FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2022
CONTACT: Logan Elizabeth Padgett
850-386-3131
JAMES MADISON INSTITUTE RELEASES NEW REPORT ON INSURANCE REFORM
TALLAHASSEE – Despite commonsense reforms enacted by the Florida Legislature over the last few years, Florida property insurance market remains on a downward spiral. Today, The James Madison Institute (JMI) has released a new report entitled “Road to Recovery: Clearing the Path to Meaningful Reforms in Florida’s Insurance Arena,” examining the rise in Florida’s insurance costs and detailing several recommendations on how to curtail this trend.
The report, written by Christian Cámara, a senior fellow at The James Madison Institute, outlines how insurance rate increases have stemmed from behavior by stakeholders exploiting vulnerabilities in the law, the meaningful steps the Florida Legislature has taken in recent years to combat the abuse, and how it can build upon those reforms to stabilize the insurance market and hopefully promote more investment, competition, and lower rates for consumers.
Underscoring the current issue is the fact that as of August 2022, Florida accounts for 80 percent of all insurance litigation nationwide, even though the state only accounts for 9 percent of all insurance claims filed. Only 8 percent of the $15 billion in insurance payouts since 2013 went to Florida policyholders and 92 percent to lawyers and other legal expenses. Lawmakers must take to tackle Florida’s current property insurance problems.
“While the Florida legislature has enacted several reforms over the years, challenges continue to plague Florida’s insurance market. These are problems that can be addressed through policy that gets at the root causes driving premiums skyward. It is our hope that JMI’s efforts over the years, and continued in this policy study, ultimately result in reforms that not only provide relief to policyholders, but also remedy the fraudulent litigation environment plaguing the Sunshine State.” – Sal Nuzzo, Vice President of Policy, The James Madison Institute
“Despite the efforts of policymakers over the past several years, Florida’s property insurance market continues its downward spiral and is hurting millions of residents. Indeed, lawmakers deserve credit for addressing abuses that have plagued the state’s insurance system and driven up rates. However, delays in enacting such reforms have allowed the situation to degrade further to a place where massive losses even in hurricane-free years are forcing insurers to reduce coverage, withdraw from Florida, or go insolvent altogether. The Governor’s call for a special session gives lawmakers a golden opportunity to tackle the root cause of these problems: litigation run amok incentivized by laws that reward attorneys with exorbitant fees for filing unnecessary lawsuits. The Legislature must take meaningful steps this session to eliminate those incentives and shore-up the market to buy enough time for their reforms to have a positive impact. Quite simply, Florida residents and small businesses cannot afford the cost of additional delays.”– Christian Cámara, Senior Fellow, The James Madison Institute
To read the report “Road to Recovery: Clearing the Path to Meaningful Reforms in Florida’s Insurance Arena,” click here.
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The James Madison Institute is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the ideals of limited government, economic freedom, federalism and individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility. The institute conducts research on such issues as criminal justice, health care, taxes and regulatory environments.
