The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) was created in November 1993 during a special legislative session after Hurricane Andrew caused over $15 billion in losses. The purpose of the FHCF is to protect and advance the state's interest in maintaining insurance capacity in Florida by providing reimbursements to insurers for a portion of their catastrophic hurricane losses.

This tax-exempt state trust fund serves both private insurers and Florida citizens.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is financed by several sources. Reimbursement premiums paid by participating insurers are the primary source of funding to cover FHCF's reimbursement obligations. In addition to these premiums, other sources of funds to pay FHCF claims include investment income, proceeds from pre-event bonding, recoveries from reinsurance and other risk-transfer transactions, and proceeds from post-event revenue bonds.

As of March 2021, the fund's assets had a market value of $12.9 billion.

The State Board of Administration (SBA) oversees the fund. As of March 2021, the board had $241.6 billion under management, of which the hurricane catastrophe fund comprised 5.4%.

Fourteen full-time equivalent employees manage the fund. A nine-member advisory council provides the SBA with information and advice in connection with its duties.

The SBA does not receive legislative appropriations for its activities related to the operations of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The cost of administering the fund is supported by reimbursement premiums collected from insurers.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund's Fiscal Year 2020-21 total operating budget is $9,605,459.85.

Fiscal Year 2020-21 Fund Reserves. Eleven years of minimal storm activity from 2006 to 2016 resulted in the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund accumulating sufficient reserves to prepare for future storms. For the 2020-2021 contract year, the FHCF’s available liquid resources have declined due to $8.75 billion of projected ultimate losses for Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Michael. As of December 31, 2020, the FHCF had an estimated fund balance of approximately $10.6 billion. The FHCF also had $650 million available in Series 2016A pre-event bond proceeds and $3.5 billion of Series 2020A pre-event bond proceeds providing additional liquidity for the 2020 season. Regardless of this fund balance, the FHCF would still need to rely on post-event bonding and emergency assessments to pay claims if a storm or storms of sufficient magnitude impacted Florida.

Annual Report of Aggregate Net Probable Maximum Losses, Financing Options, and Potential Assessments, Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, February 2021.
2019 Annual Report, Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, 2019.
2020-2021 Annual Regulatory Plan, Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, October 1, 2020.

Websites of Interest

State Board of Administration

Sections 215.555 through 215.559, Florida Statutes.

Anne Bert, Chief Operating Officer, 850-488-4406

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