Most homeowners still see insurance hikes

 insurance hikes But some costs are lower for certain policyholders About those home insurance rate decreases that Florida lawmakers and insurance executives have been crowing about for nearly a year: Data released by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation shows costs for all-perils coverage of single family homes are continuing to increase for a majority of policyholders in the state. In fact, among customers of the 90 residential property insurers regulated by the state, two-thirds were insured by companies that posted average premium increases between January and May, while only a third were insured by companies that posted decreases. Companies with average cost reductions served 1.37 million homeowners while companies with increased average costs insured 2.77 million customers. While rate reductions and newly entering companies have produced competition and lower costs for some, the latest data shows a majority of homeowners must still wait to see relief from annual cost hikes that have burdened the state for nearly a decade. The South Florida Sun Sentinel recently asked subscribers of its Facebook account to report whether their costs went up or down the last time they renewed. Of 16 who responded, only one reported a decrease, and he said he had to switch companies to get it. Among those who reported increases, Edwin Copeland, a Fort Lauderdale resident, called homeowner insurance “a total scam.” He wrote that his cost increased despite the fact that “I have every discount possible and never filed a claim.” Lana Leigh Rose, who lives in Ormond Beach, said her insurance increased to $6,100 a year. It’s a 1959 mid century cement block bungalow that she purchased eight years ago. She said she has filed “no claims ever, (I’m) located in a non-flood zone with a total roof replacement in 2017.” Over the five months, average premiums declined for 19 of the 90 home insurance companies regulated by the state, according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis of Residential Market Share Reports that the office this year began releasing on a monthly, in addition to quarterly, basis. Those declines ranged from 16% to 0.07%, and were below 2.4% for 15 of the 19 companies. But those companies include one of Florida’s largest — state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which saw its average premium cost decline by 1.7% during the first five months of 2025, the data shows. Citizens’ population also declined sharply over the five months, from 449,948 to 357,460, due primarily to the company’s aggressive effort to encourage private market insurers to depopulate the so-called insurer of last resort https://enewspaper.sun-sentinel.com/shortcode/SUN315/edition/1730ab8f-fa71-4b5a-a27d-a3d75fc8c1c6?page=7149574e-8124-43c2-8fd2-104999b118f3&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trib-sun_sentinel-eNotify_am-nl&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fenewspaper.sun-sentinel.com%2Fshortcode%2FSUN315%2Fedition%2F1730ab8f-fa71-4b5a-a27d-a3d75fc8c1c6&utm_content=eNotify