As 2026 approached, Florida opponents were complaining about the cost of auto and property insurance. In fact, it is one of the major factors fueling people’s dissatisfaction with affordability. But a year later, a different story is emerging.
Car insurance premiums in Florida are plummeting. Let me say it again. Car insurance premiums have fallen significantly. Property and casualty insurance rates are flattening, and many insurance companies are seeking lower premiums for their customers. In the great state of Florida, by law insurance companies must return profits above a certain threshold to policyholders in the form of reduced premiums.
So what has changed in one year? Simply put, the reforms are finally taking hold. Litigation reforms enacted in 2023 put an end to frivolous lawsuits that have turned the state into a judicial hell and turned all insurance customers in state funds into open ATMs with deposits paid based on loopholes in the law.
Essentially, the way the law was written meant that any lawsuit brought against an insurance company, no matter how frivolous, was almost guaranteed to be paid, and the insurance company was supposed to pay the plaintiff’s legal costs, no matter how small the settlement. This means that even relatively small settlements can result in lawyers being paid large sums of money. The billboard lawyers would like you to believe that this is free money, but in a state where both auto and property insurance are almost always required, what this meant was that all of their clients were paying increasingly higher fees to fund the lawyers who litigate their cases.
As we enter the new year, the state’s powerful legal lobby is trying to roll back some of these reforms to make it easier to return to the way things were before. They also aim to expand opportunities to obtain higher verdicts in medical litigation. If both of these initiatives are successful, they will result in higher premiums for auto, home, and health insurance.
Currently, Florida is leading the nation in lowering insurance premiums. However, the high cost of living associated with rapid population growth remains, and heading into 2026, it seems foolish to go back to where we were before the 2023 litigation reform was passed. For our sake, I hope Congress agrees.
