The Florida Legislature will convene in its third special session of the year on May 23 to address the state’ homeowners’ insurance market.

Annual rate increases of 40% or more are common, and thousands of homeowners aren’t being renewed. The state-sponsored insurer of last resort, Citizens, has more than doubled its number of policies in the last 15 months.

The solution to the problem has a familiar ring to NFIB: runaway litigation.

“One stunning number tells it all,” NFIB State Executive Director Bill Herrle said. “Over 75% of all homeowners insurance lawsuits in the nation are filed in Florida. NFIB is not taking on the lead in advocating the issue in the special session, but we are talking to policymakers about staying focused on the difficult votes that need to be made to rein in runaway litigation.

“We’ve never seen any insurance crisis in the business community that didn’t boil down to the same issue, so while this issue is not a direct bottom-line business issue, we will be lending our experience in the Copital starting May 23 to help get the votes in the legislature to overcome the trial lawyers’ usual fierce opposition.

NFIB members who feel impacted by this issue should ask their state representative and senator to root-out lawsuit abuse in the homeowners’ insurance market.