Florida has a homeowners insurance problem.
The state's hurricane risk has led to rising costs for homeowners, even after reforms passed by the Legislature.
That cost, along with other factors driving up home prices in the Sunshine State, has become a major issue in the Florida gubernatorial race.
Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly have outlined different approaches to reducing insurance premiums.
Donalds wants to preserve recent insurance reforms, reduce certain costs and refocus programs that help homeowners protect their properties against hurricanes. Jolly wants to restructure the insurance market by creating a state-backed catastrophe fund.
Donalds vs. Jolly Housing and Insurance Plans
Both candidates say homeowners insurance is a major affordability issue in Florida. But they differ on how much responsibility the state should assume for insuring homes against hurricanes.
Donalds' affordability plan focuses on maintaining Florida's existing insurance framework while making changes to regulation, mitigation programs and consumer transparency.
Jolly's housing affordability proposal would substantially change that framework. He wants a state-backed catastrophe insurance system to assume hurricane risks currently financed through private insurance and reinsurance arrangements.
| Who Is Affected? |
Byron Donalds' Proposals |
David Jolly's Proposals |
| Current homeowners |
Reduce certain insurance costs, increase insurer transparency and refocus storm mitigation grants on upgrades that cut premiums the most. |
Create a state-backed catastrophe fund intended to reduce hurricane-related insurance premiums. |
| Homeowners in hurricane-prone areas |
Refocus mitigation grants and preserve the existing private insurance framework. |
Move more hurricane risk into a publicly backed insurance structure. |
| Prospective homebuyers |
Lower insurance-related costs through regulatory changes and competition. |
Reduce the insurance component of homeownership costs through catastrophe financing reform. |
| Affordable housing |
Keep property taxes in check and cut permitting delays that raise rebuilding costs. |
Expand investment in workforce and affordable housing. |
Byron Donalds' Housing Affordability Proposals
Donalds' insurance plan focuses on reforming the existing market rather than replacing its underlying structure.
He wants to keep the insurance litigation changes the Florida Legislature enacted in recent years. Those reforms were intended to reduce litigation expenses and encourage additional private insurers to operate in the state.
Supporters of those reforms say they've helped stabilize the market. But homeowners insurance premiums also depend on hurricane losses, rebuilding costs and the price of reinsurance, none of which can be eliminated through litigation reform.
Donalds also wants to reform the My Safe Florida Home program so more of its grant money goes to the upgrades that lower premiums the most. The program helps qualifying homeowners pay for improvements that make properties more resistant to hurricane damage.
Eligible upgrades, including certain roof and wind-mitigation improvements, may qualify homeowners for insurance discounts. But the savings depend on the property, insurer and work completed.
His campaign also proposes an online insurance scorecard that would allow consumers to compare companies based on premiums, claim payment speed and claim denials.
Donalds wants to reduce certain state-related insurance charges when financially feasible and limit the size of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida's insurer of last resort.
Reducing Citizens' exposure could limit the financial risks associated with a large state-supported insurance portfolio. But moving homeowners to private insurers doesn't guarantee cheaper coverage, particularly in higher-risk coastal communities.
Donalds' proposals largely depend on improving the economics of the existing insurance market. Their success would depend on whether insurers can offer lower premiums while maintaining sufficient financial reserves to pay claims after major storms.
David Jolly's Housing Affordability Proposals
Jolly wants a complete restructuring of Florida's homeowners insurance system, with the state taking on hurricane risk.
His central proposal is a state-backed catastrophe fund that would cover hurricane and windstorm risks, while private insurers would continue covering other property damage.
He has also said the fund would let the state replace Citizens. That's a direct contrast with Donalds, who wants to keep Citizens small.
Jolly argues that moving more hurricane risk into a public system could substantially reduce premiums by limiting private insurance and reinsurance expenses.
His campaign has suggested potential premium reductions of 60% to 70%, although that estimate has not been established through an independent actuarial analysis of the proposed system.
Florida already operates a Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which provides reinsurance to participating property insurers. Jolly's proposal would expand the state's role beyond the existing structure by assuming more hurricane-related insurance risk directly.
Jolly has proposed seeding the fund with about $12 billion from the existing Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, redirecting a portion of state tourist-tax revenue, collecting taxes he says insurers currently avoid and capping the fees insurers pay their affiliates at about 20%.
But important details remain unresolved, including how premiums would be calculated, how the fund would accumulate reserves and what would happen if consecutive major hurricanes exhausted available resources.
Shifting hurricane coverage into a public system could reduce certain expenses, but it wouldn't eliminate the financial risk posed by storms. Any shortfall would require additional financing, assessments, government resources or changes to coverage.
Jolly also proposes increasing investment in affordable and workforce housing to expand the number of homes available to households struggling with housing costs.
Those programs would require funding and could take years to produce completed homes.
Can Either Candidate Actually Lower Florida Insurance Costs?
Both candidates would face substantial challenges implementing their proposals.
Florida's governor can influence insurance policy through executive appointments, agency oversight and proposed legislation. But major changes to insurance laws, state spending and catastrophe financing require approval from the Legislature.
Creating Jolly's proposed insurance structure would require detailed legislation establishing coverage requirements, financing mechanisms and responsibility for catastrophic losses.
Donalds' proposed mitigation changes and changes to state insurance charges would also need to account for legislative authority and available funding.
Florida's existing insurance market has several layers of financial protection, including private insurers, reinsurers, Citizens Property Insurance and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
Changing the responsibilities of those institutions could affect premiums, but it would also change how losses are distributed after major storms.
The distinction is consequential for homeowners.
Cheaper premiums would reduce monthly housing expenses, including the escrow payments many mortgage borrowers make toward their annual insurance bills. Lower expected insurance costs could also improve affordability for prospective buyers.
But neither candidate has demonstrated that their proposals would produce a specific, sustainable reduction in premiums for every Florida homeowner.
Hurricane exposure, construction expenses and the availability of private coverage would continue to affect the market regardless of who becomes governor.
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