Your Condo Fees Could Be About to Skyrocket — And a Bill Headed to DeSantis May Be to Blame
A quietly passed piece of legislation could strip Florida condo associations of their Citizens Insurance coverage — and hand a no-bid contract to a billion-dollar firm with direct ties to GOP mega-donors.
⚠ WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
If you own a condo in Florida, Senate Bill 1028 could force your building out of Citizens Insurance and into a more expensive surplus lines policy — with no meaningful way to fight back.
Florida condo owners are already stretched thin. Between rising HOA fees, mandatory building inspections, and years of runaway property insurance increases, many families are asking how much more they can absorb. Now, a bill awaiting Governor Ron DeSantis’s signature may be about to make things significantly worse.
Senate Bill 1028 is drawing fierce criticism from an unlikely source: the insurance industry itself. Trade groups, independent agents, and veteran insurance lobbyists have all raised red flags — and with good reason.
Key Numbers at a Glance
INSURANCE SHARE OF HOA BUDGETS
65–90%
Of total condo association costs
PRICE THRESHOLD TO OPT OUT
15%
The only escape from a surplus lines offer
RYAN SPECIALTY 2024 PROFIT
$214M
Stands to manage the new program
POLITICAL DONATIONS TO GOP
$50M+
From Ryan Specialty's founder over 5 years
What does this bill actually do?
To understand Senate Bill 1028, you first need to know what Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is. Citizens is Florida’s state-backed insurer of last resort — the nonprofit option for homeowners and businesses that can’t find affordable coverage on the private market. For thousands of Florida condo buildings, Citizens is a financial lifeline.
SB 1028 would create a new “commercial lines clearinghouse” — a program allowing surplus lines insurance companies to step in and offer coverage to condo buildings that are currently with Citizens or applying for Citizens coverage. Surplus lines insurers operate outside the pricing controls that regulate standard insurers. They typically cover unusual, high-risk properties — and they charge accordingly.
Here’s the critical part: if a surplus lines insurer puts in an offer to cover your condo building, the association would be immediately kicked out of Citizens eligibility — even if the private offer costs more. The only exception? If the surplus lines quote is more than 15% higher than Citizens’ price. In other words, your building could be forced into a more expensive plan, and there’s almost nothing your HOA can do about it.
"Haven't we had enough rate increases in the state of Florida — and now we're going to give these guys the option to charge 15 percent above that?"
— Mel Montagne, South Florida insurance broker specializing in condo and HOA coverage
Who benefits — and who wrote the bill?
Unlike the personal lines clearinghouse Citizens already manages itself, SB 1028 would require Citizens to hire an outside vendor to run this commercial program. And that contract is widely expected to go to Ryan Specialty — a Chicago-based insurance services firm whose founder and executive chairman, Patrick Ryan, and his wife have donated more than $50 million to Republican congressional candidates over the past five years.
Ryan Specialty didn’t just lobby for the bill. Company executives helped write it. A draft amendment to SB 1028 shows direct edits made by Ryan Specialty’s own general counsel. The bill was sponsored by Senator Joe Gruters, a Republican from the Sarasota area who chairs the Republican National Committee.
The bill doesn’t name Ryan Specialty explicitly, but it requires the administrator be a publicly traded firm with surplus lines expertise — conditions that very few companies meet. And Ryan Specialty has already developed an AI-based clearinghouse platform it has been pitching to Florida officials.
Why even the insurance industry is sounding the alarm
Opposition to SB 1028 from the insurance industry itself is significant and telling. The Florida Surplus Lines Association, independent agent groups, and veteran lobbyists have all raised concerns about conflicts of interest baked into the bill’s structure.
The core problem: Ryan Specialty also sells surplus lines insurance. If it also controls the clearinghouse that decides which insurers get access to Florida condo buildings, it could steer business toward its own network — at the expense of competitors and, ultimately, Florida condo owners.
⚠ INDUSTRY CONCERN ON RECORD
“Empowering a single entity to operate the clearinghouse would create a significant structural market advantage, raising concerns about competition, access, and balance within the marketplace.”
— Al Geraci, President, Florida Surplus Lines Association
Even if the program operates in complete good faith, the appearance of steering and anti-competitive behavior could create public pressure to regulate surplus lines insurance far more aggressively — something the broader industry wants to avoid.
What happens next — and what it could mean for your legal rights
NOW
Bill awaiting Governor DeSantis’s signature or veto. Ryan Specialty has reportedly placed $750,000 into political committees, with $200,000 going to a committee tied to the governor.
IF SIGNED
Citizens must stand up the clearinghouse by January 2026 at the latest. Condo associations could begin receiving — and being forced to respond to — surplus lines offers almost immediately.
FOR CONDO OWNERS
Higher insurance premiums flow directly into higher HOA fees. Owners with fixed incomes or tight budgets may face financial hardship — and limited legal recourse under current law.
If SB 1028 becomes law, Florida condo associations and individual owners may have limited options — but they aren’t necessarily powerless. There may be grounds to challenge coverage decisions, examine the terms of surplus lines policies, or push back on fee increases that lack proper legal justification. Understanding your rights now, before premiums spike, could make a significant difference.
Concerned About Your Condo Coverage or HOA Fees?
Our Florida property attorneys help condo owners and associations understand their rights under changing insurance laws. A free consultation could save you thousands.
