Lighthouse Property Insurance Announced a Stop to New Policies in Florida

Homeowners insurance in Florida has been an issue for a number of years as insurance companies continues to raise premiums, drop customers or pull of the state entirely. While lawmakers have made an effort to get rates under control, so far, they have been unsuccessful. However, lawmakers are again making an effort to bring the cost of insuring your home in Florida.

Recently, Lighthouse Property Insurance announced they will stop writing new policies in the state of Florida. The change is going into effect at the end of February 2022. The announcement from Lighthouse got the attention of lawmakers as it is impacting millions of Floridians. 

In most cases, rate increases are being blamed on less than honest roofing contractors who partner with lawyers to sue insurance companies after their overinflated claims are denied. This has led to a shocking number of insurance claim related lawsuits and Florida’s legal system has made lawsuits over insurance claims very lucrative for the contractor/lawyer partnerships that are popping up in Florida. 

As insurers face ever increase legal fees due to the lawsuits, they have no choice but to raise rates or pull out of the state altogether. 

As homeowners across the state receive letters of nonrenewal, lawmakers are making another push to solve the issue. U.S. Representative Byron Donalds (R-Florida) recently commented on the situation in a WINKNEW articles. “Of all the things that is great about Florida our court system is not the one. It’s a very bad system. A lot of frivolous lawsuits, and its incumbent upon the legislator to get this cleaned up,” said Rep. Donalds.

Florida lawmakers are currently trying to bring the issue to light and find a way to stem that wave of insurers moving out of the state.  Florida Senator Jeff Brandes recently tweeted that in the last three weeks, state regulators have been told by four insurance providers that they could no longer continue writing policies in Florida.

One proposal that lawmakers are considering is to give insurance companies the option to sell policies that only cover roofs at actual cash value which takes deprecation into account when setting a claim value. Roofs over a certain age may not qualify for coverage at all. If the legislation manages to pass, it could help lower the cost of homeowners insurance in Florida.

For Florida home insurance quotes, shop and compare rates online or give us a call now at 888-685-4704. We look forward to working with you!