Insurance is fun, once more!

Florida has a lot to offer. Weather. Boating. Golfing. Weather. Snorkeling. Fish from the Atlantic fresh off the line. Flip flops and shorts in January. No income tax. Weather. And Gloating – All these are amazing triumphing things to send photos of to your friends and loved ones stuck back up north. But over the past half a decade, the northerns struck back with, “ahh but the insurance rates”. Well, those full time Yankees can’t throw that cat in the bag any more.

Insurance is back baby! Below is an interview I did with Ross Komarinetz of Brightway Insurance in Juno Beach regarding how insurance today will affect the real estate market in South Florida.

Jeff – 4 years ago, I wrote several blogs about how you said insurance was “not fun anymore.” Has that changed?

Ross- A lot has changed in the past few years. Starting around December of 2025 and into the new year, we saw a dramatic shift. Carriers began opening up their guidelines, and we’re seeing real rate decreases across the board. It’s not quite back to the way things used to be, but compared to three years ago, it’s night and day.

Jeff – What was the result of the legislation to limit lawsuits? Has it worked?

Ross – It’s definitely worked. Starting around 2020, carriers were being hit with excessive and often frivolous lawsuits over roof claims. In December of 2022, the legislature changed how you can sue your insurance company, and it’s quieted things down significantly. Because carriers aren’t being sued every day anymore, we’re seeing them relax their roof age guidelines and most importantly, reduce their rates.

Jeff – Are insurance costs actually coming down?

Ross – Yes. Every time we meet with a carrier rep, they’re telling us about a new rate decrease they’ve filed. One I met with recently had a 13% decrease in Dade County and around 11% in Palm Beach County. The reason is simple: carriers couldn’t statistically underwrite for lawsuits. They can model hurricanes. They can calculate the odds of a house fire. But they couldn’t predict how much they’d spend on cash settlements and plaintiff attorney fees. Now that exposure is gone, they’re building reserves and lowering rates to compete for business.

Jeff – What’s better for someone shopping for homeowners insurance today?

Ross – Three things drive your rate: location, age of the home, and age of the roof. The further you are from the coast or the further north you go, the better. Newer home, better rate. Newer roof, better rate. If you have an older home but a newer roof, that helps a lot. Impact windows or hurricane shutters on all openings also make a meaningful difference on your premium.

Jeff – What about roofs and partial insurance coverage?

Ross – This is something buyers need to understand. Carriers are accepting older roofs now, which is great, but on some of those policies the roof is only covered at actual cash value, not replacement cost. That means depreciation applies. If you have a 20-year-old shingle roof and a hurricane damages it, the carrier might only pay 25% of the replacement cost. On a $40,000 roof, that’s only $10,000. You’re on the hook for the rest. As of April 1st, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac started accepting actual cash value roof coverage on mortgaged properties. It does make coverage more accessible and reduces premiums. Just make sure you know what you’re getting. We always point it out clearly when a policy carries that limitation.

Jeff – What about limited water damage coverage?

Ross – On homes over a certain age, typically around 30 years, or in certain counties, some carriers are only offering limited water damage instead of full coverage. What that means in practice: if a pipe bursts in your wall and ruins your flooring and cabinets, your payout is capped at $10,000. That can leave you very exposed on a major claim. We always try to get full water damage coverage and, when we can’t, we make sure our clients understand the difference.

Jeff – Is there anything someone can do if they’re stuck with limited water coverage?

Ross – Yes. Even if you are capped at $10K for Water Damage, I recommend getting some sort of Automatic Water Shutoff Valve. I think FPL actually has a program. Basically, they install a Smart Shutoff Valve that keeps an eye on your water usage and it will shut off automatically if they detect something unusual. It’s a small monthly fee, and a lot of carriers will give you a discount for having a smart water device. It won’t replace full coverage, but it significantly limits your exposure.

Jeff – Is mold damage coverage still capped at $10,000?

Ross – That was more of a Citizens limitation. We’ve always tried to offer $25,000 in mold coverage on every quote we do. Since around December 2025, Citizens has largely stopped being our go-to carrier. The private market has gotten competitive enough that we’re writing very few Citizens policies right now.

Jeff – What happened to Citizens? They were raising rates dramatically for a while.

Ross – Citizens is capped at 3% rate increases per year, but they were almost the only option for a lot of homes due to underwriting restrictions and rate increases in the Private Market. That’s changed. Private carriers have expanded their guidelines, new carriers have come into the market, and Citizens has also depopulated a lot of their book. They went from over a million policyholders down to around 300,000. We’re essentially back to a normal market dynamic where Citizens is the true last resort, not the default.

Jeff – How does the future look if we have more severe storms?

Ross – It really comes down to the reinsurance market. Insurance carriers rely on reinsurance to protect against catastrophic losses, and those costs have been improving, which is helping drive some of the rate relief we’re seeing today. On top of that, the litigation environment in Florida has stabilized, so pricing is more predictable than it used to be. As long as we avoid back-to-back to back major storms, the market should continue to stabilize. Over the next 12 to 18 months, I expect rates to keep declining a bit and eventually level off as carriers get more comfortable with where things have landed. I don’t see it getting worse.

Jeff – What’s the roof age cutoff to get insured today?

Ross – For shingle roofs, most carriers are capping at 15 years. We have a couple that go up to 20. For tile and metal, carriers will ask the age and rate accordingly, but some have no maximum age they’ll accept. The newer the roof, the better the rate regardless of material. But the guidelines have relaxed a lot from where they were.

Jeff – A few years ago we were down to 5 or 6 companies writing in Florida. Where are we today?

Ross – That number has gone up significantly. On a preferred risk, a newer home or a newer roof, we can have 30 or more carriers offering coverage. That kind of competition didn’t exist a few years ago. New carriers have come in with expanded underwriting guidelines, and they’re all competing aggressively on price to win the business. That’s a very good thing for Florida homeowners.

Jeff – How has condo insurance changed post-Surfside?

Ross – The inspection and assessment requirements that came out of Surfside are more of a commercial lines issue, affecting the building’s master policy. So from a personal homeowners standpoint, the process really affected us.

Jeff – What should people expect over the next five years?

Ross – As long as we don’t get hit with multiple severe storms in a row, the market is going to continue to improve. I think in the next year to year and a half, most of the rate decreases will have been filed and carriers will have a clearer picture of where things stand. After that, things level off. But I don’t see any reason for rates to go back up the way they did. The structural problem, the lawsuit exposure, is gone. The market is healing.

If you have any questions on insurance give Ross a buzz. Have a thoughtful, fun, and safe Memorial Day Weekend. Especially safe as you don’t want to use your insurance!

Ross’s contact information is below.

Ross Komarinetz

Agency Owner