Portrait of Ron DeSantis
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Ron DeSantis on Home Insurance

Enacting rate relief and reforms (strong)

TL;DR

Ron DeSantis has strongly promoted legislative reforms aimed at providing significant insurance rate relief for Florida homeowners.

Key Points

  • He announced major statewide insurance rate relief for homeowners, with reductions expected for Citizens Property Insurance policyholders beginning in Spring 2026.

  • He signed legislation, including HB 837 in March 2023, that reformed tort laws by eliminating one-way attorney fees, a change intended to reduce insurer legal costs.

  • Legislation signed in April 2024, such as SB 7028, allocated additional funding to the My Safe Florida Home Program to incentivize home-hardening improvements.

Summary

Ron DeSantis has advocated for comprehensive legislative changes intended to stabilize Florida's volatile home insurance market and deliver premium reductions for consumers. He has announced major statewide insurance rate relief, particularly for policyholders of the state-backed insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance, citing ongoing stabilization due to prior reforms. A key element of his strategy involves tort reform measures enacted in 2022 and 2023, which targeted frivolous lawsuits and the elimination of one-way attorney fees, changes he claims are responsible for forcing rate decreases from insurers. He also championed the expansion of the My Safe Florida Home Program, which offers grants to homeowners for fortifying properties against storm damage to earn premium discounts.

These actions are framed as a necessary defense against a near-collapse of the insurance market that occurred prior to his administration, where average premiums tripled the national average. However, critics suggest that significant industry handouts, such as a $2 billion taxpayer-funded reinsurance fund signed into law during a 2022 special session, benefit insurance corporations more than consumers. Despite the announced rate decreases, Floridians have endured years of substantial rate hikes, leading some to forgo coverage entirely, though recent data points to 17 new insurers entering the market as a positive implication of the reforms.

Key Quotes

Floridians are seeing rate reductions in both auto and homeowners insurance across the state, with additional relief coming soon

Nationwide, this is still all going up. We're probably the only state in the country where you're seeing decreases

Frequently Asked Questions

Ron DeSantis strongly supports ongoing legislative reforms designed to lower soaring home insurance premiums for Florida residents. His position centers on reducing litigation abuse and encouraging market competition through measures like tort reform and home hardening grants. He frequently announces positive developments, such as recent rate decrease filings, as evidence these efforts are succeeding.

The available information suggests his position has remained consistent, focusing on systemic reforms to address high rates, which began with actions in 2022 and 2023. His administration continues to promote these reforms, claiming success as insurers file for rate reductions following the legislative changes. There is no indication of a shift away from this reform-based approach.

Ron DeSantis announced that Floridians are seeing rate reductions in both auto and homeowners insurance across the state, calling the Citizens Insurance rate reductions the most significant in recent memory. He credited these positive results directly to the historic tort reforms driven by his leadership. The relief is linked to stabilizing the market after enacting significant legal changes.

Sources6

* This is not an exhaustive list of sources.