What Does Each Candidate Think Is Wrong With Florida’s Insurance Market, and How Would They Fix It?

The clearest difference between David Jolly and Byron Donalds is not whether Florida has an insurance affordability problem. Both candidates say it does. They disagree about what is causing the problem, how much of Florida’s current insurance system should be changed, and who should carry the financial risk from hurricanes.

The following comparison is based on the candidates’ published insurance proposals as of September 24, 2026. Where a candidate makes a claim about the market or the expected effect of a proposal, we identify it as the candidate’s position rather than presenting it as an established result.

David Jolly: What Does He Say Is Wrong With Florida’s Insurance Market?

Jolly argues that Florida’s fundamental problem is the way hurricane risk is financed.

His campaign says Florida homeowners pay unusually high premiums because private insurance companies must assume hurricane and wind risk and build the potential cost of catastrophic storms into their rates. His published plan describes Florida’s private insurance market as having “collapsed,” pointing to insurers that became insolvent or left the state and the high cost of the companies that remained. Read Jolly’s published insurance proposal.

In other words, Jolly’s position is that Florida is asking private insurance companies to carry a type of risk that is extraordinarily expensive to insure privately. He argues that reforms to the existing system do not address that underlying problem.

How Does Jolly Propose to Fix It?

Jolly proposes separating hurricane and wind coverage from the rest of a homeowners insurance policy and moving that catastrophe risk into a state-backed fund.

Under his published proposal:

• Florida would create a statewide fund responsible for hurricane and wind risk.
• The fund would accumulate reserves before beginning coverage.
• The fund would purchase reinsurance to provide additional protection against catastrophic storms.
• Private insurers would continue covering risks such as fire, theft, liability and water losses.
• Private insurers would no longer include hurricane and wind risk in those policies.
• The Legislature would determine the final funding mechanism.

Jolly’s campaign has discussed funding sources that could include taxes it says insurers currently avoid, a real estate transaction fee, existing tourism tax revenue or some combination of revenue sources. Those funding details have not yet been established in legislation.

How Would Jolly’s Plan Be Different From Florida’s Current Insurance System?

It would represent a major restructuring of Florida property insurance.

Today, a typical private homeowners insurance company assumes multiple risks under one policy, including hurricane and wind damage. The insurer collects premiums, maintains reserves, purchases reinsurance and pays covered claims.

Florida already has the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, but it generally operates behind the insurance companies. It reimburses participating insurers for certain hurricane losses rather than replacing the hurricane coverage in an individual homeowner’s policy.

Jolly would move the state much closer to the front of that system. The state-backed catastrophe fund would assume hurricane and wind risk while private insurers would handle the remaining property risks.

Current system: Your insurer generally covers your home, including covered hurricane and wind losses, and transfers some catastrophic exposure through reinsurance and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Jolly proposal: The state-backed catastrophe fund would assume hurricane and wind risk directly, while private insurers would cover the remaining risks.

What Could Jolly’s Changes Mean for Florida Residents and Businesses?

For homeowners, the most visible change could be separating hurricane coverage from the private portion of their homeowners insurance cost.

Jolly’s campaign projects that this structure could reduce homeowners insurance costs by 60% to 70%, based on its estimate of the portion attributable to hurricane and wind risk. That is a campaign projection, not a guaranteed premium reduction. The actual financial effect would depend on the final structure, funding, reinsurance costs, property characteristics and how hurricane coverage is priced.

For Florida businesses, the implications are less fully defined in Jolly’s published homeowner-focused proposal. A larger state role in catastrophe financing could affect insurers, real estate transactions, tourism revenue or other businesses depending on how the Legislature ultimately chooses to fund the program.

The biggest structural change would be where the hurricane risk sits. More of Florida’s catastrophe exposure would move from individual private insurance companies to a statewide public insurance mechanism.

Byron Donalds: What Does He Say Is Wrong With Florida’s Insurance Market?

Donalds argues that Florida has made progress repairing its insurance market, but homeowners still pay too much because of litigation costs, government-related insurance costs, insufficient mitigation, rebuilding expenses and a lack of useful consumer information.

His published plan specifically identifies lawsuit abuse, state fees, inefficient mitigation programs, rebuilding and permitting costs, and limited transparency about insurer performance as problems that should be addressed.

This is an important philosophical difference between the candidates.

Donalds does not propose replacing the basic private-market structure. His plan assumes that Florida’s current insurance system can continue improving if policymakers reduce costs and strengthen competition within it.

How Does Donalds Propose to Fix It?

Donalds proposes changing costs and incentives within the existing system rather than replacing its basic structure.

His published plan calls for Florida to:

• Preserve recent insurance and litigation reforms.
• Reduce certain state insurance-related charges when reserves are sufficiently strong.
• Pursue additional regulatory changes intended to lower premiums.
• Reform My Safe Florida Home and other grant programs so funding is concentrated on improvements that reduce storm risk and insurance costs.
• Keep Citizens Property Insurance relatively small to reduce the possibility of assessments following catastrophic losses.
• Reduce permitting delays and rebuilding costs after storms.
• Create an online insurance company scorecard showing information such as price, claim-payment speed and claim denial rates.
• Require insurers to provide accurate information for that system, with penalties for inaccurate reporting.

Read Donalds’ published affordability and insurance plan.

How Would Donalds’ Plan Be Different From Florida’s Current Insurance System?

It would modify the current system rather than fundamentally replace it.

Private insurance companies would continue writing homeowners policies and assuming hurricane risk. They would continue purchasing private reinsurance and receiving protection through the existing Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Citizens would continue serving as Florida’s state-created insurer, but Donalds specifically wants to keep its policy count relatively small.

The principal changes would involve reducing certain costs, strengthening mitigation incentives, changing regulation and giving consumers more information about insurer performance.

Current system: Private insurers carry most residential property risk, Citizens provides coverage when qualifying private coverage is unavailable, and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund provides hurricane reinsurance to participating insurers.

Donalds proposal: Keep that general structure, but attempt to make it less expensive, more competitive and more transparent.

What Could Donalds’ Changes Mean for Florida Residents and Businesses?

For residents, the changes would likely be less noticeable structurally because homeowners would continue purchasing insurance much as they do today.

Donalds argues that maintaining litigation reforms, reducing state-related costs, improving mitigation and increasing competition would put downward pressure on premiums. His consumer scorecard could also give homeowners additional information when comparing insurance companies.

Florida’s current market has already changed substantially. Citizens reported approximately 255,000 policies in force as of September 18, 2026, down dramatically from its 2023 peak. Citizens also reported that 20 new insurers have entered Florida since 2022 and that reinsurance rates fell nearly 30% over the prior year. Those developments are part of the market recovery Donalds proposes continuing.

For businesses, the proposal would generally preserve the existing insurance-market structure rather than creating an entirely new statewide catastrophe system. Contractors and property owners could potentially be affected by permitting reforms, while insurers would face additional performance-reporting requirements.

Jolly vs. Donalds: The Four Questions Side by Side

The fundamental difference is straightforward: Jolly believes Florida needs to change who carries hurricane risk. Donalds believes Florida should continue repairing and reducing costs within the private-market system that carries most of that risk today.

Neither approach guarantees what an individual homeowner or business would ultimately pay. Jolly’s proposal depends heavily on the design and financing of a new state catastrophe structure. Donalds’ proposal depends heavily on continued improvement in private-market competition, claims costs, reinsurance, mitigation and other expenses that affect insurance rates.