Florida candidates to discuss hidden report on insurer profits

Two Democratic candidates for statewide office plan to hold a Zoom press call tomorrow to examine a state-commissioned report on Florida property insurers that was kept from public view for years.

José Javier Rodríguez, running for Attorney General, and Annette Taddeo, running for Chief Financial Officer, will join an insurance expert and a homeowner to discuss findings from the 2022 "Affiliated Fee Analysis." According to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel, the report found that while insurers reported hundreds of millions in losses, their affiliated companies generated more than $1 billion in net income.

The timing of the report's suppression has drawn scrutiny: it was completed and hidden months before Florida lawmakers authorized a $2 billion state-funded reinsurance program for insurers, followed by approval for up to another $1 billion in state-backed reinsurance. The news organizations published the previously undisclosed report after the Florida Senate demanded they destroy their copies.

The call is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET via Zoom. Speakers will discuss the report's implications for Florida homeowners and proposals for increased oversight of the insurance industry.