property insurance

Longtime U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson introduced a bill in Congress this week to help stabilize the troubled property insurance market and help homeowners nationwide, especially in Florida, with a growing and costly pocketbook issue.

Florida's regular legislative session was scheduled to finish on May 2. But lawmakers extended it to finish the budget and address certain proposals. Your Florida talked with people across the state about how they think the first 60 days went.

For the tens of thousands of homeowners in South Florida who rely on Citizens Property Insurance to cover their homes, Gov. Ron DeSantis' announcement of lower rates came as long hoped for relief last week. But WLRN's senior economics editor Tom Hudson explains there are also other factors at play when it comes to insurance premiums.

Lawmakers in 2022 and 2023 passed a series of measures aimed at stabilizing the state’s insurance market as insurance companies fled the state and policyholders saw premiums skyrocket.

“The damage from Hurricane Milton is expected to be much worse than Helene’s and will be predominantly in Florida,” the financial-rating agency AM Best said in an analysis released Wednesday.

Nationwide, property insurance premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country. Why is this happening? One common thread: Climate change is fueling more severe weather, and insurers are responding to rising damage claims.

Florida insurance companies made money last year for the first time in seven years. That is thanks to investment income and a mild hurricane season. That's according to an an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis released last week.

Three primary factors are driving the insurance challenge: natural disasters are becoming more common and costly; the price of reinsurance is skyrocketing; and Florida’s litigation-friendly environment compounds the issue by making it easy for customers to sue their insurers.

Florida lawmakers resurrected the nearly 20-year-old program during a 2022 special session. Now, they are considering keeping it alive.

As Florida homeowners grapple with increased property-insurance rates, two Republican lawmakers have filed a proposal that would allow people to buy policies covering only unpaid mortgage-loan amounts.

Florida taxpayer-owned Citizens Insurance is using unlicensed inspectors in a little-known program that is ramping up inspections, WLRN found. Homeowners and industry insiders say the move is alarming.

High premiums, on top of what already is an affordability crisis across the state, continues to drive up the cost of living and make homeownership more expensive and difficult to achieve. They will be addressed during a special session that starts today.