Veteran Lawmaker Says Stay the Course on Reforms
Former state Senator Jeff Brandes wrote last week in the Tampa Bay Times that the state must stay the course on its 2022 insurance reforms. During his time in the Senate, Senator Brandes was an advocate for laws designed to foster a stable, competitive property insurance market. In a recent Tampa Bay Times opinion, he reminded readers that just a few short years ago, the Florida property insurance market was on the verge of collapse. Homeowners faced skyrocketing premiums, insurers were facing financial pressure and reducing writings, and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation was growing at an unsustainable pace. Senator Brandes pointed out the problem wasn’t hurricanes or bad luck—it was a broken legal system that incentivized fraud and endless lawsuits, threatening homeownership and the broader economy.
According to Senator Brandes, the legislature had “a rare moment of political clarity” between 2019 and 2022 when it enacted several reforms. The result is clear in Brandes’ eyes (and through objective metrics)– the insurance market began to recover. He notes, however, that some lawmakers want to turn back the clock by undoing some of the reforms. Brandes says this would be a grave mistake. He points to California as a state currently facing the consequences of an overregulated and suppressed market. Due to measures such as prohibiting predictive risk modeling and extended rate review processes, Brandes indicates insurers are leaving the California market. Meanwhile, its residual market is growing and creating potential burdens that market is not designed to handle. We are not far removed from this type of negative spiral in the Florida market.
Brandes notes there’s a difference between consumer protection and policies that cause a collapse of the insurance system. When a state pursues policies that ignore economic realities, the insurance system can’t work. Brandes says if lawmakers seeking to reverse the reforms succeed, Florida will be right back where it started. Brandes concludes, “The state must avoid overregulation that drives insurers out and forces homeowners into state-backed coverage. A thriving market requires competition, stability, and predictability, not artificial price controls that distort incentives.” In sum, “The reforms are working. The system is stabilizing. The momentum is real. The worst thing Florida could do now is throw it all away.”