Blog: Florida's Property Insurance Market

The primary focus of May’s special session was property insurance reform to stabilize Florida’s property insurance market in advance of hurricane season. Although some provisions were passed, efforts to reduce premiums and to disincentivize mass amounts of lawsuits were minimal.

Legislators are confident that Florida’s insurance market will become significantly more competitive following December’s Special Session. Florida House Speaker Paul Renner stated that the legislation will not only create more competition in the insurance market for Florida but will also provide notable measures that reduce frivolous lawsuits while holding insurers accountable to consumers.

Unfortunately, some measures will take time to demonstrate notable change, particularly for homeowners. Some worry that December’s session prioritized the competition of insurance companies rather than guaranteeing financial relief for homeowners. Mark Friedlander notes that “it will take time to see positive impacts of the legislative reform. We expect home insurance rates in Florida to remain high in 2023 due to expenses associated with ongoing litigation, combined with soaring reinsurance rates and double-digit replacement cost increases driven by escalating prices of construction materials and labor.”

After the measures taken in recent sessions, there is hope for Florida’s property insurance crisis. Legislators have taken action to protect companies and policyholders from financial strength rating downgrades and reduce fraudulent claims and scams within the state. The question is how long it will take for homeowners to see relief and if the measures taken are enough to save a market in crisis.