Op-ed: Florida’s Insurance Crisis Isn’t Just Economic—It’s Racial, Structural, and Urgent
By Coretta Anthony-Smith, Esq.
Founder, Anthony-Smith Law Firm, Ocoee and Tampa, FL
When I wrote legislation aimed at addressing Florida’s deepening insurance crisis, I did so not just as an attorney, but as a Black woman who has spent decades listening to the pain and pressure felt by working-class families one premium notice at a time. Let’s be clear: Florida’s insurance crisis is not a future threat. It is a current catastrophe. And while policymakers and industry leaders argue over market stability and risk pools, Black and Brown families across this state are quietly drowning in unaffordable premiums, denied claims, and impossible choices. If we don’t act, they won’t just lose their homes. They’ll lose the right to return after the next storm. They’ll lose the intergenerational wealth that homeownership was supposed to build. They’ll lose their place in communities they helped shape.
Climate Gentrification Has a ZIP Code and a Skin Color
The phrase “climate gentrification” may sound academic, but in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods it means real people being pushed to the margins as storms get stronger and insurance gets scarcer. We used to think that only coastal mansions were vulnerable to hurricanes. But now, inland working-class communities are facing the greatest risk of displacement. Insurance companies are either refusing to write policies, hiking rates beyond affordability, or pulling out of the market entirely.
When these families are forced into the state-run Citizens Property Insurance, they face higher deductibles, limited coverage, and delayed claims. In a system that was never designed with us in mind, disaster doesn’t just come from the sky, it comes in the mail every month folded neatly in a policy renewal letter.
The Profit Motive Is the Problem
At the heart of the crisis is a question few in Tallahassee are willing to ask: Should profit be the engine of public safety? Florida’s current system prioritizes investor returns over community resilience. Insurance companies pay steep fees to affiliated firms. Many of those firms are owned by the same parent companies that extract profits while leaving insurers hollow. When they fail, taxpayers and homeowners foot the bill.
Meanwhile, reforms passed under the guise of “fixing fraud” have done little to reduce rates. And promises of future relief are cold comfort for families whose premiums have already doubled or tripled. This isn’t a bug. It’s the model.
Discrimination Is Baked Into the Premiums
We don’t talk enough about the racial disparities baked into how premiums are calculated. Black homeowners are more likely to live in historically redlined neighborhoods where property values and credit scores are still recovering from generations of disinvestment. Insurance companies use credit scoring as a factor to determine rates. The result? According to the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, a Black family with a lower credit score pays up to 77% more than a white family with similar coverage. Renters in majority-Black neighborhoods pay 20% more for insurance. That’s not market science. That’s systemic bias, digitized and monetized. These aren’t outliers. This is policy by design. And we’re seeing its impact: families dropping coverage entirely, skipping needed repairs, or giving up on homeownership altogether. Insurance companies should ban the use of credit scores in setting home insurance rates. They should require insurers to track and report racial and ZIP-code disparities in premiums and claim denials. In addition, it should be mandatory for them to create a publicly-funded, community-driven insurance pool for underserved neighborhoods and strengthen enforcement against insurers who delay or deny claims in low-income zip codes. This isn’t about handouts. It’s about a fair shake. It’s about recognizing that home insurance should protect everyone, not just those with perfect credit and beachfront ZIP codes.
Reform Must Be Rooted in Justice
We are in a moment that demands more than technical fixes. Yes, we must address reinsurance costs. Yes, we must tackle fraudulent litigation. But we must also look squarely at the racial and economic fault lines that have made this crisis hit minorities hardest. Our neighbors are being priced out of the homes they inherited. Seniors are choosing between paying insurance or paying for medicine. And when the next hurricane hits, and it will, the people with the fewest resources will be the last in line for relief. If we’re serious about fixing Florida’s broken insurance system, we have to stop asking, “How do we save the market?” It’s time to stop the back and forth and demand that “we save the people.” Until we center that question, the storm isn’t over. It’s just begun.
Coretta Anthony-Smith is a civil rights attorney and founder of Anthony-Smith Law Firm in Ocoee, Florida and a new location in Tampa, Florida. She is the author of proposed legislation to reform Florida’s home insurance system and a lifelong advocate for racial and housing equity.
