Florida Officials Say Home Insurance Costs Are Stabilizing After Years of Rapid Increases

Home insurance premiums in Florida appear to be stabilizing after years of painfully rapid increases, according to regulators in charge of overseeing the state's insurance industry.

Although Florida remains one of the most expensive states for insuring homes and other properties due to the elevated disaster risk from hurricanes, legal reforms seem to be slowing the rapid growth in premiums seen in recent years.

“We have seen great success in Florida’s market recently, and we hope to build on this momentum," Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky said in a release this week.

As of late November, Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) had received 73 filings for rate decreases and 94 filings for 0% rate increases, a spokesperson for the office tells Realtor.com®.

"We observed that even following Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year, there were no widespread, significant rate increases filed by private carriers," says the spokesperson, Shiloh Elliott. "Now, with a quiet 2025 hurricane season, continued decreases in reinsurance costs, and an overall increased underwriting appetite among carriers, market momentum is very much in consumers’ favor."

According to the OIR, the average annual homeowner's insurance premium in Florida, including wind coverage, is now $3,815.

While that's still up about 6% from a year ago, it represents a deceleration from the rapid double-digit annual increases seen in recent years.

And some insurers in Florida have been lowering their premiums, with Florida Peninsula Insurance in August requesting regulatory approval for a statewide average decrease of 8.4% for homeowners' premiums and a 12% reduction for condominium owners. 

"Three years ago, it was like the equivalent of a funeral. It was very depressing; it was dark. Everyone thought the end was coming," Yaworsky told an audience last week at the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s annual insurance summit, according to Florida Politics. “And two years later, we are in a fantastic place, seeing nothing but success on the horizon.”

According to Elliott, multiple reinsurers are also publicly expressing confidence in Florida's market, a trend that could result in savings being passed on to policyholders.

"Additionally, with the 17 new insurers entering the Florida market, more companies are updating their rates and terms to remain competitive and attract new business, which would indicate that we may see a continued downward trend going into 2026," says Elliott.

Key reforms in recent years

Industry experts attribute the shift to a number of legal changes in Florida that have shored up the state's property insurance market since 2022.

Florida has overhauled its property insurance laws with a number of laws aimed at cutting litigation costs, restricting assignments of benefits, and tightening claims timelines.

Gallagher Re, a global reinsurance brokerage and risk advisory firm, said in a recent report that the changes had resulted in a significant decline in property claims lawsuits and improved loss ratios for insurers.

The report found that 2024 was the first year since 2016 that Florida’s domestic property companies turned a clear collective profit, despite a $20 billion insurance loss from Hurricane Milton.

As a result, several new insurance companies have entered the Florida market, increasing competition and giving homeowners more choices.

"The reforms have led to a more stable and attractive insurance market in Florida, encouraging carriers and reinsurers to refocus on growing their businesses or re-enter the market if they had previously pulled back," the report stated.