Editorial: Secrecy shrouds property insurance in Florida

Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando SentinelOrlando Sentinel

There’s been a distinct trend in Florida’s property insurance market, one that’s been abetted by the complacency of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Legislature.

It goes like this: Pay more. Get less.

Rates have been steadily climbing, with some property owners seeing their premiums rise by 40% or more in a single year. Meanwhile, insurers have become increasingly aggressive about rejecting claims. Some of that growth is probably due to Florida’s increasing vulnerability to big storms and flooding as a result of climate change — and it would be a great public benefit to see insurance companies’ open, honest calculations of the losses the state could face as the weather grows less predictable and oceans rise. We suspect they would be a potent antidote to climate-change deniers — and a boon to policy holders who used to see their insurance policies as safeguards against catastrophic losses, but now fear filing claims because their bills might rise again.

But as the Sun Sentinel’s Ron Hurtibise discovered, there is very little that can be described as honest or open about the way state regulators and insurance companies interact. Hurtibise detailed some ways that insurance companies keep payouts low and premiums high. But much of the details are shrouded behind a wall labeled “trade secrets.” This stymies Floridians who want to know if they are being treated fairly, or if state regulators are pursuing potential violations with appropriate vigor.

Killing consumer rights

There’s reason to be doubtful. For years, insurance companies demanded that lawmakers strip away vital protections, saying that rampant fraud and abusive litigation had killed their financial solvency. In 2020 and 2021, legislators did just that — passing legislation that reduced the amount of time policyholders had to file claims, lowered the amount of compensation they could receive for catastrophic losses like roof damage, and forced policy owners to pay their own attorneys’ fees, reducing the time property owners had to file claims.

How did those work out?

When Hurricane Michael buzzsawed its way across the Florida Panhandle in 2018, flattening the tourist town of Mexico Beach and causing about $18.3 billion in damages, roughly 150,000 insurance claims were filed. About 13% of them were completely denied, according to data compiled by the state.

In 2022— after laws that stripped major protections away from consumers — Hurricane Ian left $113 billion in destruction. More than 560,000 claims were filed as of March 2025. Of those, 157,445 were denied. That’s 28%.

The next year, 41% of claims resulting from Hurricane Idalia were denied. That storm caused total property damages of $98 million.

In late 2024, it was a double whammy — Helene, followed closely by Milton. The denial rate for both storms was around 38%.

Editorial: Property insurance should be a priority for lawmakers

Meanwhile, Floridian property owners were gasping as they watched their insurance rates skyrocket.

Pay more. Get less. But these reforms were necessary to save the solvency of Florida’s insurance market, state leaders said.

The hidden truth

Only not so much. Turns out that while insurance companies were making their case to legislators — with the silent acquiescence of the Office of Insurance Regulation, they were sitting on some relevant details — such as the fact that they were funnelling billions of dollars to out-of-state affiliates. The OIR had at least some knowledge of the shell game that was going on — as evidenced by a 2022 report that detailed some excesses. But regulators sat on that information until March 2025, when it was released after two years of pressure from the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.

The release of the report drew harsh condemnation from House and Senate leaders at the time. That passion cooled rapidly. This year, Senate President Ben Albritton announced that no significant property insurance legislation would be considered, saying he wanted to give the anti-consumer legislation passed in 2021 and 2022 more time to work.

But when Floridians look at the rising rate of claim denials, the skyrocketing bills and their own diminished rights, there’s only one logical conclusion: These changes are working exactly as planned — in favor of insurance companies and their armies of lobbyists, and against Floridian businesses and homeowners.

And it’s all fueled by secrecy — which permeates the insurance industry from the top all the way down to individual claims. In other states, Hurtibise reported, policy holders whose claims are denied or underpaid have the right to see the documents and estimates backing that decision. In Florida no such right exists — most relevant information is shrouded under the cover of “trade secrets.”

Occasionally, a bit of truth will pierce that cover — such as a September investigation that found eight companies responsible for significant violations of state law that might have resulted in consumers being overcharged, or claims denied. But the only result was a combined fine of $2.1 million — a pittance compared to the profits insurance companies have been funneling out of state. Tellingly, insurers were not ordered to compensate the policy holders.

How could the state fix this mess? With significant, relevant information about the real state of Florida’s insurance industry blacked out, it’s difficult to say. But any road to a sustainable system starts with transparency.

That’s why the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel will be focusing on the sorry state of the state’s insurance market this year — including an earnest attempt to discover the rationale behind the ever-rising premiums and the rate at which insurance claims are denied. If Florida’s property insurance market doesn’t right itself — with rates coming down significantly, and claims being handled more responsibly and fairly — this state’s entire economy is threatened. Florida’s elected leaders have been warned about this, time and again. But this time the threat is imminent, and they must act.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use [email protected] to contact us.