At a recent press event, Governor DeSantis updated reporters on improvements in the insurance market, highlighting the progress that has been made in stabilizing rates, increasing competition with new insurers coming to the market and expanded consumer protections.

The Governor announced rate decreases in certain areas of the state, as well as several new insurance companies writing policies in the state. According to DeSantis, rates in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County could be headed down.

"Today I announced that Citizens Property Insurance will be instituting homeowners' insurance premium decreases for three-quarters of Miami-Dade, and statewide decreases averaging 5.6%. I also was pleased to announce significant reductions in auto insurance rates in Florida for companies like GEICO (10.5% decrease), State Farm (6% decrease) and Progressive (8.1% decrease)," said Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. "For the last four years, active hurricane seasons, and unchecked litigation in Florida made for an environment that caused turbulence in insurance markets and steep increases in premiums. There are a lot of factors involved in insurance rates, and Florida's property and auto markets are challenging-but in addition to the decreases I announced, data suggests that in 2024, Florida had the lowest average homeowners' premium increases in the nation, and the overall market has stabilized with 11 new companies having entered the market over the past two years."

Florida lawmakers have passed five laws since 2019 targeting sky high insurance costs in the state. The laws below addressed the many issues in the Florida insurance market:

  • HB 7065 (2019), helped reduce abusive litigation tied to Assignment of Benefits (AOBs)
  • SB 76 (2021), tightened claim deadlines and encouraged negotiations over lawsuits
  • SB 2D (2022), eliminated one-way attorney fees for AOBs, and help reduce roofing scams. It also created a $2 billion Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders (RAP) program.
  • SB 2A (2022) further reduced frivolous litigation, strengthened insurer accountability, and protected consumers.

Additional legislative action in 2023 helped eliminate subsidies for vacation homes, expanded a program that hardened home and increased oversight of insurance companies.

Governor DeSantis also announced that Florida currently has 7.58 million active insurance policies, which is an increase of 130,000 over last year. The private insurance market has also seen 11 insurance companies in the Florida market, offering consumers more options for coverage.

Governor DeSantis claimed that these recent reforms related to insurance are helping residents save money. According to the report, 60% of the top 10 insurers in the state have expanded their business and 40% have filed to lower their rates.

Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer of last resort, which was recently the largest insurer in the state is currently shrinking with 20% of policyholders seeing their rates drop. Roughly 75% of homeowners in Miami Dade will see rate reductions, that percentage drops to 50% in Broward and all the down to 19% in Palm Beach.

Policyholders are moving to the private market with over 477,000 policies returning to the private market insurers since 2022 which is up from just 16,408 in 2022.

While insurance rates in Florida are still on the high side of the spectrum, they have dropped a bit. Major insurance companies such as GEICO, Progressive, and State Farm have filed for rate reductions ranging from 10.5% to 6%.

The reforms have also impacted litigation with lawsuits related to auto glass repairs declined from 24,720 lawsuits in the second quarter of 2023 to just 2,613 in second quarter 2024. Fewer lawsuits should lead to lower rates in the future.