Florida

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Homeowners from Sarasota south to Naples, known for its eight-figure waterfront mansions, are having a tougher time selling their properties, and the buildup in inventory has caused home prices to fall at some of the fastest rates in the nation.

The Florida State Board of Administration Finance Corporation expects to sell at least $1.5 billion of municipal bonds to raise money for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, according to a securities filing dated Jan. 19.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reported that private insurance companies assumed 650,399 policies from the state's last-resort carrier in 2023.

The Senate Budget Committee, which Whitehouse chairs, is requesting information related to maximum claims Citizens Property Insurance Corp., an insurer of last resort, can pay without having to levy assessments on Florida policyholders.

First Street estimates that 39 million U.S. homes are insured at artificially suppressed prices compared with the risk they actually face. Of those, nearly 6.8 million homes are covered by state-backed "insurer of last resort" policies.

The gap highlights the problem of under-insurance in a state that's the nation's fastest growing and also one of the most vulnerable to impacts of climate change, and where the insurance industry is already under strain.

Warren Buffett's firm ramped up its reinsurance exposure to the state, looking to take advantage of rising prices.

The use of catastrophe models and of sophisticated AI to make coverage decisions are all under debate.

"The main climate factors expected to influence the 2023 Atlantic hurricane activity are the ongoing El Nino and the warm phase of the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, including record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures," said NOAA's Matthew Rosencrans.