Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that recent tort and insurance reforms are reducing home and auto insurance rates, curbing litigation, and attracting more private insurers to the state’s market. This statement was made in a press release.
“Florida’s insurance market is stabilizing with decreasing auto and home insurance rates, and frivolous litigation is declining,” said Ronald Dion Desantis, Governor of Florida. “Florida’s insurance market continues to see great stability and the strong underwriting gains in the auto market is just the latest sign of success since Florida’s historic tort reforms. Since the passage of historic reforms, Florida’s property insurance market has experienced record growth and stability.”
According to legislative analysis, recent reforms in Florida targeting tort law and insurance in the property and auto sectors have begun to impact the market noticeably. The passage of Senate Bill 2-A in December 2022 and House Bill 837 in March 2023 limited one-way attorney fees, cut the statute of limitations on negligence claims, and barred assignment of benefits in new policies. Regulatory and industry reports now indicate reduced litigation, increased insurer entry, and rate stabilization in property and auto insurance.
Average premiums and carrier participation in Florida’s insurance markets reflect early signs of recovery. The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation reported a policy count of 777,592 as of June 20, 2025, a drop of 44.9% from its October 2023 peak of about 1.41 million policies, with exposure shrinking from $520.1 billion to $295.1 billion over that time. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported that in 2024 Florida had the lowest average homeowners’ rate increase in the nation at 1%, while twelve new companies entered the Florida market, with many carriers filing for rate decreases.
Litigation volume in the Florida insurance sector has been declining concomitant with policy shifts away from the state-run insurer. According to the July 2025 “Property Insurance Stability Report” from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the percentage of homeowners’ insurance claims and suits opened in Florida dropped from peaks in 2017 (claims ~16.46% and suits ~68.07% of national share) to lower levels in 2021 (~6.91% of claims and ~76.00% of suits). The Citizens CEO also reported that litigation rates at Citizens fell from 18.6% in 2018 to 10.6% in 2024, with pending lawsuits declining from 20,958 in 2022 to 12,622 as of June 2025.
DeSantis has prioritized insurance and tort-reform policy as part of his administration’s agenda since assuming office as governor after serving as a U.S. Representative for Florida’s sixth district from 2013 to 2018.
