Florida’s Governor isn’t fretting about insurance impacts from what looks likely to be Hurricane Helene.
The state market is in good shape, Gov. Ron DeSantis said in Tallahassee. And he added that new construction has held up well during storms.
“Well, we had a major last year with Idalia. It was a Category 3, close to Category 4. And in 2024 so far, I think we’ve had 57 companies file either no increases or reduction in rates. That is not happening in very many states around this country,” the Governor said while briefing reporters on storm impacts.
“You have people that are actually increasing their exposure in the state of Florida. And I think part of it is obviously we had to do some reforms a year and a half ago that put us more in line with how these markets function in other states, and I think that’s attractive.”
Ahead of the storm season in May, the Office of Insurance Regulation reassured people of what Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky called a “strengthened and reliable insurance market for policyholders.”
That said, polling last year found Floridians saying their rates were going up, even as outgoing Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said earlier this year that people are actually paying less year over year, with an average premium currently of $3,600.
Questions did not surface Tuesday about Florida’s insurer of last resort, which may have been a positive for the Governor’s Office given previous messaging.
DeSantis has warned about Citizens’ bloat in the past. He noted in 2022 that Citizens Property Insurance was “unfortunately undercapitalized” and that the company could go “belly up” if it had to weather a significant storm.
The Governor also made news last year when he suggested that homeowners should “knock on wood” and hope the state didn’t get hit by a hurricane.
One reason for the Governor’s confidence seems to be new construction’s increased prevalence, he said Tuesday.
“I think we’re going to be fine on this stuff,” DeSantis told reporters, though there are caveats.
“The building code has really, I think, worked. I think most of the damage that we’ve seen in recent storms have been with construction that’s been a little bit older on the wind. Now, on the water, when you have the surge and the storm surge, I mean, I know people build the homes up and they build buildings up higher, maybe, than they used to, but the water is something that could be difficult.”
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