A sea of good news prevails for insurance consumers
Governor DeSantis makes a splash in Bermuda with the reinsurance community, the “tort reform dividend” to Floridians is promoted nationally, another auto insurance company drops rates again, plus Citizens Property Insurance Corporation gladly loses its spot as the largest homeowners carrier in Florida. It’s all in this week’s Property Insurance News – and all issues that will surely be addressed in this week’s legislative committee meetings at the state Capitol.
Governor DeSantis at the PwC Insurance Summit on November 12, 2025. Courtesy, EOG
DeSantis on Reforms: The governor made his first official visit to Bermuda last week, home to more than 1,200 insurance and reinsurance companies, including those who already provide reinsurance to Florida’s property insurance companies. Speaking at the PwC Insurance Summit, he touted Florida’s consumer insurance and litigation reforms of 2022 and 2023 and the resulting record level of international investment that’s resulted. He made the familiar points about how the previous system was exploited to “benefit lawsuits, benefit lawyers. We would have situations where someone would end up getting $50,000 and the lawyer would get $350,000.” He also stressed Florida’s focus on hurricane resilience through continual improvement in the Florida Building Code and homeowner participation in the “My Safe Florida Home” and “Resilient Florida” programs.
John Huff, chief executive of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, noted the difference those reforms have made among major reinsurers. “We even heard last night from one of the global CEOs of a Bermuda company that they’ve increased their investment fivefold since the reforms have come out,” he said, as reported by The Royal Gazette. Florida is the seventh largest international insurance market, with a gross domestic product exceeding $1.7 trillion.
“Tort Reform Dividend”: The Wall Street Journal last Tuesday published its editorial Florida Pays a Tort Reform Dividend in which it agrees that the legislative reforms are reducing homeowners and automobile insurance rates in the Sunshine State and even rebating premiums, as we reported in our last newsletter. It urges other states “searching for an affordability agenda” to follow suit. “States are primarily responsible for regulating insurance and liability, and Florida shows that tackling thorny problems can pay dividends with some political patience. There are better ways than government handouts for politicians to put more money back into people’s wallets.” Executives from two of the nation’s largest insurance companies echoed those sentiments in recent earnings calls, as reported by the Insurance Journal.
Another Carrier Dropping Rates Again: AAA Insurance announced it has filed its fourth Florida rate decrease this year. If approved, they would take effect early next year. AAA said it has lowered auto premiums by more than 15% and homeowners premiums by 5%. That has resulted in more than $70 million in savings statewide. Since January 2024, 33 companies have filed for homeowners insurance rate decreases, while 46 companies have requested 0% increases. Florida’s top five auto writer insurance groups have dropped rates by an average of 6.5% so far in 2025.
Citizens is #2: The legislatively-created and taxpayer-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is no longer the state’s largest property insurance company – another sign of Florida’s recovering private insurance market. Citizens’ ongoing policy depopulation to private carriers has resulted in its policy count dipping to 567,640 as of November 7. Fewer policies mean less exposure and less risk of taxpayer assessments by Citizens in future catastrophes. The drop means that State Farm Florida Insurance is now the largest carrier, with 647,311 policies as of September 30, with Universal Property & Casualty Insurance in third place with 550,882 policies. The news represents Citizens lowest policy count since the spring of 2021 before the litigation crisis deepened, precipitating seven Florida-based carriers becoming insolvent, causing Citizens’ policy count to soar to 1.4 million policies by September 2023. The news comes in the same week where OIR released Orders and fines regarding claims handling practices by two carriers – tougher enforcement procedures provided under the same reforms.
Legislative Hearings: What we should conclude from this is what a difference the past two years have started to make. Rates are decreasing, insurance consumers have greater choices, and investors and lower reinsurance pricing are returning to the Florida market. Ours is a unique market, as I wrote in a piece in The Demotech Difference magazine, titled Florida’s Property Insurance Market is Secure. Tomorrow (November 18, 2025) at 8am, the Florida House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee will meet to hear presentations on Florida’s insurance and reinsurance markets. In last spring’s session, the subcommittee – and later the full House of Representatives – voted to undo the tort reform in an effort that ultimately failed when the Florida Senate wouldn’t go along. On Wednesday (November 19, 2025) at 2pm, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee will hear a presentation from Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky on the markets. You can watch along with us on The Florida Channel, which will have full televised coverage of both meetings. We’ll report back in our next newsletter.
LMA Newsletter of 11-17-25
