Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. has announced that Florida officials have approved a rate cut for Florida policyholders.
Heritage officials said this week that some customers in areas of Florida will receive up to a 9.6% decrease in policies. On average, the company’s policyholders will experience a 3.3% decrease thanks to approval of the rate drop by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).
Heritage policyholders in Seminole County will see a 9.6% reduction. The drop will be 7% in Osceola County, 6.7% in Hillsborough County and 6.4% in Lee County. The tri-county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties is set to see a 5% reduction in rates.
“This rate decrease is an important change for our Florida policyholders and a sign of our continued commitment to affordable and reliable insurance solutions,” said Ernie Garateix, CEO of Heritage Insurance. “The approval of this rate decrease also demonstrates how the reforms Florida has made to its insurance market are paying off. Most importantly, we are putting Floridians first and supporting the communities who rely on us.”
Heritage officials chalk up the rate decrease approval to multiple measures approved by the Legislature that instituted insurance reforms in the state. Those moves have ended up reducing legal costs and frivolous claims being filed in Florida.
It’s the second major reduction in rates for Heritage customers in as many years.
In May 2024, the agency announced that OIR gave the go-ahead for the company to lower rates by 3.3%. That reduction went into effect in August 2024.
The insurance rate situation in Florida had been labeled as a “crisis” by many state government officials such as former Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who is now a U.S. Representative for Florida’s 1st Congressional District in the Panhandle. Nationally, insurance rates had climbed by 21% between 2023 and 2024. In Florida, some rate hikes were double that figure.
