Florida property insurance rates expected to jump 20 to 25% by June

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — It’s déjà vu for Florida homeowners.

Industry experts warn property insurance rates are expected to increase.

So is there anything that can be done to stop this?

8 On Your Side Investigator Mahsa Saeidi continues to cover this crisis.

John Rollins is the former Chief Risk Officer at Citizens Property Insurance, the last state insurer.

“The sticker shock we’ve all experienced over the last two or three years is not only not over, June 1 could result in the worst sticker shock yet,” Rollins said.

He says your premiums could soon go up as much as 25%.

The main driver is the cost of reinsurance, which is insurance for insurance companies.

Citing industry data, Rollins said in the past four years, reinsurance rates had increased 100%.

Experts expect another jump, 50%, on June 1.

Rollins says when insurance companies have to pay more for their insurance, so should you.

Everything is connected.

“So when reinsurers increase their rates 50% in a cycle like June 1st, that can lead to a 25% increase in rates for the average Floridian,” said Mr. Rollins.

“Right now, it’s at a generational high and probably represents 50% or more of the average prime consumer’s income.”

This bad news comes, despite the presence of two special legislative sessions intended to address the crisis.

Last year’s reforms made markets less volatile, but lawmakers did not cap interest rates.

This week, the new President of the Florida Senate made an appointment regarding the premium.

“We believe that hopefully within a year or so, your property insurance rates will come down and if they don’t, there will be hell to pay,” said President of the State Senator Kathleen Passidomo.

Unfortunately, Rollins doesn’t think rates will drop that quickly, but he says they could stabilize if Florida helps insurance companies get insurance.

Lawmakers already expanded state support for reinsurance last year.

Rollins said it needed to happen again and support had to end after three years.

“If the state helps insurance companies with reinsurance, can the savings be guaranteed to go down to the policyholders?” asked Investigative Reporter Mahsa Saeidi.

“It is guaranteed that any savings from the cost structure associated with state support or state-funded bridges will be passed on to consumers immediately in the next round of tariff submissions, that’s right,” said Mr. Rollins.

The Florida Office of Insurance regulations oversees insurance companies.

Every year, the company submits a request for filing a tariff.

They must report reinsurance costs.

Rollins says if their fees go down, the OIR can force them to lower your rates too.