JMI report encourages lawmakers to ‘hold the line’ on insurance

For AFP, transparency is the key word for property insurance reform.

The James Madison Institute has released a whitepaper outlining recent changes to Florida insurance laws and urging lawmakers to give them time to kick in.

Lawmakers have OK’d numerous bills aimed at stabilizing the property insurance market, most of them focused on curbing litigation, which insurers have long cited as a key driver in premium increases. But despite the enactment of a major torts bill and a pair of Special Sessions on insurance, lower rates haven’t materialized.

Authored by JMI Senior Fellow Christian Cámara, “Hold the Line: Florida’s Insurance Reforms and the Path Ahead” assures lawmakers that market stabilization is on the way and asks them to “resist any pressure to dilute any of the reforms that are already having a positive impact less than a year after they were enacted.”

“Florida policymakers made great progress in the past year to address the challenges faced in our property insurance market — challenges that have festered for 20 years. Like any major reform, redirecting our insurance market to a better trajectory will not happen overnight,” said JMI Senior Vice President Sal Nuzzo.

“Insurance markets need time to respond favorably to reforms, and our litigation environment needs time to cycle through the thousands of lawsuits filed prior to the 2023 reforms being signed into law. We urge our policymakers to stay the course in their efforts ahead.”

Cámara added, “Property insurance in Florida is about geography, weather, and litigation. We can’t control the first two of those. We can influence our litigation environment. While thanks are absolutely owed to policymakers and the Governor for the aggressive reforms over the past year, translating those reforms into premium relief will unfortunately take time.

“Insurance is risk mitigation, and the flood of lawsuits filed in advance of the reforms of 2023 have to wind their way through the system before the market can adjust in ways consumers see. We hope policymakers hold the line on the efforts and improvements they made in 2023.”