Florida’s CFO Blames ‘Wokeness’ for Insurers Leaving State Over Extreme Weather

Farmers Insurance announced on Tuesday their departure from Florida, following a pause announced in June.

This makes the insurance company the sixteenth to decide to stop writing new business in the state. According to the Miami Herald, the decision leaves about 100,000 policyholders without coverage.

Upon hearing the announcement, the state’s chief financial officer accused the company of “playing politics,” while Democrats blamed Republicans for pushing a “$3 billion handout,” and Republicans attributed the blame to “wokeness.”

In a letter to Farmers on Tuesday, the Office of Insurance Regulation wrote, “We understand that this decision was made independently of these reforms going into effect as part of a broader series of actions Farmers is making across the country and not solely focused on Florida.”

The state’s chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, accused the company of leaving Florida because its business was too focused on “sustainable insurance,” or upholding social values. According to the Miami Herald, “sustainable insurance” refers to investing in something that aligns with one's social values and avoiding investments that may be considered unethical, like companies that sexually or racially discriminate against employees or increase pollution.

“The more we learn about Farmers Insurance, the more it’s clear its leadership doesn’t know what they’re doing. While they’re bad at helping people, they’re good at virtue signaling,” Patronis wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

“It’s clear that while Farmers was making plans to exit a significant number of policies out of Florida, they were playing politics, and weren’t focused on running a successful company. 'I sincerely believe that with today’s actions, Farmers Insurance is well on its way to becoming the Bud Light of insurance,'” he wrote.

The statement was a jab at Bud Light for hiring a trans woman, a move that resulted in several conservatives threatening to boycott the company. He used this example to threaten that Farmers, too, would have a similar outcome and could possibly face fines and fees from an investigation.

“The Legislature did impactful work to help stabilize the market, and Farmers Insurance actions are less a representation of the Florida market – and more of bad leadership at the insurer,” he said.

This view contrasts starkly with that of Democrats, who believe the Republican-led insurance reforms were a giveaway to insurance companies. They noted that the “$3 billion handout” helped insurance companies but did not help policyholders.

Florida's severe weather storms, natural disasters, and increasing insurance fraud have resulted in insurers moving out of the state. According to the III, the Sunshine State accounts for 79% of insurance lawsuits filed nationwide. Several people have even been observed causing further damage to their homes during disasters to receive more from their claims.