Security First Insurance, ranked the 15th largest property insurer in Florida earlier this year, announced it has filed for an 8% average statewide rate decrease for thousands of homeowners policies, making it the latest carrier to follow through on expectations after landmark legislative changes were made in 2022.
The use-and-file rate cut has yet to be approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, but is set to take effect Dec. 18. It follows a 5.2% average rate decrease in its Signature HO3 polices last year. Together, the filings will mean significant savings on premiums for some 50,000 policyholders, the company said in news release Monday.
“This 8% decrease on our most popular homeowners product reflects our ongoing commitment to making comprehensive coverage more affordable and accessible,” Security First President Melissa Burt DeVriese said in a statement.
The news comes three months after another prominent insurer, Florida Peninsula Insurance, filed for an 8.4% average decrease in homeowners’ policies. Since historic legislation was approved in late 2022, disincentivizing what insurers had said was excessive claims litigation, at least 17 new carriers have entered the Florida market and 30 carriers have filed for a rate decrease, the OIR has reported.
Most of those rate cuts have been relatively minor. Security First’s and Florida Peninsula’s rate decreases are among the largest so far. The Security First rate cut followed a cumulative 23.5% rate increase for the carrier in 2022 and 2023, an Insurance Journal analysis of OIR quarterly data shows.
The Florida turnaround has been noted by reinsurance companies and market analysts. “In short, the reforms have led to a significant drop in property claims lawsuits, better loss ratios and profitability for insurers and a reversal of the exodus of carriers from the Florida market,” Gallagher Re said in a September report.
Florida regulators in July approved one major rate increase, a 31.5% average hike by Tampa-based startup Trusted Resource Underwriters Exchange. Officials with the firm said the increase was needed in part to make up for missed filings in recent years.
Security First, based in Ormond Beach, held more than 140,000 policies in force as of the first quarter of 2025. This year, the company also announced it had implemented a 3% statewide decrease on its HO6 condominium product and a 5% decrease on its HO4 renters policies.
“Our rate decreases, combined with industry-leading coverage options, flexible deductibles, and exceptional customer service, demonstrate that affordable, comprehensive homeowners insurance is possible in Florida,” DeVriese said.
Related: Two Insurers Expand Product Lines in Florida
Topics Florida Homeowners
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