Will the Homeowners Insurance Crisis in Florida End?

Are you a homeowner in Florida? Are you concerned about the cost and coverage of your homeowners insurance? If so, you'll want to tune in to our latest video on home insurance reform in the Sunshine State.

In this video, we'll discuss the current state of homeowners insurance in Florida and the reforms that have been proposed to address rising premiums and inadequate coverage. We'll cover topics such as the role of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the impact of natural disasters on insurance rates, and the efforts to increase competition and choice in the market.

We'll also discuss what you can do as a homeowner to protect yourself and your home, including tips for shopping for insurance and steps you can take to lower your premiums.

Stay informed and protect your home with our comprehensive guide to Florida homeowners insurance reform.

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[carlosdad]

Florida is becoming a terrible place to live. We were forced into Citizens because our broker could not find any other insurance company. In 27 years, we never made any claims. Now we must buy flood insurance, so we will self-insure as we live 5 1/2 miles from the gulf and there is no risk of flood.

[wora]

Seems designed to raise the profits of insurance companies and reduce their risks at the same time. And it obviously raises the home owners costs when they are forced to buy unnecessary flood insurance. So the goal seems to be to have more insurers and less citizens.

[ducheau]

If we somehow get a mostly hurricane free season this year in Florida, think of the money these insurance companies will make after doubling and tripling everyones rates

[chrissoutherland]

This is huge but you also need to do something about the public adjusters. I think that a PA should not be able to charge for their services based upon a percentage of the settlement, rather they should charge for their hours worked. There is too much of a financial incentive for the PA to demand more than what is reasonable or necessary.

[tracybrown]

I have heard that insurance premiums have skyrocketed in most north western states. I'm in Wyoming. Our property and auto rates have gone up 30 - 40% in 3 years. We have never had a claim. The reason given to those of us who live here is that our rates have been affected by the "high cost to repair". I think the insurance companies are trying to make up for their loses anyway they can. By the way, I was with State Farm and switched to another well known carrier. My understanding is that neither of these carriers handle property insurance in Florida anymore? P.S. I follow what's going on in Florida because I lived there from 1972 - 1993. During that time, insurance was never an issue and we had our share of hurricanes. I lived in Bradenton what is now the Village of the Arts in a little house built in the 1950's. Cement block. It was never was flooded and it never had any issues from storms. Furthermore, taking away an individual's right to pursue attorney's fees and court costs against an insurance company in litigation in which the plaintiff prevails is absolute BS. This will effectively reduce lawsuits to a very small percentage which is exactly what they want. This is BAD move and will effectively stop most people from suing. Also, it is my understanding that if your home is at the proper elevation and you have the elevation certificate to prove it, presently this makes flood insurance moot? How will this new bill affect the elevation certification legislation? It sounds like they are trying to circumvent it. I'm questioning the true motives of DeSantis, but as we all know, insurance companies are all about making a profit and right now they seem to be treading water in Florida. They want this life line passed while he is still governor. IDK. Just my thoughts. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you in Florida during this hurricane season. Stay safe. 🙏

[nospamallowed]

I am sorry to say that the new laws are not going to help solve the insurance problem (nor the affordability issue for residents), as they are clearly written in response to insurance lobbyists demands instead of residents needs.

What is really needed is real laws (state and/or national) written to serve the people:

1) Laws that forbid new construction (or rebuilding) in areas that can flood (or be subject to forest fires for places like California) unless well defined protection measures are taken. So, in Florida, in most places that might mean building up the ground so that homes are at least 6-10' higher than the street or drainage level (the exception being in the few places where you have hills), or drainage systems like the one built for Babcock Ranch.

2) No-exclusion laws to simplify the insurance for owner-occupied or long-term rental homes (short-term rental properties can continue with the current laws, to discourage the excessive short-term renting that is making it impossible for people to live near where they work).
- That means that if you buy insurance, everything is covered, even flood and hurricane. No complex exclusionary coverages designed to fleece the consumer.
- Of course this woul only apply to homes that follow the rules from (1) so that the premiums remain low.

3) Mandatory reinsurance for insurance companies nationwide.

4) No more state-specific insurance companies. If you have a nationally recognized insurance brand then you are required to serve all 50 states with a single company. You don't get to isolate markets to maximize profits. Same policy rules across the whole nation.

5) The creation of a couple of semi-government insurance companies based on the model of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, for homeowner-occupied properties only. These large entities will be able to drive down the cost of insurance nationwide and by competing with private insurers force them to become more efficient and actually serve their customers.

[johns]

I live in Canada, and I don't dispute what was contained in this video. However, it is an incomplete picture missing a major part. We in Canada have some issues such as floods, forest fires and storms. But not to the degree that you have some massive floods, very major storms and tornados, and large forest fires. In the USA, some of the forest fires are near major residential locations. In contrast, 75% of Canada's population is within 100 miles north of the 49th parallel, and most of our forest fires are much farther north in less populated areas.

The way insurance companies work is that they collect premiums and pay out claims. If they pay out more in claims than they receive in premiums, they raise their rates. What you don't understand is that we in Canada have been subsidizing part of your premiums for a few years now. Our rates have been going up substantially here for some time, but, not due to claims paid out here. Our rates have been going up a lot as a way of the major insurance companies collecting towards the huge claims made in the USA and elsewhere, as if this weren't done you couldn't begin to pay your premiums. They share the load overall. When you have major disasters our rates go up. If major insurance claims were paid directly in proportion within locations, such as Florida, you would never be able to pay the proportionate premiums. For us in Canada, if we were to pay directly in proportion within locations, such as British Columbia, our premiums would go down substantially. I live in a small condominium building. Last year our strata insurance cost us $40, 000, and $30, 000 before that and in the $20, 000's the year before that. Our insurance renews August 1st and we are very concerned how much more it will cost us. We have not had claims by any means to equate to those increases. Here, some strata's have to get insurance from 2 insurers sharing the risk, and there are a few that can't even get coverage.There are just a few very major insurance companies in the world and they provide the insurance that insurance companies use and insurance brokers use.

I doubt that your government can force insurance companies to come back to Florida and to have them absorb high claims and receive low premiums. In the end, they are in business to make a profit. Your premiums should be proportionate to your risk factors. But that would mean much higher premiums than you already have. That is why the major insurance companies such as Lloyds of London who is the largest in the world, share the load over other locations, such as Canada.

[maryrenaud]

We need more insurers but also more regulations over the outrageous and egregious ‘underwriting’ wherein homeowners have been required to replace perfectly good roofs with 5 to 10 years of remaining useful life or ‘lose’ your insurance. In fact, tearing off tile or shingles and then replacing them with new, does NOTHING to increase structural integrity which depends on the underlying structure and hurricane strapping.

Instead, if you regularly inspect and maintain your roof and supply a good condition inspection signed off by a licensed roofer, insurers should be required to retain those insured accounts period.

[brendatrump]

Insurance companies are a joke for the most part; they're all sunshine and rainbows as long as they're getting paid but when the shit hits the fan they don't want to pay up. Don't make a bet you can't pay when you lose.

[fluent]

No one is asking General Contractors who are tasked with repairing houses what they think? We are not fixing things for little to no profit. So when we give prices to homeowners, they don't get approved by the carriers, but now they can't afford to sue them...

[robertjessie]

I live in Daytona Beach and in 2017 (after the hurricane) we had a bad Hail storm and the whole neighborhood needed roofs replaced. Allot of my neighbors told me they were signing AOB's so they didn't have to do anything. Didn't sound right to me so I found a roofer on (Nextdoor) and it may have cost me $1000 after the insurance adjustment.

[bobdenver]

nice video sounds a bit confusing, its been about 4 months I heard rates just went up for alot of people, are things going better for some

[MuzixMaker]

Required flood insurance on properties nowhere near a flood zone is redistribution of income

[kym]

I live in the central west part of Florida and was effect by Ian, but I didn't make a claim because it was minor damage. I just got my renewal for February and it more than doubled. I am in shock!!

[DiceyJJ]

Which is the best company to SELL for? Best commissions/training etc (I’m in south florida)

[robertmorcate]

No my insurance went up 44% for this year

[Chris_In_Texas]

Hum, wonder how long it will take Citizens to go out of business as well, during the next major storm. Then what will happen? 🤷‍♂🤦‍♂

[paulstrollo]

wait what... citizens is already the most expensive insurance in Florida and now they want mandatory flood insurance for all too? WOW wish i could start a business and force people to use it knowing full well they will never see a penny in return for all their payments. This is a complete waste of time and appears to be slanted to protect the insurance companies...

[scooter]

ya and he veto ed the bill that would have made them lower insurance so I don't know where your getting your info from but I'm not here it all my neighbors insurance have all doubled and after having to put new roofs on witch is bs too. and as of this hail storm stuff take a look at your car that's parked out side did it get damaged NO so neither did your roof that's all bs too

[johnbennett]

There are two major factors here. 1. Is the total accumulation of expensive development along Florida's coasts. This means that is is a lot of real estate in harms way. 2. Climate change is increasing the insurance risk. Larger more destructive hurricanes are increasing in frequency. I am waiting to see if Florida can get through this hurricane season without a costly catastrophic hurricane. If Florida can dodge a bullet this year then that will be a good sign. If instead a hurricane the size of Ian slams into Florida then that will be a very bad sign. Florida is part of the USA and whatever happens has a ripple affect across the USA.