Sean Kevelighan, CEO of the Insurance Information Institute, said that recent tort reforms have resulted in reduced auto insurance costs and enhanced market stability in Florida. The statement was made on LinkedIn.
“Florida drivers are seeing tangible benefits from recent tort reform efforts,” said Kevelighan, Chief Executive Officer, according to LinkedIn. “State regulators have secured nearly $1B in Progressive auto insurance premium credits, and the top five carriers in Florida have averaged a 6.5% rate reduction for 2025. These outcomes illustrate how thoughtful legal reforms can reduce excessive litigation costs, stabilize the insurance market, and deliver financial relief to consumers. Homeowners insurance is also seeing more stability, with 150 residential insurers filing for flat or reduced rates this year.”
In March 2023, Florida enacted House Bill 837 (FL HB 837), a comprehensive tort-reform measure designed to reduce litigation expenses and stabilize the state’s insurance market. The law aimed to eliminate one-way attorney fees in insurance disputes, shorten the statute of limitations for negligence actions, and modify comparative-fault rules. According to legal analysis, these measures were intended to decrease frivolous lawsuits and alleviate pressure on insurers, enabling them to lower premiums and re-enter the Florida market. Early commentary suggested that the reforms were necessary to address what had been described as an insurance-market “life-support” scenario in the state.
Following the 2023 reform in Florida, the state’s top five auto-insurance writing groups filed for an average –6.5% rate change for 2025. Meanwhile, the average premium increase among those same carriers reportedly reached +31.7% in 2023, indicating a reversal of trend. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation noted that the average loss ratio for personal-auto liability declined to 53.3% in 2024, marking it as the lowest in the U.S., largely attributed to the tort-reform measures.
Actuarial research from Milliman shows that after Florida’s HB 837 was implemented, litigated insurance claims for auto and property lines fell by about 13% in number. Additionally, loss severity of litigated claims declined by approximately 10%, and expense ratios decreased by around 10% as a percentage of losses. The reform also prompted major insurers to file for rate decreases post-reform; GEICO filed for a –10.5% decrease, Progressive for –8.1%, and State Farm for –6%.
Kevelighan has served as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) since August 2016. Before joining Triple-I, he was Group Head of Public Affairs for Zurich Insurance Group (North America) and previously held positions at Citigroup Inc.’s Global Consumer Banking division and within government roles at the U.S. Treasury and White House Office of Management and Budget during George W. Bush’s administration.
