On this week’s “Florida NewsMakers” program, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty sits down with Sachs Media Group’s Trimmel Gomes to discuss changes in the state’s insurance market.

Florida officials are bracing for insurance premiums to increase substantially as a result of provisions in the federal Affordable Care Act. “Rates for individual markets will be going up 30 to 40 percent, and in the small group market those rates will be going up from 5 to 20 percent,” Commissioner McCarty tells Gomes. However, federal officials maintain the state’s premiums will remain affordable. As for Florida’s property insurance market, McCarty says this is a very good year: “Right now this is probably the best market I’ve seen for hurricane coverage in my tenure as insurance commissioner. There is a great deal of new capital coming to the marketplace.” McCarty addresses those issues and more on “Florida NewsMakers.”

All Florida NewsMakers episodes are also available as free podcasts in the Apple iTunes store. Click here to listen and subscribe.