SKN | Florida Property Insurance Reform Faces a Credibility Gap as Homeowners Report Higher Costs and Coverage Losses

Florida’s property-insurance market is showing two conflicting realities. State-level indicators point toward greater insurer participation and improved profitability, while many homeowners continue to report rising premiums, non-renewals and dissatisfaction with their coverage.

A new survey of 1,511 Florida property-insurance policyholders conducted by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel provides a detailed look at those household experiences.

The Public Assumption

Florida’s insurance reforms were designed in part to stabilize a market that had faced insurer failures, litigation costs and limited private-market capacity. State leaders have pointed to reductions in insurance litigation and the arrival of new insurers as evidence that the reforms are working.

The survey suggests that homeowners are evaluating the market through a different measure: what they pay and whether they can maintain coverage.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said they saw no signs that Florida’s insurance market was improving, while 26% said it was getting worse. Nearly half, 47%, reported that their premiums had increased by 50% or more during the previous five years.

The experience of finding coverage has also been unusually unstable. Among respondents who changed insurers during the period, 47% said they had been dropped by either a private insurer or Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The comparable figure cited from a 2025 Consumer Reports survey was 9% nationally.

The Economic Breakdown

The premium increases are occurring alongside major differences in insurance costs across Florida.

Sixty percent of surveyed homeowners in southern Florida said they currently paid at least $3,000 annually for property insurance, while 44% paid more than $4,000. In northern and central Florida, roughly one-third paid $3,000 or more and about one-fifth paid above $4,000.

The survey also found that claims can be associated with subsequent cost increases. Among homeowners who had filed at least one claim, 53% reported premium increases of 50% or more over five years.

The market’s structural indicators are less negative. The source reports that nearly 90% of Florida property insurers were profitable last year, litigation reforms reduced the state’s share of claims-related lawsuits by more than 30%, and 20 new insurers entered the market.

Those developments suggest that the insurance system itself has become more stable in certain respects. They do not necessarily mean that individual homeowners will immediately experience lower premiums or broader coverage.

The Hidden Picture

Coverage quality is another part of the affordability equation. Paying a high premium does not guarantee that every type of storm damage will be covered.

The survey highlighted several homeowners who experienced significant losses after hurricanes but encountered coverage disputes involving flood damage. Standard property insurance and flood insurance can cover different risks, meaning homeowners may face substantial financial exposure even while maintaining an active homeowners policy.

Satisfaction levels also differed between types of insurers. Thirty-four percent of customers of major national carriers said they were strongly satisfied with their insurer, compared with 16% among customers of Florida-focused companies. Similarly, 36% of customers of national carriers said they were very confident their insurer could cover necessary repairs after severe damage, compared with 17% among customers of Florida-focused insurers.

Overall, only 22% of Florida respondents said they were strongly satisfied with their insurer. For claims handling, 32% said they were strongly satisfied with their most recent claim experience, compared with 64% in the national Consumer Reports survey cited by the source.

The industry has disputed the survey’s conclusions. Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute said the results appeared skewed against the insurance industry and argued that they did not reflect what he described as an improved Florida marketplace.

That disagreement highlights the central measurement problem: statewide industry data can improve while individual policyholders continue experiencing higher costs or reduced coverage.

Closing

If Florida’s insurance market is becoming more stable for insurers while homeowners continue reporting higher premiums, non-renewals and coverage disputes, the critical question is whether market stabilization is ultimately translating into measurable relief for the households paying the premiums.