Progressive to return nearly $1 billion to Florida auto insurance customers, DeSantis says
Progressive, one of the nation’s top auto insurance companies, plans to return nearly $1 billion to Florida policyholders, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday.
Policyholders will receive an average of $300, DeSantis said. “It might be a check,” he said, “It might be a credit on your bill.”
A Progressive spokesman said later Wednesday that policyholders will receive “a credit” in 2026.
DeSantis credited insurance reforms enacted by Florida’s Legislature in 2022 and 2023 with reducing auto insurers’ losses and making it possible for the state’s top five companies to request a combined 6.5% rate reduction in 2025, down from +4.3% in 2024 and +32.7% in 2023.
The reforms, he said, reduced insurance litigation by making it more difficult for plaintiffs attorneys to recover steep legal fees. The reforms followed years of rate increases resulting from claims disputes that saw legal fees far exceeding what was recovered for policyholders, he said.
“The dispute would be over, like, $50,000, and then the lawyer ends up getting like $350,000. Well, why would we want a system that encourages that?” he said.