Why so many insurance companies are dropping Florida homeowners

ORLANDO, Fla. - Although the peak of hurricane season is over a month away, homeowners struggle with their insurance.

Floridians are receiving notices left and right that their homeowner’s insurance is suddenly unaffordable — or worse, they’re being dropped altogether.

There’s no question about whether it’s happening; the question now is why.

FOX 35 News posed that question to Jonathan Rivera, the Vice President of Risk Management and Insurance for Ballatore Insurance Group in Orlando.

"As painful as it may be for homeowners, it's a business decision to essentially say, ‘Hey, like, we're just going to pull out altogether because even if we charge more, we're going to lose money,’" Rivera explained.

He isn’t immune to this. His property insurance went up 50% in January.

Meanwhile, the Insurance Information Institute says insurers have lost money in Florida for eight years straight.

"Florida is more prone to hurricane loss than any other state in the country," said Rivera.

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However, he explained, it isn’t just hurricanes that cause problems; even our day-to-day summer storms can lead to insurance claims.

And we Floridians are a notoriously litigious bunch.

"Florida accounts for roughly 75 to 80% of all homeowners’ litigation in the entire country," said Rivera. "I don't think it's any secret that some folks in Florida can be sue-happy."

The Insurance Information Institute says the average cost of home insurance in Florida went up 102% between 2020 and 2023. Forty-two percent of that increase was between 2022 and 2023 alone.

That trend is expected to continue this year.

There is some good news, though. New legislation in the past couple of years has brought more insurance companies into the mix, capped the amount companies can raise rates, and should cut down on the number of lawsuits filed.

Rivera advises shopping around for better rates every few years and never ignoring regular maintenance. Ensure you’re changing your air filters and cleaning out your gutters so you don’t have to file a claim for damage you could have avoided.