Florida property insurance crisis: Why 1 expert says ‘more competitive rates’ may be on the horizon

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The property insurance crisis is one many Floridians are familiar with: insurers completely leaving the Sunshine State and high rates among those that stay. However, things may be turning around soon enough.

“Twelve companies have filed for rate decreases year-to-date, 24 others have filed for flat rates,” Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute said. “That means stabilizing rates.”

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Friedlander, who spoke with Action News Jax Wednesday about the current insurance market, explained this comes down to multiple factors. Those factors include major legislative change last year cracking down on legal system abuse and insurance claim fraud, as well as Citizens Property Insurance Corp. now awaiting state regulatory approval on a 14% premium price hike.

“Citizens [Insurance] has grown at a record pace. There are over 1.2 million customers today, the largest market share by far in the state, 18.5%,” Friedlander said. “You never want your backstop insurer to be your largest market.”

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Friedlander added that all of these changes, including Citizens rate increases -- which aim to increase market competition for private policies -- mean one thing for policyholders in the Sunshine State.

“More competition equals more competitive rates,” he said.

A spokesperson with Citizens Insurance also got back to Action News Jax, saying after their 14% rate increase recommendation, it now falls on the Office of Insurance Regulation to set the rates, which would go into effect on January 1 of the new year.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.