TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — State Farm Insurance announced Thursday that it would recommit to writing homeowners insurance policies for Floridians, saying the company is encouraged by the recent insurance reforms signed by Governor DeSantis to curb excessive litigation.
“State Farm plans to continue our substantial presence in the Florida insurance marketplace. Our current plans include a commitment to responsible growth so that we can maintain the financial strength to deliver on our promises to our customers,” State Farm spokesperson Roszell Gadson said in a statement.
The company also said it will continue to work constructively with the Florida legislature and the Office of Insurance Regulation to improve the marketplace on behalf of its Florida customers.
The news indicates that a silver lining may be appearing on the horizon of Florida’s property and casualty insurance market because State Farm announced in May that it would no longer write new homeowner’s insurance policies in California due to “construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market.”
A CHAOTIC MARKET
“The Governor has consistently pressed the legislature to enact substantive insurance reform,” Jeremy Redfern, spokesman for DeSantis, told The Florida Standard. “In addition to pushing for the attorney fee reform in SB 76, in 2019, Governor DeSantis pushed for reform of assignment of benefits claims and signed HB 7065 into law. He has also appointed over 100 judges and 5 Supreme Court justices who have reduced frivolous litigation.”
The Florida Standard reported yesterday on state legislators’ delay in addressing property insurance woes despite a repeated push by DeSantis to shore up a chaotic insurance market plagued by excessive litigation.
On Wednesday, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) announced that some private insurers expressed interest in taking over 275,000 property insurance policies issued by Citizens – the state-run insurance company – in a sign that more investors are returning to the Florida market.
Today, AAA Insurance announced they would be issuing non-renewals to a “small percentage” of homeowners in Florida due to strains on the insurance market involving factors such as inflation, excessive litigation and the “catastrophic” 2022 hurricane season.
On Tuesday, Farmers Insurance spokesman Trevor Chapman said the decision to stop writing insurance policies in Florida “was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure.” Meanwhile, AIG announced it would no longer write new policies for homeowners along the coastline of Florida.
