Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports:
Florida has the highest property insurance premiums in the country, but the state’s insurance commissioner says he does not support capping rate increases. Over the last couple weeks, Commissioner Michael Yaworsky talked about the cost of insurance with lawmakers in Tallahassee.
On average, Floridians pay $6,000 a year for property insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute. That’s three times more than the rest of the country.
“We’ve all seen rate increases take place,” said Yaworsky, who is in charge of approving or denying premium hikes in the Sunshine State. “We’ve approved rate increases on ourselves.” Yaworsky said big, national carriers are expressing a renewed interest in Florida.
NewsNation reports:
Floridians are facing home insurance sticker shock, with some annual policies now costing six figures. James Molinari, who owns a four-bedroom home in West Palm Beach, told the Wall Street Journal the new rate for his homeowners insurance came in around $121,000 — seven times more than the year before.
Molinari found a better price from another insurer for $33,000 but ultimately decided to put the home up for sale. Others in the community told WSJ they made a similar decision due to the cost of insurance. Elsewhere in the state, Florida’s ultra-wealthy are paying upwards of $620,000 for homeowners insurance, Bloomberg reported last month.
As previously reported here, multiple major carriers have left the Florida market over the last couple of years. In July, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis blamed the property insurance crisis on “wokeness,” calling Farmers Insurance “the Bud Light of insurance.” Yes, really.
Florida has the highest property insurance premiums in the country, but the state’s insurance commissioner says he does not support capping rate increases. #DeSaster #DeSantisDestroysFlorida https://t.co/x9UwhEY0JX
— Lesley Abravanel 🪩 (@lesleyabravanel) October 20, 2023
