What is David Jolly's plan for a state catastrophic fund to lower home insurance costs?
David Jolly's plan is to create a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private insurance market, a move he says would cut home insurance costs by 60 to 70 percent for Florida homeowners and renters. He fought for a national version of the same idea as a Congressman from Pinellas County, and says the tools to do it at the state level are within reach right now.
David Jolly on how a state catastrophic fund and a different basket of solutions could bring housing costs down.
The plan, at a glance
Take hurricane risk off the private market
Jolly proposes a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private market, which he says would save homeowners and renters 60 to 70 percent.
A reform record, not a new idea
As a Congressman from Pinellas County, Jolly fought for a national catastrophic fund. The state fund applies the same principle to Florida.
Part of a broader affordability plan
The catastrophic fund sits alongside no-interest state-backed loans for condo repairs and a cap on utility profits to bring down the cost of owning a home.
Why this matters
Across Florida, the dream of owning a home is slipping away. Not because people stopped working. Because the cost of keeping a roof over their head keeps climbing. David Jolly, drawing on 160 town halls across the state, has said Florida is gripped by an affordability crisis and exhausted by culture wars. Property insurance sits at the center of that crisis. In the campaign's own words, it is the primary reason so many people in Florida are struggling to afford a home. From renters to retirees to homeowners, the burden of property insurance keeps housing out of reach.
For some, this is called an insurance problem. But for many families, it goes deeper than that. This is an economic crisis. Jolly has pointed out that half the state does not have enough savings to last two weeks and the average age of a first-time homebuyer in Florida is now around 40. When a hurricane premium doubles, it is not a line item. It is the difference between staying and leaving.
The state catastrophic fund
The core of Jolly's answer is a state catastrophic fund. The idea is direct: pull hurricane coverage out of the private market and back it through the state instead. Jolly says this would create a savings of 60 to 70 percent for homeowners, and that the same relief would reach renters as well. This is not a theory he picked up on the trail. As a member of Congress from Pinellas County, he fought for a national catastrophic fund. The state fund is the same principle brought home to Florida.
The catastrophic fund does not stand alone. The campaign's affordability plan pairs it with a no-interest, state-backed loan program so condominium associations and owners can handle the crushing cost of generational repairs. And Jolly proposes capping the rate of profit for investor-backed utilities at the national average. That still leaves utilities an almost 10 percent return, but it fights for fairness for ratepayers. As Jolly puts it, these solutions are within reach right now. The current governor and legislature are just ideologically opposed to them.
This isn't politics as usual. It's a different basket of solutions for home ownership. The question, in Jolly's framing, is not where a solution comes from. The question is whether it makes life better for the family writing the check every month. For the full affordability plan, including workforce and rental housing, see the campaign's housing and affordability page.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is David Jolly's plan for a state catastrophic fund?
Jolly proposes a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private market and backs it through the state. He says this would create a savings of 60 to 70 percent for homeowners and renters alike. He fought for a national catastrophic fund as a Congressman from Pinellas County and now wants to build the state version as governor.
Q. How much would a catastrophic fund save Florida homeowners?
Jolly says removing hurricane coverage from the private market through a state catastrophic fund would create a savings of 60 to 70 percent for homeowners, with relief reaching renters as well. The exact savings for any given household depends on location and risk profile, but the mechanism is the same: the state absorbs the catastrophic hurricane peril the private market currently prices into every premium.
Q. Why is home insurance so expensive in Florida?
Florida's hurricane exposure adds reinsurance costs that get passed through to premiums, and the private market prices that catastrophic risk into every homeowner's bill. The campaign has described property insurance as the primary reason so many Floridians struggle to afford a home. A state catastrophic fund is designed to remove the single most volatile cost driver, natural-disaster perils, from the private market entirely.
Q. Has Jolly worked on a catastrophic fund before?
Yes. As a member of Congress representing Pinellas County, Jolly fought for a national catastrophic fund. That is the same reform he now proposes to build at the state level as governor. His record on this issue predates his run for governor and is bipartisan-coded: he pushed the idea as a then-Republican Congressman.
Q. Does the plan help renters too, or just homeowners?
Both. Jolly says a state catastrophic fund would create savings for homeowners and renters alike, because insurance costs baked into property expenses ultimately show up in rent. The broader affordability plan also calls for scaling up investments in workforce and affordable housing so more rental units become available based on a family's income, trade, or proximity to work.
Q. What else is in Jolly's plan besides the catastrophic fund?
The catastrophic fund is one part of a broader basket of solutions. Jolly also proposes a no-interest, state-backed loan program to help condominium associations and owners cover the cost of generational repairs, and a cap on the rate of profit for investor-backed utilities at the national average, which still leaves them an almost 10 percent return while fighting for fairness for ratepayers. On rentals, he calls for scaling up workforce and affordable housing.
Q. Why haven't these solutions already been done in Florida?
Jolly says these solutions are within reach right now, and that the current governor and legislature are ideologically opposed to them. In his framing, the tools already exist. The obstacle is a preference for leaving Floridians in the private market rather than using the state to bring costs down. His candidacy is built on offering a different basket of solutions.
Q. How does the catastrophic fund fit into the affordability crisis overall?
Jolly frames affordability as the core issue under which housing, healthcare, education, and insurance all sit. He has said Florida is slipping away from us, that too many people can no longer afford the state, and that half the state does not have enough savings to last two weeks. Lowering the cost of insurance is one of the most direct ways to make staying in Florida possible again.
Sources
- As Governor: Housing affordability (David Jolly), https://davidjolly.com/videos/housing · 2026-01-01
- Affordability and Insurance Crisis (David Jolly campaign), https://davidjolly.com/affordability · 2026-01-01
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