FLORIDA — Will back-to-back major hurricanes knock over Florida’s still wobbly property insurance market? State officials say no way, yet concern lingers.
Coming into hurricane season, lawmakers, insurance regulators, the governor kept reporting years of reform were starting to pay off. We were seeing stabilization in Florida’s property insurance market based on a variety of metrics. And now — they believe think the state may have dodged a bullet with Helene and Milton.
As of Tuesday, according to state records with the Office of Insurance Regulation, there were about 152,000 Milton insurance claims, with losses totaling about $1.9B. Helene, two weeks earlier, had 119,000 claims and about $1.2B in losses. Ian, by comparison, was more than $21B in losses with around 800,000 claims.
“I do feel like for the financial health of the Florida insurance market— we did dodge a bullet,” said Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R).
While it’s still early, Patronis said he was optimistic claims wouldn’t surge in the coming weeks. He felt a bunch of insurance reforms from lawmakers (including a major tort policy) had put the market in a strong place.
“We learned something from every single storm,” said the CFO. “We have rewritten every law to protect the consumer from predators and also hold the insurance companies accountable. All that has happened since Hurricane Ian”
The state’s insurance commissioner, Michael Yaworsky, echoed the confidence in a recent press release, saying there’s“continued property market stabilization.”
“I am extremely pleased to share these announcements, as they point to continued strengthening of Florida’s property insurance market, which is contrary to the narrative that has been circulating about our industry in recent months,” said Yaworsky. “OIR has, and will continue to work with all carriers in the state to bolster the significant progress that has been made and finish the year on a glide path to sustained growth.”
In his Oct. 10 release, the commissioner cited 15 companies that had filed rate decreases for the upcoming year and 29 asking to keep rates flat. Reinsurance said Yaworsky was cheaper for most carriers than in recent years.
It comes as analysts at Fitch Ratings estimate a $30B to $50B price tag for Milton alone. They warned Florida is “vulnerable to the extent the major hurricane generates losses in excess of reinsurance limits.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) dismissed the analysis last week.
“How the hell would a Wall Street analyst be able to know it's been dark all day?” DeSantis said. “What you just going to know that you're going to do? I mean, like, Give me a break on some of this stuff…”
Florida Democrats, meanwhile, have kept up the pressure, seeking more insurance reform in coming legislative sessions. Their chair has done numerous national interviews condemning Republican leadership on the issue, which has led to some of the highest premiums in the nation.
“These are the times that you need your leaders to step up to the plate,” said Chair Nikki Fried. “You need government to work and you need government to work in times like this…”
It seems unlikely lawmakers would return early for another special session on insurance reform. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be much interest in it before the election or immediately after. The regular session begins in March 2025.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
