USF and NAIFA-Florida Co-Host Legislative Update on Property Insurance in Florida

August 16, 2022 – Sarasota

Florida’s property insurance market is being buffeted by numerous challenges — everything from the state’s peninsular geography to the tendency of many consumers to sue their insurance company if they are not happy with how their claims are paid — that make it very expensive to buy coverage, if you can find it.

Possible solutions may be taking shape among the students and faculty in one of the newest and soon-to-be-expanding programs at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus, the School of Risk Management and Insurance (RMI).

USF and the School of RMI on Aug. 10 co-hosted a legislative update on Florida’s insurance market featuring state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Tim Meenan, lobbyist for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – Florida, the other co-host of the event. About 40 NAIFA members and USF leaders were in the audience at the campus’s Selby Auditorium.

The RMI major was launched in 2017 on the Sarasota-Manatee campus, but Gert Jan de Vreede, dean of the Muma College of Business, said the university will soon announce a plan to expand offerings to the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses. The Risk Management and Insurance program is one of only two such programs offered by public universities in the state of Florida, and is designated as a “program of strategic emphasis” by the State University System’s Board of Governors.

“We really are thrilled to have RMI here and to see it expanding and growing,” said Karen Holbrook, regional chancellor for the USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus.

During his update, Boyd, chair of the Florida Senate’s Committee on Banking and Insurance and CEO of a Bradenton insurance and investment firm, detailed for attendees the challenges facing the property insurance market that have led the average Florida homeowner paying about $4,200 a year in premiums, compared to the national average of about $1,500.

Boyd also detailed ways the Legislature has addressed the issue, including bills signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last spring that Boyd said should lead to lower premiums in the next 12 to 18 months.

Boyd and Meenan predicted that other challenges to the property insurance market in Florida would arise in the future – challenges the School of RMI, as a well as a similar program at Florida State University, could help state lawmakers address.

Steven Miller, director of the School of RMI, said that would fit with the school’s mission.

“Sharing perspectives from leaders who are making an impact on our industry is an important part of partnering with our communities to deliver a world-class educational experience,” Miller said. “I want to thank our guest speakers, Tim Meenan and Senator Jim Boyd. I also want to express special thanks to NAIFA Florida for partnering with USF’s School of Risk Management and Insurance to make this opportunity available for our students and our community.”