WASHINGTON, DC – A new analysis finds that Florida home insurance premiums have quadrupled over the past decade, from $2,400 to $9,500 a year, now eating up nearly a fifth of a retired couple’s household budget. With premiums climbing at roughly 8% annually against a meager 3% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, the analysis found a Florida retirement now requires up to $750,000 in liquid savings, a bar far higher than in the past and a barrier for many future retirees.
“Americans work their entire lives in the hopes of reaching retirement, and for many that includes relocating to places like Florida. Unfortunately, with insurance premiums rising faster than inflation and Social Security checks, retirees are being priced out of the Sunshine State after Florida Republican politicians and regulators went to bat for the same home insurance executives and lobbyists working to maximize profits at everyone else’s expense,” said Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “Working families and retirees need leaders who will fight for them, instead of ignoring this crisis and these unjust profits as more and more Floridians get priced out of their homes and retirement.”
Florida already pays the highest average home insurance premiums in the country at almost $8,300 a year, and insurance affordability has become a defining issue heading into the 2026 midterms. But unlike voters in some other states, Floridians don’t directly elect an insurance commissioner, the position is appointed by the governor and approved by the state legislature. This leaves regulatory decisions largely in the hands of the governor’s appointee and the state legislature. The regulatory morass leaves Congress as one of the few representative bodies left who support risk reduction, assist in preparedness and recovery, and can conduct oversight and investigations to provide checks on the industry for their constituents.
That check has gone unused under the Republican-controlled Congress. Worse, every Florida House Republican voted to cut FEMA’s budget by nearly $300 million even as climate-driven storm damage and profit maximizing ‘delay, deny, and defend’ tactics by insurers keep pushing premiums higher.
Miami-area Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, Florida’s only member on the House subcommittee that oversees insurance, has held no hearings on home insurance nor affordability crisis and has taken thousands of dollars from property insurers’ PACs, including the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
“Florida Republican Representative Maria Salazar (FL-27) sits on the only committee in Congress with real oversight over home insurers, yet she has failed to hold a single hearing on the crisis, all while cashing campaign checks from the same insurance industry raising premiums. Everyone in her district who’s felt the pinch in their budgets should ask her why,” said O’Neill.
Insurance corporations have made an unprecedented $405 billion in profit over the past three years. American consumers and businesses are now paying more than $1 trillion annually in property and casualty insurance premiums, yet only 62 cents of every dollar spent by policyholders on premiums goes toward paying actual claims.
Congressional Democrats announced they were investigating home insurance corporations’ use of credit scores in price setting earlier this month. Meanwhile, Florida’s Republican congressional delegation has done nothing to address the crisis — and has actively made it worse.
Additional Resources:
- Skyrocketing Home Insurance Costs Are Becoming a Defining Issue in the 2026 Midterms
- Tort Reform Disaster: Florida Lawsuits Surge 15% After Home Insurance Industry’s ‘Fix,’ While Claim Denials and Premiums Skyrocket
- Florida Homeowners Are Suing Their Insurers More Than Ever, Dispelling Republican and Insurer “Tort Reform” Claims
- Florida Leads Nation in Foreclosures as Insurance Crisis Costs Homeowners Their Homes
- Florida’s Insurance Crisis: How Homeowners Pay More While Insurers Profit
- Florida Congressional Republicans Fail to Take Action on Worsening Home Insurance Crisis
Email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com to set up interviews with ratings, legal, advocacy, and insurance experts.
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