The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) announced that eight property and casualty insurers are coming to Florida following legislative reforms designed to promote market stability.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will hold public hearings next week to determine if two private insurance companies can increase their premiums by more than 53%.

Roof-damage claims. Lawsuits. Reinsurance costs. For tens of thousands of homeowners, those issues could add up to large property-insurance rate increases if state regulators sign off on proposals presented Tuesday.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Though Hurricane Dorian stayed off Floridas East Coast, it has led to nearly 4,000 insurance claims and $18.8 million in estimated insured losses, according to information posted on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. In all, 3,961 claims from Dorian had been reported as of Monday, with more than half -- 2,288 -- involving residential property. The massive Dorian caused widespread fears in Florida early this month before it steered away from the coast, sparing residents, businesses and insurance companies from costly damage. As a comparison, last years Category 5 Hurricane Michael, which decimated parts of Northwest Florida, caused an estimated $6.9 billion in insured losses, according to the Office of Insurance Regulation. Editor's note: In an article Tuesday, the News Service of Florida incorrectly reported the number of residential property-insurance claims from Dorian.

The state-backed Citizens and other insurers had blamed higher rates on fraud and litigation involving assignment of benefits, commonly known as AOB. In a news release issued late Monday, state Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier credited the new law (HB 7065) with helping reduce the Citizens rate hike. We are pleased to see that AOB reforms passed by the Legislature are already having a positive effect on rates, Altmaier said. Along with the AOB changes, the new Citizens rates also reflect the Office of Insurance Regulation freezing rates in Monroe County for many wind and multi-peril residential policies. While the majority will see rate increases, about 67,000 will see rates go down.