Triple-I Joining May 19 Panel on Fla.’s Property Insurance Market

For immediate release 
New York Press Office: Michael Barry, 917, 923-8245, michaelb@iii.org

St. JOHNS, Fla., May 17, 2022—The Insurance Information Institute’s (Triple-I) Mark Friedlander will join two other industry experts to discuss on Thursday, May 19, at 2 p.m., ET, the state of Florida’s property insurance market.

“The panel discussion will also include a review of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane forecast, and other top risks to the Florida insurance market, including roofing-related fraud, reform efforts and the prospects for the future. Florida will hold a special legislative session from May 23-27, to address property insurance reform,” stated AM Best, the event’s host.

In addition to the Florida-based Friedlander, Triple-I’s director, corporate communications, the panel will include Chris Draghi, associate director, AM Best, and Kyle Ulrich, president and CEO, Florida Association of Insurance Agents.  Sridhar Manyem, director of research, AM Best, is the panel’s moderator.

To register for the one-hour complimentary live webcast go to AM Best's Briefing - The Florida Property Market in Flux. Attendees can submit questions during registration or by emailing webinars@ambest.com. The program will be streamed in video and audio formats. Playback will be available to registered viewers after the event.

When calling last month for next week’s special legislative session, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Floridians are seeing higher homeowners insurance premiums because of the state’s extraordinary number of property claim lawsuits, six consecutive years of cumulative homeowner insurer net underwriting losses, and either insurer insolvencies or departures from the state, as well as numerous financial rating downgrades. These trends have left tens of thousands of Florida homeowners insurance policyholders seeking coverage with limited options in the marketplace.

“The Florida private property insurance market is in crisis,” Friedlander said. “Three Florida home insurers have been declared insolvent this year, impacting more than 200,000 policyholders, and another struggling residential insurer is canceling 68,200 policies midterm in order to stay afloat.”