TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the first time in more than a decade, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer of last resort, is proposing a 2.6% statewide average rate decrease, a move insurance experts say signals growing stability after years of soaring costs.
RELATED: Citizens Insurance no longer Florida’s largest property insurer after major policy drop
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Florida’s troubled property insurance market may be turning a corner.
“This market has turned the corner,” Mark Friedlander said, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute. “It’s now considered one of the most stable insurance environments in the country.”
Just three years ago, Florida led the nation in homeowners’ insurance rate increases. Excessive litigation and legal system abuse drove premiums sharply higher, Friedlander said.
At the center of the problem was a state law that allowed one-way attorney fees, encouraging lawsuits against insurers.
“Florida had almost 100,000 lawsuits annually — roughly 80% of all U.S. property claim lawsuits,” Friedlander said.
Lawmakers later overhauled the state’s property insurance laws, tightening deadlines for filing claims and limiting litigation. Those changes, combined with quieter hurricane seasons and lower reinsurance costs, helped stabilize the market.
Citizens has also reduced its footprint through its depopulation program, transferring hundreds of thousands of policies to private insurers. The company’s policy count has dropped from about 1.4 million to roughly 546,000.
The proposed rate cut could have ripple effects beyond Citizens policyholders.
Sean Way, owner of Sunsera Insurance Agency, said increased competition is already driving prices down across the market.
“New carriers coming into Florida are creating competition,” Way said. “Everybody wants to grow, and rates are trending downward.”
Way said homeowners should consider shopping around, noting he recently helped a homeowner with a 1998-built house cut their premium nearly in half by switching carriers.
Insurance experts caution savings will vary based on location, home age and risk factors, but say conditions are improving.
If approved, the new Citizens rates would take effect June 1, 2026. Putnam and Baker counties are expected to see some of the largest rate reductions in North Florida.