Bloomberg: Hundreds Of Florida Nursing Homes Have Closed Due To Soaring Costs Of Property Insurance

The New York Post reports:

Hundreds of nursing homes in Florida have been forced to shut their doors over the past five years because of the soaring cost of commercial property insurance in the state.

In the five-year period ending in 2023, an average of 146 nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Florida have closed each year, according to the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration.

During that same five-year period, commercial property insurance premiums rose 125% in Florida. Last year alone, annual premiums rose by around 27% in the state.

Bloomberg News reports:

With Florida being threatened by more powerful hurricanes, commercial-property insurance costs last year surged at nearly five times the national pace, according to credit rating firm AM Best Co. Inc. That’s slapping what care providers say is effectively a new — if little noticed — tax on an industry already contending with labor shortages, soaring wages and rising supply costs.

While climate change has pushed commercial-property insurance premiums up nationwide, few places have been hit harder than Florida. In the five-year period ending 2023, costs surged 125%. Last year, annual premiums soared about 27% in the state — for the second year in a row — while nationwide the growth rate slowed to nearly 6% from about 15%, according to AM Best.

#Florida’s 125% surge in property insurance bills sows havoc https://t.co/qFFwnwHQpv via @LochnerLauren & @ChalkiaMelina

— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) May 20, 2024