ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Just this week, two more insurance companies retreated from the Sunshine State. Meanwhile, companies still insuring in Florida are raising premiums.
Doug Wiles knows insurance. His family has the Herbie Wiles Insurance Company for decades in St. Augustine.
"I’ve been in the business for 44 years, and this is as bad as I’ve seen it," Wiles noted.
This week, Farmers Insurance announced it will no longer write or renew homeowner policies in Florida. That reportedly affects 100,00 policies.
And Thursday, AAA confirmed it is also limiting property insurance policies.
The high cost of severe weather damage has prompted more than a dozen insurers to either pull out of Florida or increase rates. That comes despite $3 billion spent by the legislature in the past year to stabilize the industry.
“I think you’re going to start to see companies see an advantage," Governor Ron DeSantis offered his forecast earlier this week during The Howie Carr Show.
He also said, “I think what’s going to happen is because we did those reforms, it now is more economical for companies to come in, I think they’re going to wait through this hurricane season and then I think they’re going to be willing to deploy more capital to Florida. So knock on wood (that) we won’t have a big storm this summer."
Wiles said it’s unrealistic to not expect a big storm, but said he has heard large insurance companies are talking about returning to Florida after this hurricane season.
"I don’t’ want to be too optimistic here, but the fact they are talking about it and are having the discussion is a positive thing," Wiles noted.