The state of Florida has a new Permanent Insurance Commissioner from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), Michael Yaworsky has now been confirmed by the Financial Services Commission.
Yaworsky has been Florida’s interim insurance commissioner since David Altmaier resigned late last year and Gov. DeSantis nominated him in February 2023.
Previously, Yaworsky served as Vice Chairman of the Florida Gaming Control Commission and Chief of Staff of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) from 2017 to 2021.
As Chief of Staff of Insurance Regulatory Affairs, Yaworsky helped oversee one of the world’s largest insurance markets, served as policy adviser to the Commissioner, and directed the agency’s tax affairs and administrative operations.
Commenting on his appointment, Yaworsky said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve Florida as Commissioner of Insurance, and I would like to thank Governor DeSantis and the Financial Services Commission for their support.
“Florida’s insurance market is one of the largest in the world and plays an important role in our state. As Insurance Commissioner, I look forward to ensuring that the OIR maintains its commitment to promoting a stable and competitive insurance market for all Floridians.”
Yaworsky will become Florida’s permanent insurance commissioner at a critical time for the market as its airlines face what may be their toughest reinsurance renewal ever.
As we reported yesterday, specialist airlines in Florida are already looking for leverage to help them meet expected much higher reinsurance costs.
Reinsurance affordability will be an issue for many homeowners and property insurance carriers operating in the state, and it will put a lot of focus on the solvency of carriers operating in Florida this year.
At the same time, a recent Washington Post report cites a near reversal of previous storm trends with Hurricane Ian, as claims in many cases fall short of policyholders’ expectations.
This is a perhaps unexpected turn of events given that the reforms enacted in Florida for Hurricane Ian claims were not fully in place.
It also suggests there could be a risk of legal action involving Hurricane Ian with so many policyholders upset about the size of their repair claims.
All of this suggests that the new insurance commissioner has work to do.
Read all of our Florida insurance and reinsurance market news and analysis.
