‘Market must continue to organically recover, without fear of any major legislative or regulatory disruptions’
Regulators report Florida’s property insurance market is continuing to stabilize following legislative reforms that have resulted in fewer and less severe lawsuits with associated lower rates for consumers. The Property Insurance Stability Report, published twice a year by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), shows a dramatic decrease in the ratio of Florida’s share of national homeowners insurance claims vs. homeowners claims lawsuits. In 2025, Florida had under 5% of national claims and just over 41% of nationwide homeowners lawsuits. That’s down significantly from the 7% and 76% respectively in 2021. It was that mismatch that prompted the Florida legislature to pass significant consumer insurance and litigation reforms in 2022 and 2023.
Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
New since OIR’s January 2026 report:
- The average defense cost and containment expenses per claim decreased from $992.89 in 2022 to $817.64 in 2024, to $720 in 2025.
- The number of claims lawsuits, as represented by Personal Residential Legal Service of Process (LSOP) filings, continues to decline. It dropped 23% in 2024 from the year prior, and another 25% from 2024 to 2025. In the first six months of 2026, it’s down another 25% compared with the same period last year, with a 12-month moving average now of 2,856 filings – down by 1,000 from last July’s report.
- Notice of Intent to Litigate (NOITL) fillings likewise continue their decline in the 12-month moving average, now standing at an average of 3,407 per month. The April 2026 number was 2,787, a low that hasn’t been seen since October 2021. Civil Remedy Notice filings also continue their decline.
- OIR’s Property Claims and Litigation Data Call, performed each January, is specific to Florida and tracks the entire life cycle of a claim. Collecting data related to the life cycle of a claim assists OIR in detecting and resolving any emerging issues in the claims experience process. There were 456,200 reported claims closed in 2025 (compared to 698,742 in 2024). The percentage of those claims going to litigation was 11.7% (compared to 8.62% in 2024). (A wealth of claim details is on pages 10-16.)
- The total cost of indemnity paid for claims closed in 2025 was $10 billion (down from $15 billion in 2024 and from $15.3 billion in 2023). While the total loss adjustment expenses (LAE) paid for closed claims dipped to $1.7 billion (from $1.9 billion in 2024), the average LAE paid for litigated claims continues to increase ($15,257 in 2025, $12,701 in 2024, and $10,543 in 2023), as has the average LAE paid for non-litigated claims ($2,044 in 2025 compared to $1,778 in 2024).
Claims that were closed in 2025 may not have been originally reported in the same calendar year. Looking instead at the year of the loss, you can see in the chart below the dramatic impact the litigation reforms have had on the most popular policy type: homeowners multi-peril (HO-3). Litigation rates have fallen from 8.9% in 2022 to 1.3% in 2025.
Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
The report also tracks the financial performance of Florida’s domestic property insurance companies, including net underwriting gains (how much an insurance company has either made or lost from its operations), net income, and average combined ratio, per the chart below, which contains updated 2025 data. It shows that after several years of negative income and underwriting gains, Florida carriers are once again profitable.
Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Property insurance rates in Florida continue to go down as a result. “Rate filings for 2024 showed a slight downward trend for the first time in years, indicating stabilization of the property insurance market. That downward rate trend has continued through 2025 and into 2026,” writes OIR. For residential policies effective in 2024 or later, 44 companies requested a rate decrease, and 48 companies requested a 0% rate. The report also includes (pages 20-22) the average premiums charged for homeowners’ and condominium unit owners’ insurance in each of Florida’s 67 counties as of March 31, 2026.
On its annual reinsurance data call, OIR preliminary 2026 data suggest insurance companies are experiencing risk-adjusted pricing reductions between 15% and 25%. “Initial data signifies a favorable reinsurance market with abundant reinsurer capital, healthy competition between traditional and alternative reinsurance markets, and improved terms and conditions,” writes OIR.
Between December 3, 2025 and June 11, 2026, OIR reports 19 insurance companies were referred to the Insurer Stability Unit for enhanced monitoring for various concerns, including exceeding writing ratio limitations and failing to file timely financial statements. Only one of those companies was deemed appropriate to actually add to the enhanced monitoring list of companies, which now number 11, down from the 17 on the list in last July’s report.
“OIR continues to see overall market stabilization following the historic legislative reforms of 2022 and 2023 that enhanced protections for consumers, strengthened Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and encouraged investment by insurers and reinsurers by providing clarity to the market and the risk they underwrite. The market must continue to organically recover, without fear of any major legislative or regulatory disruptions, in order to maximize the benefits of the reforms to Florida’s policyholders,” writes OIR.
LMA Newsletter of 7-20-26
