(The Center Square) – Another big insurer is lowering rates in Florida as a result of the state’s tort reform legislation.
State Farm is dropping auto insurance rates by an average of 10%, matching its cut of a year ago. Combined, the two cuts will lower insurance premiums in Florida by more than $1 billion for private passenger cars, averaging $400 per vehicle, the company said.
“This isn’t happening by accident,” Allyson Watts, the company’s senior vice president, wrote in a recent opinion piece posted on the company’s website. “It’s the direct result of Florida’s legislators and insurance regulators recognizing the impact of rising insurance costs – caused by over-litigation – and being willing to hear industry concerns and tackle the real problems behind the rising costs.”
Other states should follow the Florida model, Watts wrote.
“By focusing on meaningful solutions rather than short-term fixes, policymakers created a framework to benefit and protect consumers while maintaining market stability,” she wrote. “This approach recognizes that a healthy insurance market requires balance – a focus on consumers alongside conditions that allow insurers to operate sustainably and competitively.”
Earlier this month, second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Progressive Insurance is issuing close to $1 billion in refunds to Florida drivers, “reflecting reduced losses and strong savings tied directly to the state’s tort and insurance reform efforts.”
The top five auto insurers in Florida are averaging a decline in rates of 6.5% this year, according to the state. This has dropped from an average increase in 2024 of 4.3% and an average 31.7% in 2023, the state said.
Tort reform is also helping to attract more competition in the homeowner’s insurance market, with 17 new companies entering the market, the governor said.
Frivolous lawsuits against property insurance companies dropped 25% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, due to tort reform, according to the governor’s office.
“Every month of 2025 has reported a continued decline in litigation compared to the same month the previous year, further proof that the state’s legal environment has stabilized and is discouraging abusive lawsuits,” DeSantis said in a release.
