A rewards program for Florida homeowners without a claims history are among the property insurance-related bills that could lower your bill.
The state’s Republican leaders say the chief culprit in the state’s notoriously expensive property insurance market — excessive litigation — has been tamed, but a slew of bills show lawmakers from both parties don’t believe the problem is entirely solved.
More closely monitoring insurance profit-sharing companies, unwinding some of the secrecy that protects the state’s insurers and even a rewards program for homeowners without nonweather-related claims in their history are among the property insurance-related bills undergoing review during this legislative session that could lower your bill.
Clearwater’s Republican Rep. Kimberly Berfield, sponsoring one of these bills, says the state administration can do better in ensuring that property insurers’ excess profits aren’t among the reasons Floridians still pay some of the highest premiums in the country.
“What we’re trying to do … is making sure that the insurance companies who are collecting our premiums are actually utilizing it for what that premium was intended for,” Berfield told the House Banking and Insurance Subcommittee Jan. 21, during the hearing on her bill that seeks more control over insurance company profit-sharing affiliates. “That is probably the best way we can make sure that we as individuals and our constituents are not charged a higher rate or taken advantage of.”
Still, in public appearances, Gov. Ron DeSantis, gubernatorial candidate and former Speaker of the House Paul Renner and Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky have been declaring victory over the problem that poll after poll shows among Floridians’ top concerns.
DeSantis, Yaworsky and State Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia say the reforms are working and will only keep bringing down rates.
What has changed since 2022 to lower property insurance in Florida?
At the end of 2022, as a slew of insurance companies went insolvent and policyholders routinely saw their rates increase by up to a third every year, the Republican-dominated Legislature agreed to hobble policyholders’ ability to sue their insurer in disputes over repair costs.
The reforms meant legal costs could not be added to litigated settlements, largely killing the incentive for lawyers to take these insurance dispute cases.
Now, with 17 new insurers joining the market and rates stabilized since the reforms, the state’s leaders are ready to declare victory.
“We can show unequivocally that this marketplace has stabilized, the consumers are finding relief, that we have more options for people than we have in decades, that our companies are more capitalized to handle whatever comes, whenever the wind blows, than they have been in years,” Yaworsky said.
Here are some of the other routes legislators are pursuing to further control or reduce property insurance costs:
Florida bill wants to require reports from profit-sharing companies
Berfield’s bill is a continuation of a cliffhanger from 2025.
That’s when Speaker of the House Daniel Perez called for an investigation into insurance companies’ profit-sharing companies. The call was triggered when a Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times report uncovered byzantine financial arrangements between Florida insurers and their affiliates, after a two-year wait for public records.
The report showed a 2022 study by state insurance regulators never went to lawmakers and showed billions of dollars had gone to insurers’ affiliates and shareholders even as the industry wobbled and some companies teetered into insolvency.
Even Republican lawmakers said they might not have supported hobbling Floridians’ rights to sue had they known about the billions paid out while insurance companies went under.
But an investigation that Perez ordered on allegations that these affiliates are getting inflated payments for providing insurance company services never produced a final report last year. Berfield’s bill, however, would limit insurer payments to their affiliates to “reasonable rates” as determined and reviewed by the Office of Insurance Regulation.
Insurance industry representatives are opposing the bill, which won praise from Berwin’s fellow lawmakers, who passed it unanimously.
“It looks like we have a direct path of action,” said Democratic state Rep. Kevin Chambliss of Homestead, referencing last year’s discussion of affiliated companies.
Florida bill would help reveal more insurance trade secrets
Another bill on the move would require that insurance policyholders be provided a breakdown of each cost factor in the rate they are paying every year at policy renewal time. The bill would mean that certain information is no longer considered a “trade secret” and no longer exempt from public disclosure.
It would go a long way to helping residents understand what factors are coming to bear on the market, said Republican state Sen. Bryan Avila, who represents Miami-Dade County.
“As we know, the cost of living is increasing throughout our state, and this Legislature has certainly taken a lot of strides to … (not only) make sure that we have that (insurance) market stabilized, but that we’re also making it more affordable for our residents,” Avila said, before his bill unanimously passed in front of the Senate Banking & Insurance Subcommittee Jan. 15.
Could Floridians get rewards for claim-free policies?
Those policyholders who haven’t made a claim on their insurance for 36 months should get a premium reduction, according to legislation filed in both the House and the Senate. Those who make storm-damage claims would also be eligible for the statewide, uniform and actuarily sound rewards, according to the bill filed by Democrats Sen. Mack Bernard and Rep. Jervonte Edmonds, who both represent parts of Palm Beach County.
“What we really need to do is … reward people who have been doing their best to maintain and update their home,” Edmonds said. “I want an insurance company to reward people who are doing the right thing.”
The bill has not yet been advanced to a committee hearing, however. And Edmonds is not surprised, given the Republican majority’s focus on vastly decreasing or eliminating property taxes.
“I am doing my best to talk about the real issue at hand … which is high and increasing property insurance,” he said.
Anne Geggis is statewide reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA, reporting on health and senior issues. If you have news tips, please send them to ageggis@usatodayco.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.