Florida drivers with Progressive auto insurance are receiving credits on their policies, but insurance industry leaders say the refunds have less to do with state insurance reforms than officials have suggested.Watch report from Nadeen Yanes Florida drivers are getting money back from Progressive, but the real reason may surprise youProgressive credits are hitting accountsSuanne Vagnini, a Valrico resident on a fixed income, said she received a $257 credit from Progressive after the company cited Florida's insurance reform as the reason for the refund."I've been listening to you report about the insurance market, and I was listening even closer when you started talking about auto insurance and how credits were being afforded to people," Vagnini said. "And then one day, I got an email from Progressive, and they said they were crediting me because of a Florida insurance reform, and I got a $257 credit." Vagnini said she barely drives her 2009 Ford Focus, putting only 1,000 miles on it each year, yet her rates with Progressive had been climbing steadily."Since I went for Progressive they went up every 6 months, my rates went up 200 dollars," Vagnini said.For Vagnini, who lives alone on a fixed income, the rising costs have been a strain."Because, you know, everything is so costly, and you're putting money out, but you're not getting money in," Vagnini said.The credit came as a welcome relief."I feel great," Vagnini said. "You know, that's a lot of money for me."What officials said about the creditsAt a news conference in Sarasota in October 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the credits, framing them as a result of the state's litigation reforms. "Almost 1 billion dollars in credits for Progressive auto insurance policyholders," DeSantis said. "So the savings we have seen because of the litigation reforms now means they are going to be giving you and it depends on how long you have been with Progressive, if you have been with this whole time you will get a bigger rebate."Florida's Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky added that other companies are also cutting rates."We are seeing rates go down in the auto space in a pace we have not seen in decades, and that's directly attributable to the litigation reforms," Yaworsky said at the news conference.His office confirmed that several major auto insurers including Florida Farm Bureau, State Farm, Triple A, and Allstate have all dramatically cut rates, some by double digits.'They really aren't insurance reform credits': The deeper reason behind the refundsBut insurance industry leaders say the story is more complicated.The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation confirmed that Progressive credited back $950 million to drivers largely because of a much older Florida law. In 1977, lawmakers passed the Excessive Profits State Law, which mandates that insurers issue refunds to drivers when their profits exceed $1 billion. "If excess profits are found, our regulatory team works together with our legal team to draft a consent order which orders the company to return the excess profits to policyholders in accordance with Section 627.066, F.S.," a spokesperson with FOIR explained in an email. "Which states that an, 'Excessive profit has been realized if there has been an underwriting gain for the 3 most recent calendar-accident years combined which is greater than the anticipated underwriting profit plus 5 percent of earned premiums for those calendar-accident years.'"Insurance attorney David Murray said the credits should not be characterized as a product of recent reform efforts. "They aren't really insurance reform credits," Murray said. "These companies have been making money hand over fist year after year and then they went to Tallahassee and passed these insurance reforms and then all of a sudden months later, they make so much money they have to refund the money because if they don't they will be in violation of laws."The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation also confirmed that other companies are also making such large profits, that's why they are cutting rates, so they don't trigger this state law."Other companies, upon seeing their profitability increase, chose to return that value back to policyholders in the form of rate decreases before the company triggered the statute," a spokesperson with FOIR added.According to FOIR other companies are cutting rates, because they too are making large profits: Florida Farm Bureau has implemented an average rate decrease of -8.7% for its policyholders. Progressive filed an average rate decrease of -8%, which comes on the heels of their recent announcement to refund over $1 billion to their policyholders. State Farm introduced an average decrease of -10.1%, marking their third reduction since 2024; in total, these moves have reduced rates by more than 20% and provided over $1 billion in statewide savings. AAA delivered three separate rate reductions over the past year to lower premiums by -15%, and they have already filed a fourth round of reductions. Allstate is providing a reprieve for 13,100 drivers with an average rate decrease of -4%. And the expectation as is that consumers will continue to see rates decline in 2026.What Progressive saidIn a statement, a Progressive spokesperson said the company's performance in Florida following the 2023 insurance reforms led directly to the credits."Since Florida insurance reform in 2023, Progressive has had lower than anticipated loss costs in the state for certain types of personal auto claims and favorable development and has experienced strong financial performance in our Florida personal auto business with the unexpected absence of Florida hurricanes during 2025 as a contributing factor," the spokesperson said. "As a result, Progressive has meaningfully lowered Florida personal auto rates over the past year. Despite our ongoing actions to match price to risk, Progressive has exceeded the profit limit that a Florida statute imposes for this specific line of business for the 2023-2025 accident year period, and is proactively returning the estimated excess profits to eligible Florida personal auto policyholders on December 31, 2025 on an accelerated timeline earlier than the Florida statute requires while following the process outlined in the statute."The spokesperson said Progressive began notifying eligible policyholders in mid-January and that the company's goal is to have credits issued within several weeks after eligible policyholders receive their notification. Individual credits are prorated based on each policy's premium during calendar year 2025.'Just incredible': Vagnini's reactionVagnini said she was surprised Progressive did not disclose the full reason in its original letter."I was surprised that Progressive didn't tell us in the letter that they sent us," Vagnini said.When told that Progressive had nearly a billion dollars in excess profits, Vagnini had a simple reaction."Incredible, just incredible," Vagnini said.Still, she said she is grateful for the credit and for the state law that required it."It's very pleasing to hear that the state recognizes certain carriers well, I guess all insurance carriers if they're making too much money, that the law states they need to give it back to the policyholders. So that's great news," Vagnini said.For more details on the credits available here ...read more read less