Florida home insurance rates begin to fall after years of dramatic increases
TAMPA, Fla. - Homeowners in Florida may finally catch a break in their insurance premiums this year.
After years of dramatic rate increases, 10 insurers have announced a zero-percent increase in their premiums and nine have filed a rate decrease for customers in 2024.
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Not every homeowner will see rate reductions, and those who do will likely only have a few hundred dollars shaved off their annual premium, but insurance experts say it’s a positive sign in a state embroiled in a home insurance crisis.
"It is a very good thing," Arden Insurance President Robert Norberg told WPTV. "It is progress to what we’ve said all along: the market stabilization is happening."
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The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) told WPTV the following nine insurance companies have filed for rate reductions:
- American Integrity Insurance Co. of Florida
- American National Property & Casualty Co.
- Florida Peninsula Insurance Co.
- Heritage Property & Casualty Co.
- Safe Harbor Insurance Co.
- Southern Oak Insurance Co.
- Spinnaker Insurance Co.
- Stillwater Property & Casualty Co.
- US Coastal Property & Casualty
The following 10 insurance companies have filed 0% rate increases, according to WPTV:
- American Bankers Insurance Co. of Florida
- American Integrity Insurance Co. of Florida
- American Security Insurance Co.
- American Traditions Insurance Co.
- Castle Key Indemnity Co.
- Castle Key Insurance Co.
- Edison Insurance Co.
- Florida Family Home Insurance Co.
- Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance Co.
- Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co.
More companies could be added to the list, depending on how active this year’s hurricane season is.
One of the biggest factors for stabilization, according to OIR, is recent legislative reform that put an end to assignment of benefits, a practice many bad actors were using to submit for unnecessary repairs.
Regulators say unscrupulous roofers and home repair companies exploited the ability to allow third parties to file claims on a property owner’s behalf, which created an environment of artificially high claim frequency and lawsuits. Since the new laws were enacted in 2022 and 2023, OIR says non-catastrophic claims have been reduced by double digits.
According to OIR, insurers paid about $2.9 billion in legal fees in 2022 alone, costs ultimately paid for by consumers in the form of higher rates.
Not having to shell out for frivolous claims and litigation expenses, along with a mild hurricane season, meant 2023 showed net profits for Florida’s home insurance industry for the first time since 2016.
Insurers in the Sunshine State reported billions in losses over the last three straight years, and many industry analysts hope 2023’s modest reversal is a sign of more relief to come.
Read more about OIR’s May 2024 Florida Property Insurance Market Update here.