Tracy Caruso, President of Delray Beach Executive Suites in Orlando, said that homeowners insurance rates are decreasing due to tort reform efforts led by Governor Ron DeSantis and Paul Renner. She urged lawmakers to maintain these reforms in a statement made on X.
“Great News! State Farm announced that they’re cutting rates 10 percent,” said Caruso. “This is because of tort reform under Paul Renner’s leadership in the House and Ron DeSantis. Florida has become competitive again! Hopefully, the governor and the senate can continue to override current House leadership’s attempt to repeal tort reform, which would reverse the current trend of decreasing rates.”
In Florida during 2022 and 2023, under the leadership of Governor DeSantis and Paul Renner in the state legislature, significant tort-reform measures were enacted targeting homeowner insurance litigation. These included the elimination of one-way attorney fees in property insurance disputes, an effective ban on post-loss Assignment of Benefits (AOB) for new property policies, tightened “bad faith” standards, and shortened claims-filing windows. According to Gen Re’s analysis of the 2022/23 legislation, these reforms aimed to curb escalating insurer costs driven by litigation abuse, reduce homeowner premiums, and stabilize Florida’s volatile insurance market.
State regulatory data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) indicate that for the 30-day average of requested homeowners rate changes, filings dropped to 1.6% in May 2024 compared with 7.6% a year earlier. This signals the first downward trend in rate requests since previous crisis years. The May 2024 market overview also reports that at least eight admitted companies filed actual rate decreases set to take effect in 2024—a significant shift in a market that had seen only increases for years.
According to an industry article from early April 2024 cited by Insurance Business, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved eight new insurers entering the homeowners market in Florida by that date. Several of these insurers are structured as reciprocal exchanges, including Ovation Home Insurance Exchange, Manatee Insurance Exchange, and Condo Owners Reciprocal Exchange—marking a clear increase in market entrants using the reciprocal model compared with prior years.
Caruso is not only President but also owner of Delray Beach Executive Suites, a provider of turnkey executive office space and virtual office services based in Florida. She incorporated the firm in March 2014 and serves as its registered agent and principal. Public records and news coverage highlight her involvement in local civic roles, including appointments by Florida’s governor to boards such as the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. Her business-policy focus includes small enterprise growth, real estate services, and regional workforce issues.
