As we ring in 2026, the naysayers in Florida were frustrated over the cost of automobile and property insurance. Indeed, it has been one of the major factors fueling people’s frustrations over affordability. But here we are a year later, and a different story is emerging.
Automobile insurance rates in the state of Florida are plummeting. Let me say that again. Automobile insurance rates are plummeting. Property insurance rates have flattened, and many insurers are seeking reductions in premiums for customers. In the great state of Florida, by law, insurance companies must return gains over a certain threshold to policy-holders in the form of rate reductions.
So what changed in a year? Quite simply, the reforms finally are taking hold. The lawsuit reforms of 2023 that were passed into law have halted the frivolous lawsuits that had turned our state into a judicial hellhole and were making every insurance customer in the state fund an open ATM of guaranteed payouts based on loopholes in the law.
Essentially, the way that the law was written pretty much guaranteed any lawsuit filed against an insurer to be paid regardless of how frivolous, and then regardless of how small a settlement might be, the insurer was responsible for the legal fees of the plaintiff. That means that relatively small settlements could yield gigantic payouts to the attorneys. The billboard attorneys want you to believe that this is free money, but in a state where both auto and property insurance is almost always required, what this means is that all the customers were paying higher and higher rates to fund the attorneys filing these lawsuits.
As we get into the new year, the state’s powerful attorney lobby is pushing to rollback some of these reforms to make it easier for them to get back to where they were before. They are also looking to expand opportunities for higher verdicts in medical lawsuits. Both of these efforts, if successful, would result in higher automobile, home, and health insurance rates.
Right now, Florida is leading the nation on reductions in insurance premiums. But we still have a high cost of living associated with rapid population growth, and so as we move into 2026, it would seem to be foolish to go back to where we were before the 2023 lawsuit reforms were passed. For all of our sakes, I hope the legislature agrees.
