Florida House Speaker Questions Insurance Industry Practices, Sparking Investigation
A potential shift in the political landscape of Tallahassee might be brewing, and this time, Florida residents could benefit. News surfaced that House Speaker Daniel Perez is questioning the transparency of the property insurance industry, alleging possible accounting tricks and hidden profits.
During the opening-day ceremonies for the 2025 legislative session, Perez stated, “Property insurance matters to the people of the state of Florida. A couple of years ago the insurance industry came to the Legislature and said without sweeping reforms, companies could not compete in Florida. We have since learned of reports — in existence at that time but not disclosed to the Legislature — that may suggest some insurance companies were using accounting tricks to hide substantial profits while telling us they were in a crisis. I have asked the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee to conduct hearings, and they will have access to the full range of tools — including issuing subpoenas, putting witnesses under oath, and hiring outside experts.”
The call for a formal House investigation, which Senate President Ben Albritton tacitly endorsed, is justified given the potential duplicity and misdirection revealed. It seems that Florida handed over significant taxpayer-funded concessions to insurance carriers while simultaneously easing their ability to avoid paying valid claims. Meanwhile, families and businesses saw their insurance bills double or triple due to rate hikes.
The reports that Perez referenced may be the biggest betrayal. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation compiled the data and stalled and denied the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times access to it for two years. This information was clearly subject to public-records laws. These investigations seemed substantially complete while state lawmakers poured money into funds intended to stabilize companies that claimed poverty following the 2018 and 2019 storm seasons. It turns out this cry of poverty was a lie. Companies claimed to be underfunded but pushed money into dividends and out-of-state “affiliates.”
Perez’s comments, coming shortly after Senate President Ben Albritton’s address, give Floridians hope that lawmakers have finally grown tired of prioritizing politicized gimmicks and bowing to the whims of Gov. Ron DeSantis. While Albritton’s tone was less passionate, he also seemed more resistant to the governor’s priorities.
The forthrightness of both men highlighted the governor’s approach when he delivered his annual state-of-the-state address. DeSantis spent more time discussing a dog’s near-drowning during a storm than on insurance, which he barely mentioned except to praise the measures already approved by the Legislature. There were other signals that the governor’s agenda might suffer, particularly in the House, and that could spell trouble. Perez appeared cool to the notion of more one-time sales tax breaks on items such as firearms, boat fuel, and concert tickets. Moreover, few of Albritton’s priorities aligned with the governor’s wish list.
During a late-afternoon press conference, Perez hinted he may “be of a different mind” on DeSantis’ push to roll back gun-safety laws enacted after the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
It’s worth noting that good-government Floridians cheered similar independent language from the House and Senate after DeSantis demanded the passage of anti-immigrant legislation. That optimism deflated, however, when the legislature passed their own version of a bill just as bad and then struck a deal a week later that pushed a very similar bill into law and onto DeSantis’ desk. In this case, legislative leaders weren’t fighting over draconian legislation aimed at students brought to this country as children but about who got to take credit for the action.
Is Perez’s exhortation to “shake the tree of government and pull out the weeds of government waste and abuse” a rebuke? It is unclear if he was referring to actions like using public money to hire “election police” or paying to fly asylum-seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. But maybe he was. Perez and Albritton have given Floridians reason to hope that, for once, the state will put its residents first. Even if that hope is short-lived, it provides an interesting shift during the nine-week session.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick.
