Florida Car Insurance Rates and How They Are Set

Florida car insurance rates are set by each insurance company and filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), which reviews them under state law. Florida's motor vehicle rate statute gives insurers two routes: a "file and use" filing made at least 60 days before the rate takes effect, or a "use and file" filing made no later than 30 days after the rate takes effect ¹. Either way, OIR reviews the filing, and under the use-and-file route an insurer may be ordered to refund the part of a rate found excessive ¹.

For 2026, OIR has reported falling rates among the largest auto insurance groups in the state. In a March 5, 2026 release, OIR said Florida's top five auto insurance groups were indicating an average rate change of -8% for 2026 ². That figure is an average across those groups' existing policyholders. It does not say what any one driver's renewal will be, and our guide to why car insurance goes up covers the personal reasons a bill can rise during a statewide decline.

Florida Statutes section 627.0651 governs the making and use of rates for motor vehicle insurance. Insurers must file their rates with OIR under one of two procedures ¹:

• File and use. The insurer files at least 60 days before the proposed effective date and does not put the rate into effect while OIR reviews it. OIR must either start proceedings to disapprove the rate or finish its review within 60 days of receiving the filing, and a rate is deemed approved if OIR gives no notice of preliminary findings in that window ¹.
• Use and file. A filing that does not meet the file-and-use timing must be made as soon as practicable and no later than 30 days after the effective date. An insurer that uses this route may be ordered to refund the part of a rate later found excessive ¹.

The practical difference for a driver is timing. Under file and use, the rate waits for OIR's review window. Under use and file, the rate can be in use before OIR finishes looking at it, with refunds available as the check if OIR finds it excessive ¹.

OIR runs a public search system, IRFS, that gives access to insurance company form and rate filings. Users can search property and casualty filings by company name, file log number or product name, and view or download public filings dated from January 5, 2001 to the present ⁴. Our explainer on what a rate filing is covers what the documents inside a filing usually show.

OIR's March 5, 2026 release named the five largest auto insurance groups in Florida as Progressive, Berkshire Hathaway (GEICO), State Farm, Allstate and USAA, together holding 78% of the market ². OIR said those groups requested a total rate change of -7.4% for 2025, and that as of February 2026 their 2026 year-to-date indicated rate change was -8.0% ². Commissioner Mike Yaworsky said one group was indicating a -16.5% rate change, and that nearly 80% of Florida's auto policyholders would see lower rates for 2026 ². These are averages across policyholders, reported by OIR at the group level rather than for each legal company that filed. We are not affiliated with the insurers named.

The same release reported that Florida's 2025 personal auto liability loss ratio was 52.5%, the lowest recorded for the state in 15 years, and that auto physical damage loss ratios fell from 112.0% in 2022 to 49.5% in 2025 ². A loss ratio compares what insurers pay in claims to what they collect in premium; a falling ratio can leave room for lower rates.

In an earlier release on January 28, 2026, OIR said 42 companies writing personal auto insurance had filed rate decreases in the past year, 32 of them within the previous six months ³.

A group-wide decrease is an average. It can be larger for some drivers and smaller, zero or an increase for others, because each driver's price depends on their own record, vehicle, garaging address, coverage and discounts. A renewal can also rise because a young driver was added, a claim or violation was recorded, a discount ended or coverage changed. Our page on whether car insurance rates are going down explains why national and state averages often look different from a single bill.

If the reasons for a change are not clear, our guide to reading a renewal notice shows where they usually appear. Asking the insurer or agent which rating factors changed is a reasonable first step, and comparing quotes from several insurers shows whether a price is in line with what others charge.

OIR's 2026 releases use several different words, and they are not interchangeable. "Requested" describes what a company asked for in a filing. "Indicated" describes the rate change the groups were signaling for the year. "Approved" describes OIR's decision on a filing ^{2 3}. When a news story says a company "cut rates," it is worth checking which of these the original source used, and whether the figure covers all of the company's Florida drivers or only some products.

Florida splits consumer help from rate review. OIR reviews rate filings under the statute described above ¹. For consumer questions, OIR's own consumer page lists the helpline of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Division of Consumer Services ⁶.

The DFS insurance consumer helpline is 1-877-693-5236 (1-877-MY-FL-CFO), and out-of-state callers can use 850-413-3089. DFS says insurance assistance is available from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, and that filing online may speed up the handling of a question or concern ⁵. OIR's own main line, listed in its releases, is 850-413-3140 ².

For a question about a specific claim, start with your insurer and then the DFS Division of Consumer Services; we do not give claims advice. QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service, not an insurance company, agent or broker.

• ¹ Official record: Florida Statutes section 627.0651 (2025), the file-and-use and use-and-file procedures, the 60-day and 30-day timing and refunds of excessive rates, checked October 11, 2026.
• ² Official record: OIR's March 5, 2026 release, the five groups and 78% market share, the -7.4% requested for 2025, the -8.0% indicated for 2026, the -16.5% group, the nearly 80% statement, the loss ratios and the OIR main line, checked October 11, 2026.
• ³ Official record: OIR's January 28, 2026 release, 42 companies filing decreases in the past year and 32 in the previous six months, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: OIR's IRFS filing search and what it covers, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁵ Official record: DFS Division of Consumer Services helpline numbers and hours, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: OIR's consumer page listing the DFS helpline, checked October 11, 2026.