ORLANDO, Fla. – In a significant development for Florida drivers, Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that several major insurance companies are reducing their auto insurance premiums statewide.
Geico is leading the charge with a 10.5% decrease, followed by Progressive with an 8.1% reduction and State Farm with a 6% cut.
Hugh Cotton Insurance President Tom Cotton gave more insights in an interview with News 6.
“Auto insurance pricing has been an unspoken crisis in Florida for quite some time,” Cotton said. “The reforms that the legislature passed, the insurance reforms over the last several years, are bleeding over into the auto side now, and we’re seeing the positive effects from that.”
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It’s important to remember that auto insurance rates have been extremely high over the last several years. Some companies raised rates by as much as 40%. While the current decreases are a positive step, they don’t fully offset the previous hikes.
Last year, News 6 Investigator Louis Bolden reported that Floridians paid 24% more in car insurance in 2024 compared to 2023, according to an analyst with Bankrate, a consumer financial services company.
“When the two primary carriers, the ones that write more automobile insurance in the state of Florida than anybody else, begin to show rate decreases as a result of these reforms, the other hundred carriers that write automobile insurance are sure to follow,” Cotton explained. “This is a competitive environment. If the leaders are taking their rates down, the followers are going to take their rates down.”
The rates will not come down immediately, there is an administrative process with the state of Florida that may take some time.
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