see an average 6.3% decrease in their Citizens policy rates effective this June 1, with reductions as well in neighboring Broward and Palm Beach counties. The Governor said that automobile rates are on the decline as well and touted an S&P Global report that Florida homeowners rates in 2024 had the smallest increase of any other state – just 1% – as most states struggled with double-digit increases for the second year in a row. The Governor’s bottom line: Florida’s insurance consumer reforms passed in 2022 and 2023 are working and should be left alone from further legislation this upcoming legislative session.
On Thursday, as if on cue, two bills were filed that would undo some of those key reforms: HB 451 by Representative Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola), an attorney, and the similar SB 554 by Senator Don Gaetz (R-Pensacola), who has returned to the Senate after serving as Senate President in 2012-2014. The bills essentially undo the 2023 tort reform under HB 837 that eliminated one-way attorney fees for plaintiff attorneys and reverts to something similar to previous attorney fee calculations under SB 76 that were part of the 2021 reforms. The reforms were about protecting consumers, not increasing attorney fees! We have much more on these bills and others in this newsletter edition’s Bill Watch.
To be sure, Florida residents have grown weary of multiple years of property insurance increases. That’s why the legislature passed its series of 2019-2023 reforms. They’re working. Lawsuits against property insurance companies writing Florida polices fell 23% in 2024, 32 companies filed for a 0% increase, and at least 17 companies filed for rate decreases. Inflation has taken a toll in the meantime on everything – including real estate and insurance, due to the rising cost of construction materials. That, in turn, has led to an increase in the insured value of our properties. Remember that rate rollbacks can be offset by these inflation-driven increases in the total insured value (TIV) of homes. LMA continues to try to educate lawmakers, the media, and consumers on the difference between rates and premiums.
You can read the latest Property Insurance Market Highlights updated monthly with factual data by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Let’s spread the good news – and keep the bad actors at bay whose interests don’t include protecting consumers.
Up next, this week’s upcoming legislative intrigue, more juicy details on the above events, plus the launch of a landmark state program to help Floridians keep themselves out of disaster’s way.
LMA Newsletter of 2-10-25
