An article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that Florida’s property insurance market is inherently flawed and financially shaky, under the review of a smaller ratings company. It cites the 12 insurance company insolvencies between 2019 and 2023 in a market painted as over-reliant on reinsurance.

Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sits down with Demotech President & CEO Joe Petrelli and former Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty to explain the unique nature of Florida’s market, how financial ratings of insurance companies are formulated, the critical role of reinsurance, the confusion between rate and premium, and the real reasons behind those insolvencies.

Show Notes (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-59-how-secure-is-floridas-property-insurance-market/)

Host Miller discussed the evolution of Florida's property insurance market following 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, highlighting the departure of large insurers and the rise of smaller, regional companies that still make up most of today’s market. Miller, an employee of the then Department of Insurance, said “large legacy insurance companies left our state altogether, saying the risk exposure was just too great. Likewise, after 2017’s Hurricane Irma, other companies stopped writing new policies.”

Florida’s Unique Market
Miller noted that the state’s property insurance market has adapted over the ensuing 33 years to continue to provide needed insurance “for what's become one of the riskiest places on earth to insure. It has unique challenges that have prompted innovative solutions.” One of those solutions was Demotech, a Columbus, Ohio-based actuarial firm that provided ratings for Florida’s new regional companies when other ratings companies would not.

Demotech’s Role
Demotech President Joe Petrelli said its specialty in reviewing and assigning Financial Stability Ratings (FSRs) for independent regional carriers was born of the need of federal mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 1988, who together own or insure a substantial number of home mortgages nationwide. They vetted Demotech’s ratings methodology and today, the firm provides FSRs for most of the 55 Florida based property insurance companies, including some of the recent 14 carriers who’ve entered the market since the Florida Legislature’s 2022-2023 litigation and consumer protection reforms. Now in its 40th year, Demotech rates insurance companies across the nation that write billions of dollars of premiums.

“We look at carriers independent of their size. We look at them based on their business model, the execution of that business model, and the complementary nature of their reinsurance program,” said Petrelli. “So I think that's what makes us unique. I think when we look at catastrophe prone areas, whether it's wind, fire, tornado, hail, earthquake, what we're looking at is, does your reinsurance program give you the claims paying ability that you need?” (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-59-how-secure-is-floridas-property-insurance-market/)

Nine months after hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida, new insurance claims data is revealing the growing amount of damage not covered by insurance. Of the more than half a million combined claims filed so far, 56% of Helene residential claims were closed without payment and about 43% of Milton residential claims. A closer look shows the majority were uninsured or underinsured.

Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sat down with the heads of an insurance agency and a claims adjusting firm to find out why this is happening, how to determine proper coverage this hurricane season, and improvements in claims processes and technology.

Show Notes (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-58-the-17-reasons-your-florida-claim-wasnt-paid/)

When hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through Florida, they left more than just physical devastation in their wake − they exposed critical gaps in homeowners’ understanding of natural risk and insurance coverage, especially regarding flood protection. In this podcast, host Lisa Miller talked with two industry veterans − Lee Wiglesworth, President of Wiglesworth-Rindom Insurance Agency in Stuart, Florida, and Fraser Hudson, CEO of Lozano Insurance Adjusters of St. Petersburg − to dissect the data, debunk common myths, and offer actionable advice for insurance agents and Florida policyholders facing the daunting world of insurance claims. From claims to coverage, they discussed what every Florida property owner must know after hurricanes Helene and Milton. The podcast also provides a deep dive into Florida’s insurance landscape.

Reasons for Uninsured/Underinsured Properties

Hurricane Helene and Milton Florida insurance claims now total $7.3 billion with more than 90% of claims closed, according to the Florida of Insurance Regulation (OIR), in its June 10, 2025 claims update, the first since November 2024, just weeks after the storms’ landfalls. More than a half a million claims (519,689) have been filed across all insurance lines. On homeowners claims, the data shows that 56% of Helene residential claims have been closed without payment and about 43% of Milton residential claims. The majority of those unpaid claims were flood damage not covered under a homeowners policy or the damage was below the policy deductible, per the table below. (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-58-the-17-reasons-your-florida-claim-wasnt-paid/)

A multi-bill effort led by attorney lawmakers in the Florida House of Representatives would roll-back many property insurance litigation reforms passed in the 2022-2023 legislative session. Those reforms are reminiscent of the Workers’ Compensation insurance reforms passed in the early 2000’s that today has Florida boasting one of the lowest workers’ comp rates in the country.

Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller talks with Jon Shebel, former President & CEO of Associated Industries of Florida who led the workers’ comp efforts. Shebel draws direct comparisons between both reform efforts, argues that the proposed bills this session don’t help consumers, and urges the legislature to listen to the data, as it did with workers’ comp, that shows property insurance reforms are working to reduce homeowners insurance rates.

Show Notes (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-57-floridas-property-insurance-reforms-lessons-learned-from-workers-comp/)

Jon Shebel recounts his role in Florida’s 2003-2005 workers' compensation reforms, which capped attorney fees and streamlined claims, reducing rates from the highest to among the lowest in the U.S. Florida’s rates have dropped for the eighth consecutive year.

“The biggest issue was litigation,” explained Shebel, on the reason for high workers’ comp insurance rates. “Plaintiff attorneys had free rein to convince injured workers to sue their employers, often leading to drawn-out cases that weren’t necessarily in the workers’ best interest. There were cases where legal fees ended up costing more than the actual medical treatment and benefits for the injured worker.”

Shebel said that very same incentive to sue contributed to Florida having the highest property insurance rates in the country between 2017 and 2023. By 2021, Florida had 8% of all homeowners’ claims in the U.S., yet 76% of all homeowners’ claims lawsuits, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Likewise, a 2021 report titled Florida’s P&C Insurance Market is Spiraling Toward Collapse revealed that “Of the $15 billion spent on litigated claims since 2015, only 8% was paid to policyholders. Plaintiff attorneys got 71% with the remaining 21% spent by insurance companies on defense attorneys.”

Shebel said Florida’s property insurance reforms took a lesson from its workers’ compensation insurance reforms 20 years earlier.

“Our strategy in workers’ comp was to address the root cause, plaintiff attorney involvement. The main provisions included capping attorney fees, streamlining the claims process, and implementing stricter guidelines to prevent unnecessary lawsuits. This not only reduced legal costs but also ensured that injured workers got the benefits they needed faster, without the delays that litigation often caused,” Shebel said. All.... (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-57-floridas-property-insurance-reforms-lessons-learned-from-workers-comp/)