Florida’s auto insurance rates are dropping — proof that legal reforms work | Opinion

Paul Renner, Miami HeraldMiami Herald

Auto insurance rates always seem to go up. But after more than a decade of steady increases, including some of the steepest hikes in the country, rates are finally declining in Florida. Recent filings show that major insurers are lowering auto premiums for Florida drivers, with some reductions topping 10%.

This is not a fluke. It is the direct result of legal reforms enacted in 2023 to end litigation abuse and bring stability back to the system. But it is not guaranteed to continue.

The state’s five largest insurers — Progressive, Allstate, GEICO, State Farm and USAA — are collectively cutting rates by an average of 6.5% this year. These companies cover close to 80% of Florida’s insured motorists. Yet just before our reforms, premiums spiked by 30% in the span of a single year. What changed?

In 2023, while I was speaker of the House, the Florida Legislature passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed comprehensive civil litigation reform targeting the root causes of out-of-control insurance costs: legal abuse. Florida’s system had become a magnet for excessive and often meritless lawsuits — not just in auto insurance, but also in the homeowner’s market.

The imbalance was striking. In 2019, Florida accounted for just 8% of all U.S. homeowners insurance claims, but an astounding 76% of all homeowners insurance litigation in the nation. Our litigation climate encouraged high-volume lawsuits, inflated settlements and, ultimately, higher costs for policyholders.

The same Wild West litigation rules drove up auto insurance rates. Our legal system was broken, incentivizing trial lawyers and bad faith actors to game the system at our expense.

Florida’s 2023 reforms brought that environment back into balance. We eliminated one-way attorney’s fees in most property and auto cases, reformed laws to require real grounds before lawsuits could proceed and introduced reasonable notice and transparency requirements. The Legislature changed the incentives, insurers responded and consumers are now the winners.

Some claim our reforms were a victory for insurers, but we also strengthened laws to hold insurers accountable to policyholders. The big winners are Florida consumers, who finally get some help to ease their cost of living. Our reforms are a case study in success that other states should follow.

Across the rest of the country, auto insurance continues to be one of the top drivers of inflation. The July 2025 Consumer Price Index shows that motor vehicle insurance increased nationally by 6.1% this past year, making it one of the largest contributors to core inflation.

While other states still struggle to contain insurance costs, Florida’s legislative reforms are reversing the trend in our state, proving that the price decline in Florida is the direct result of our bold reforms. We cannot go backward.

Some in the Legislature want to undo these reforms. Why? Because the reforms upset a lucrative political ecosystem. Florida’s pre-reform litigation culture gave trial lawyers a cash cow, a gravy train. They want to repeal reforms that put savings in consumers’ pockets so they can put those millions back in their own pockets.

Not surprisingly, they remain among the largest campaign contributors in our state. The effort to reverse course is not about protecting consumers. It’s about restoring a system that was profitable for a few and costly for everyone else.

Along with the governor and my colleagues, I was proud to lead the reform effort to make our courts fair for all concerned. The result is a measurable decline in premiums and the first signs of long-term cost relief for Floridians who need it.

It’s working. Let’s not let politics get in the way of continued progress.

Paul Renner was speaker of the House in Florida from 2022-2024. He is a former Republican state legislator from Palm Coast and was recently appointed to the state Board of Governors overseeing higher education.