Florida Property Insurance Sees Rising Premiums Despite Stable Policy Counts

New data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) reveals that over the past three years, the number of property insurance policies in Florida has seen only minor growth. However, both direct written premiums and average premium levels have increased significantly during the same period. The recent data compares the first quarter of 2025 to the last quarter of 2022, capturing market conditions before and after the enactment of comprehensive legislative reforms targeting litigation costs in the property insurance sector.

The OIR data encompasses personal and commercial residential lines, including a variety of policy types such as condominium unit, mobile home, dwelling-fire, and renters' insurance. Insurers with significant exposure in renters' coverage report comparatively low average premiums, illustrating the heterogeneity within the personal lines segment. The detailed breakdown of policies by type is available through the OIR's supplementary database.

While rate increases have drawn criticism from policyholders and lawmakers, insurers attributed these hikes during 2016-2023 primarily to excessive claims litigation expenses. The Florida legislature addressed this issue with statutory reforms in 2022 and 2023 aimed at reducing litigation costs. Despite these changes, upward pressure on premiums persists due to inflationary trends in construction replacement costs and rising reinsurance costs necessary to mitigate insurer solvency risks.

Industry experts note emerging market stability as underwriting performance shows improvement. AM Best reported an underwriting profit in Florida's personal property insurance market in 2024 after eight consecutive years of losses, signaling a positive shift for insurers. Additionally, regulatory reporting requirements have evolved, with OIR moving from quarterly to monthly data submissions to improve market transparency and oversight.

The comprehensive data sets released by OIR are critical for industry stakeholders tracking underwriting results, pricing trends, and policy counts in Florida, one of the nation's largest and most volatile property insurance markets. The evolving regulatory landscape and cost factors continue to shape Florida's property insurance pricing and availability dynamics.