'Take these matters into our own hands': Petition seeks to let Florida voters decide on insurance

'Take these matters into our own hands': Petition seeks to let Florida voters decide on insurance
'We in the state of Florida are done with these outrageous insurance premiums,' Chris Wills says

Article Courtesy of Channel 5 WPTV

By Matt Sczesny

Published February 27, 2025

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WEST PALM BEACH — A petition drive campaign is underway for a referendum to let Florida voters decide on lowering homeowners insurance rates.

"It's time that we the citizens take these matters into our own hands and our constitution gives us that ability to collect the signatures, put this on the ballot and get over 60% of the vote," Chris Wills of the Florida Constitutional Amendment Network said.

Wills said he has a goal of collecting a million signatures this year to get it on the ballot for 2026.

The referendum aims to do two things:

Ban any cancellations of policies if the policyholder didn't violate any terms of the polic
Force insurers to lower premiums at least 4% for any policyholder who didn't file a claim in the previous year

There are a number of bills about insurance, but for the most part state officials are keeping an optimistic view of litigation reforms passed in 2022 to solve the state's insurance crisis.

"Letting voters determine insurance pricing and other regulatory statutes is a recipe for disaster," Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute said.

Referendum seeks to stop "astronomical increases" in insurance premiums.

He said a similar proposition in California in 1988 has helped contribute to that state's current insurance crisis.

"Florida's insurance market is among the most stable in the country because of legislative reforms that addressed our state's man-made risk crisis and created a path for recovery," Friedlander said.