"I think this is pretty consistent about what you're going to see across the board" says expert
By Matthew Sellers
Feb 12, 2024 Share
Inflation and increased claims are joining together to make Florida’s homeowners face huge premium jumps. Two of the state’s private insurance companies have just applied to increase premiums by over 50%.
The carriers, Castle Key and Amica have asked regulators to approve rate rises of 53% and 54% on some policies.
The hikes are being driven by a number of factors including extreme weather events.
“These are not just hurricanes,” said Paul Handerhan, the president and executive director of the Federal Association For Insurance Reform on Bay9 TV. “These are severe convective storms that we’re experiencing, like tornados and hail storms.”
“These are occurring with increasing frequency and that is being put into the rate base for consumers,” he continued.
Despite a stream of carriers having exited the Florida market, Handerhan still believes that private insurers will still offer cover in future.
“We’re seeing a lot of new risk capital come back into the state,” he explained, “Insurance companies can manage the risk of weather – it’s just what it costs.” And that is, it would appear, the real question. Can Florida’s homeowners afford to protect their homes?
“We live in a beautiful state, we have beautiful weather at times, but it’s certainly not the least expensive place to live in our country,” Handerhan said.
A number of insurers have recently entered the sunshine state, following the passage of litigation reforms and at the end of the 2023 storm season, and the state’s insurer of last resort has been happily offloading clients to the private sector.
This year Citizen’s insurance hopes to transfer up to 338,000 policies to a number of other carriers.
The trend in premium hikes should come as no surprise for homeowners – last year saw Florida top a Policygenius list of biggest homeowners insurance hikes.
- Florida: 68% ($1,127 to $1,896)
- New Mexico: 47% ($855 to $1,255)
- Colorado: 46% ($1,390 to $2,031)
- Idaho: 46% ($552 to $804)
- Texas: 46% ($1,471 to $2,141)
The average Florida homeowners insurance premium already stands at $6,000, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Got a view on homeowners premium hikes? Leave a comment below.
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