Analysis summary
Why are insurance claims chasers moving from Florida to Texas? Because Florida's 2022 and 2023 legal reforms reduced the lawsuits and attorney fees they relied on, and Texas offers the hail, wind and hurricane claims volume to replace them. This analysis shows how attorneys, public adjusters and contractors are accused of manufacturing claims that would otherwise never have been made, how insurers are responding with higher premiums, higher deductibles and tighter terms, and why the average Texas homeowners premium is estimated to have reached $3,506 in 2025, up nearly 48% from 2022. It delivers fast insight on the estimated $38bn to $48bn a year in total litigation costs in Texas, the tort reform the Insurance Information Institute expects lawmakers to take up in 2027, and the governor's push for a fraud task force and fortified-roof pricing.Subscribe to get comprehensive access to our exclusive analysis in the full platform.
Sources say that interlopers' improper practices are hiking insurance prices in Texas.
Fleeing Florida following legal reform, waves of insurance claims chasers are arriving in Texas, sparking reactions from insurers and state officials that already worried about insurance affordability, according to sources.
In response to higher claims activity, insurers have been imposing higher rates and stricter terms and conditions, simultaneously as officials mull ways to head off rate hikes and clamp down on fraud.
"We have seen a dramatic increase, not just in Texas, but throughout the Midwest, of Florida storm-chasing contractors, water mitigation contractors, public adjusters and lawyers all heading west to set up shops in states where they can try to replicate their Florida schemes," Steven Badger, a partner at the law firm Zelle, told Insurance Insider US.
The so-called interlopers range from opportunistic to borderline illegal, as the insurance litigation business booms and spreads across the country.
The most problematic Florida exports are attorneys, adjusters and contractors who industry advocates say are talking policyholders into submitting claims at elevated costs.
Some attorneys push clients to take cases to litigation in order to collect elevated payouts and attorney's fees that wouldn't be available if settled out of court with the carrier, sources said.
"I don't begrudge anyone the right to make a living and try to expand your practice, but if you're going to come up here and try to rip off insurance companies, I'm going to respond, and my clients are going to respond," said Badger, who often represents carriers in the state.
Many in the industry point the finger eastward at Florida's recent crackdown on legal practices. In 2022 and 2023, the state tightened rules around litigating these cases and getting rid of things like one-way attorney fees.
After the changes, once the state with the highest number of insurance lawsuits, Florida soon saw claims litigation begin to fall and the beneficiaries of the old system saw their sources of revenue decline, sources observed. So, they began to look elsewhere.
"Somebody's fished out your favorite fishing hole, so you would go to the next best fishing hole," Joe Petrelli, president and co-founder of Demotech said. “I mean, it's really that simple.”
Bigger in Texas
With wind and hail in the northern part of the state and hurricanes in the southern region, Texas is a perfect place for claims-chasers to set up.
"If you want potential volume of claims, you'd want to go to a state where there were weather issues," Petrelli said. "So you go to Texas, where hail, windstorms, even flooding and some hurricanes create claims volume at industrial scale very quickly."
The big concern is firms generating so-called "manufactured" claims, sources said, in which a lawyer or contractor convinces a homeowner to make a claim they otherwise wouldn't have made.
"These are not typical situations where there's legitimate dispute between an insured and the insurance company, and they call a public adjuster or a lawyer for help," Badger said.
"That's not what we're seeing. We are seeing the same manufactured claims schemes that existed in Florida that they're [now] trying to replicate here."
In some cases, attorneys sign homeowners up to claim repairs and connect them with a contractor they know that does the work at unreasonably high costs, sources said. If the carrier doesn't pay, fully or partially, the policyholder may still be on the hook for payments.
Many claims are “downright bogus”, according to Badger, but the cost of litigating them can be so high that carriers sometimes just decide to settle.
Some cases can also be as simple as talking a homeowner into making a claim for repairs barely above the deductible, making a quick buck for the attorneys and contractors, but resulting in higher premiums for the property owner down the line.
Richard Greer, an independent field adjuster in Tallahassee, Florida, has seen similar operations develop over the years inside the state.
They sprang up in Southeast Florida – "a hotbed for a lot of the claims issues" – decades ago and soon spread north as hurricanes in the 2010s took huge tolls on the property owners across the state, he told Insurance Insider US.
After a hurricane in 2018, he recalled seeing a surprising spike of sink leak claims – something he hadn't seen before at that volume.
"It was the same firms with the same tactics, and on top of that, when they called in remediation, the remediation companies were from South Florida," all the way on the other side of the state, Greer said.
“Now those people are in the great state of Texas.”
The American Tort Reform Association has labelled the Lone Star state a potential “judicial hellhole” due to escalating nuclear verdicts and unfavorable appellate court rulings.
The US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform estimates that total litigation costs in Texas are around $38bn to $48bn a year, Insurance Information Institute spokesperson Mark Friedlander said.
"With the high volume of severe weather events year-round in Texas, it’s no surprise that billboard attorneys are aggressively seeking new business in the Lone Star State as well," Friedlander said in an email to Insurance Insider US.
Texas reacts
Insurers in Texas are responding with higher prices and tighter terms for policyholders.
“What we're seeing, obviously, is increased premiums. We're seeing increased deductibles. We're seeing more exclusions and limited coverage,” Badger said.
The trend of premium increases for Texas homeowners has accelerated in the past few years. The average annual premium is estimated to have hit $3,506 in 2025, up nearly 48% from 2022.
Insurers are also opting to exercise their rights to repair policyholders' homes and pay for the costs themselves, he added, instead of leaving the choice of vendor to the homeowner.
All of this means that insurance is becoming increasingly unaffordable and unwieldy in Texas, and state regulators and politicians are making moves to address the issue.
"We expect lawmakers to address tort reform in the [2027 Texas legislative] session, which begins in January," Friedlander said.
Governor Greg Abbott released a letter earlier this month directing the Texas Department of Insurance to require insurers to include a home’s fortified roof status in rate setting calculations. He also ordered additional pricing rules and the creation of an insurance fraud task force.
The Texas House of Representatives' 2026 interim committee charges include studies and evaluations of insurance cost drivers impacting consumers.
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Frequently asked questions
What prompted claims chasers to leave Florida?
Many in the industry point the finger eastward at Florida's recent crackdown on legal practices. In 2022 and 2023, the state tightened rules around litigating these cases and getting rid of things like one-way attorney fees.
Why is Texas attractive to claims chasers?
With wind and hail in the northern part of the state and hurricanes in the southern region, Texas is a perfect place for claims-chasers to set up.
What is a manufactured insurance claim?
The big concern is firms generating so-called "manufactured" claims, sources said, in which a lawyer or contractor convinces a homeowner to make a claim they otherwise wouldn't have made.
Why has Texas been called a judicial hellhole?
The American Tort Reform Association has labelled the Lone Star state a potential “judicial hellhole” due to escalating nuclear verdicts and unfavorable appellate court rulings.
How much does litigation cost Texas?
The US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform estimates that total litigation costs in Texas are around $38bn to $48bn a year, Insurance Information Institute spokesperson Mark Friedlander said.
How are insurers responding in Texas?
Insurers in Texas are responding with higher prices and tighter terms for policyholders.
How much have Texas homeowners premiums risen?
The trend of premium increases for Texas homeowners has accelerated in the past few years. The average annual premium is estimated to have hit $3,506 in 2025, up nearly 48% from 2022.
By Caleb Harshberger
31 August, 2026
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