The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates®

While increasingly hostile weather has played a role in growing annual catastrophe losses that now average $132 billion globally, it’s actually non-hazard factors such as oil prices, construction materials, and labor costs that account for 80-90% of the cost.  That’s the surprising research finding from global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re.  The lines between “primary” and “secondary” perils als...

New guidance from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is reshaping the intersection of mortgage lending and property insurance − introducing greater flexibility that could significantly impact housing affordability and insurance availability in Florida and nationwide. Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sits down with leaders from the real estate and insurance industries to break down...

The Florida Board of Professional Engineers has drafted proposed rules to govern how engineers write formal damage evaluation reports, often used in insurance claims lawsuits.  The rules were prompted by an influx of new complaints and mounting frustration about questionable engineering reports and testimony on behalf of plaintiffs – typically involving roof damage. Former Florida Deputy Insurance...

Lisa Miller has the tables turned on her in this podcast where she’s the guest, in this originally-aired episode of the InsuredMine podcast with CEO and host Raution Jaiswal.  The former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner discusses her career and the evolving insurance landscape – both here in Florida and nationally – and how to decode it.  The discussion covers litigation reforms, market stabi...

A new report from Verisk predicts a “new reality” in future natural catastrophes, with unprecedented global losses to exceed $152 billion annually.  It’s being driven by “frequency perils” − frequent events, such as daily afternoon summer storms and hurricanes, that are driving high-impact losses. Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sits down with a Verisk modeler and a Florid...

An article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that Florida’s property insurance market is inherently flawed and financially shaky, under the review of a smaller ratings company.  It cites the 12 insurance company insolvencies between 2019 and 2023 in a market painted as over-reliant on reinsurance.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sits down with Demotech President & C...

Nine months after hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida, new insurance claims data is revealing the growing amount of damage not covered by insurance.  Of the more than half a million combined claims filed so far, 56% of Helene residential claims were closed without payment and about 43% of Milton residential claims.  A closer look shows the majority were uninsured or underinsured. Former Fl...

A multi-bill effort led by attorney lawmakers in the Florida House of Representatives would roll-back many property insurance litigation reforms passed in the 2022-2023 legislative session.  Those reforms are reminiscent of the Workers’ Compensation insurance reforms passed in the early 2000’s that today has Florida boasting one of the lowest workers’ comp rates in the country.  Former Florida Dep...

A sensational newspaper article alleging bad deeds by Florida insurance companies is prompting the Florida House of Representatives to look into the relationship between companies and their Managing General Agents (MGAs) and affiliated companies.  The Tampa Bay Times reported the companies diverted billions of dollars to affiliates while claiming to lose money from hurricanes, based on the newspap...

One of the elements credited in the evolving success of Florida’s recent property insurance reforms is data collection and reporting.  Property insurance companies are required to provide regulators with specific data on litigated claims.  The number of lawsuits decreased significantly in 2024 as a result and with it, upward pressure on homeowners insurance rates.  Now there’s a push to implement...

Amid accusations that Florida’s property insurance companies, including state-backed Citizens Insurance, are deliberately paying only half their claims and “in a state of collapse,” comes new insight and fresh data that debunk the charges.  The man behind the allegations is Martin Weiss of Weiss Ratings, who’s now the subject of an investigation by state insurance regulators. Former Florida Deputy...

Why were some homes in Hurricanes Helene and Milton heavily damaged while others sustained little or no damage?  Much of the answer lies with the building materials and techniques used in their construction.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller talks with a building science researcher, a building products manufacturer, and a developer whose homes survived unscathed from the hu...

What’s going on with property insurance in Florida?  Specifically rates, coverage, condominiums, automobile insurance, telematics, flood insurance, and the reinsurance costs that carriers pass along to consumers.   Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller gets to the heart of the issues with three experienced insurance agents in South, Central, and North Florida who share their ins...

High-risk flood zones are expanding this year along significant stretches of Florida’s coastline.  In Broward County, nearly 90,000 properties have been moved into a FEMA flood zone.  But 80,000 of them were in such a zone prior to ten years ago, when FEMA moved them out – only to add them back in this year.  Many will now have to purchase flood insurance. Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissio...

A new working paper from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that for every dollar spent to elevate or buy-out a flooded home, $2.69 would be saved in future costs over the next 30 years.  Of the 1.3 million projects the paper identifies, roughly 138,000 would see a greater savings of $6 dollars.  Total savings would amount to $519 billion in future damage if governments and homeowners toget...

A new report claims that Florida's property insurance market is full of “low quality insurers,” especially those Florida-based companies that write the bulk of the 7.5 million homeowners and condo insurance policies.  It casts aspersions on Demotech, the rating agency that reviews their financial stability. Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sat down with Demotech President J...

How will the insurance bills that passed in the recently completed 2024 Florida legislative session compliment past marketplace reforms?   Is a property insurance market marred by carrier insolvencies in recent years and ongoing double-digit rate increases starting to stabilize?  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller talks with two legislators about the new laws expected to impa...

Ray Shelton, Ph. D. is a nationally-known expert on stress and the impacts it has on frontline personnel in disasters and other crises.  He is a Fellow and the Director of Professional Development for The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, in Miller Place, New York.  He’s seen tragedy first-hand over 35 years serving with the Nassau County, New York Police department, including the T...

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are getting closer to providing insurance companies with a new underwriting tool to combat fraud: the ability to review meeting minutes and other public documents from homeowners and condominium associations, whose communities are home to nearly half of Florida’s 22.3 million residents. Several Florida associations have been accused of...

Media coverage has intensified over an allegation by three independent insurance adjusters that Florida property insurance companies are cheating their policyholders out of rightful claim payouts.  The three accuse the industry of altering their field adjuster reports and reducing claim payouts – all without their knowledge or approval.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sat...

An interim report submitted to the Florida Building Commission says that Southwest Florida coastal communities impacted by last September’s Hurricane Ian were “ill-prepared” for the storm surge and flooding, despite lessons on wind mitigation learned from Hurricane Charley 18 years earlier.  Ian was the costliest storm in Florida history, killing 156 people and causing an estimated $109.5 billion...

The December 2022 property insurance market reforms passed by the Florida Legislature are making a big difference already, with fewer and less severe non-hurricane claims and fewer daily lawsuits, according to a major Florida insurance company.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller talks with Stacey Giulianti of Florida Peninsula Insurance Company on how the reforms have levele...

Florida property insurance companies, their policyholders, and repair contractors are starting the New Year with a new law designed to reform an out-of-control marketplace.  The Florida Legislature in December passed comprehensive measures to stem high insurance and reinsurance rates, carrier insolvencies, inflated claims, excessive litigation, and an overly-competitive residual market. Former Flo...

The Florida Legislature is meeting in special session the week of December 12 to address two issues vital to Florida’s economy: disaster relief for Hurricane Ian victims and further insurance consumer protections for homeowners across the state.  Property insurance and reinsurance rates have grown by 100% or more in the past three years, yet insurance companies’ losses continue, with six carriers...

Most damage from Hurricane Ian appears to be from flooding, rather than wind, and thus won’t be covered under most Florida homeowners insurance policies.  Insurance adjusters face a challenging job now determining whether it was wind or water or both that damaged a home, and in some cases in what order, for hundreds of thousands of properties across Florida. Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commiss...