Home Insurance

A new study verified something most people who live in Florida already know: mold is a problem here. Mold is a persistent problem across Florida, driven by the state's humid subtropical climate and frequent rainfall. Indoor mold can damage walls and ceilings, reduce property values, and create health problems in people, particularly those with respiratory conditions or weakened immune systems. The problem is worse during Florida's summer rainy season when heavy showers and localized flooding can saturate structures.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky on Monday said customers of the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. should receive an average 8.7 percent rate reduction, a larger cut than Citizens leaders proposed in December.

Middle-class families are struggling to afford insurance in southwest Florida. Realtors say a wave of foreclosures could be coming.

State regulators last week finalized agreements that will lead to three property insurers paying fines for violating claims-handling laws after hurricanes.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s policy count dropped below 800,000 last week and is projected to plunge to fewer than 654,000 by the end of the year, the state insurer’s top executive said Wednesday.Citizens had 777,592 policies on Friday, the lowest number at a comparable time of year since June 2021, according to data on its website. Friday’s total also was down from 820,882 policies a week earlier, amid what is known as a “depopulation” program aimed at shifting customers into the private market.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, a crucial reinsurance program, will have an estimated $6.72 billion in cash to pay claims during the 2025 storm season, according to a report approved Monday by a panel that helps oversee the program. The so-called Cat Fund also would have access to about $3.25 billion in borrowed money through what are known as “pre-event” bonds.

More than 10 years of catastrophic hurricanes in the United States has led to an insurance crisis of sorts, especially in hurricane prone states. Florida Storms digital meteorologist Leslie Hudson has more.

As the Atlantic Ocean shows signs of heating up, potentially fueling damaging hurricanes, a former state and national disaster chief warned Tuesday of working-class Floridians being priced out of communities in post-storm rebuilding.Craig Fugate, a disaster-planning consultant who previously served as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said financing and the availability of insurance will continue to be issues for some people trying to rebuild.

A property-insurance company has agreed to pay a $1 million fine after a state review found it violated claims-handling requirements following Hurricane Ian, according to an order signed Thursday by Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky.The order and a report issued in March said Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. violated state insurance laws, including by not promptly acknowledging that it received communications about claims, not paying or denying claims within a 90-day timeframe and not maintaining complete claims records.

As Florida homeowners grapple with increased property-insurance rates, two Republican lawmakers have filed a proposal that would allow people to buy policies covering only unpaid mortgage-loan amounts.