Florida Governor Ron DeSantis offered an update on Florida’s insurance market last week, noting significant progress in stabilizing rates.

Citizens Property Insurance will reduce homeowners’ insurance premium for three-quarters of Miami Dade, and statewide decreases averaging 5.6 percent.

Florida auto insurance consumers will also see rate cuts rates.

GEICO announced a 10.5 percent decrease, State Farm a 6 percent decrease, and Progressive an 8.1 percent decrease.

“For the last four years, inflation spurred by the Biden Administration, active hurricane seasons, and unchecked litigation in Florida made for an environment that caused turbulence in insurance markets and steep increases in premiums,” said DeSantis. “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.”

Since 2019, Florida has passed five landmark laws—three on tort reform and two on consumer protection.

Key reforms include HB 7065 (2019), which curbed abusive litigation tied to Assignment of Benefits (AOBs); SB 76 (2021), which tightened claim deadlines and encouraged dispute resolution over lawsuits; and SB 2D (2022), eliminating one-way attorney fees for AOBs, limiting roofing scams, and creating a $2 billion Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders (RAP) program.

SB 2A (2022) further reduced frivolous litigation, strengthened insurer accountability, and protected consumers.

In 2023, additional reforms eliminated subsidies for out-of-state vacation homes, expanded home hardening programs, and enhanced oversight of insurers.

There are 7.58 million active insurance policies in Florida, marking an increase of over 130,000 in the past year, the governor said.

Eleven insurance companies entered the Florida market. In addition, the Governor announced that Florida has the lowest average premium rate increase in the nation, with an average statewide rate hike of just 1 percent, a ontrast to other states where premiums have surged by more than 20 percent.

Recent insurance reforms seem to be working.

Among the state’s top 10 insurance carriers, 60 percent expanded their business, while 40 percent filed for rate decreases.

The average rate increase has dropped significantly, from over 21 percent in 2023 to a projected 0.2 percent for 2025.

Citizens Property Insurance, which had been rapidly expanding due to a strained private market, is now shrinking, with over 20 percent of policyholders experiencing rate decreases averaging -5.6 percent statewide.

In Miami-Dade, nearly 75 percent of homeowners are seeing rate reductions, while over 50 percent in Broward and nearly 19 percent in Palm Beach.

Since 2022, more than 477,000 policies have returned to the private market—up from just 16,408 in 2022—signaling increased competition and better options for consumers, the governor said.

Reforms are also driving down auto insurance costs across Florida.

Litigation related to auto glass repairs has declined, dropping from 24,720 lawsuits in the second quarter of 2023 to just 2,613 in the same period of 2024.

This significant reduction follows the repeal of assignment of benefits and one-way attorney fees.