Florida’s Chief Financial Officer repeated his call for state funding relief on windstorm insurance rates.
Tom Gallagher, who is running for Governor, pointed to the latest revenue estimates from The Florida General Revenue Estimating Conference.
He says Florida is expected to receive an additional $960 million in unanticipated revenue this year and the next. And the latest estimate is in addition to $3.2 billion in increased revenue announced earlier.
“This surplus of nearly $4.2 billion strengthens the case for providing immediate insurance rate-relief to Florida’s homeowners,” Gallagher said. “Providing rate relief for Florida’s families using surplus tax dollars is good public policy and I’m encouraged by the growing support for it from Governor Bush and state lawmakers.
“This is not a bailout of Citizens; it is common-sense relief for Florida’s hard-hit homeowners.” Since 2004, Gallagher has called on the Legislature to use surplus tax revenues to offset assessments by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
He said Floridians are paying twice for damages incurred by multiple hurricanes. When the Legislature created Citizens, the state’s insurer of last resort, it mandated that any shortfalls in revenue be recovered through assessments on homeowners.
“Rate relief is a short-term solution and should be tied to long-term fixes,” Gallagher said. “The eight hurricanes which struck Florida in less than 15 months created problems that no one could have ever anticipated."
Excerpts From: "Gallagher: Use state surplus to offset windstorm hikes "
By Staff Writers
The Upper Keys Reporter
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ENSURING THE AVAILABILITY OF INSURANCE FOR FLORIDA’S BUSINESSES AND PROVIDING OPTIONS TO INCREASE AFFORDABILITY FOR ALL
Insuring Availability for Florida’s Businesses
The Commercial JUA's structure is a decision that is left to the Financial Services Commission, with input from Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty and the Office of Insurance Regulation. The preferable structure would be to have the Commercial JUA serve as a re-insurer of the private market to help encourage the private market to write coverage for the businesses that currently can not obtain property coverage.
Under this structure, the Commercial JUA would function like the CAT Fund by providing lower cost reinsurance to help encourage the private market to expand coverage. This structure keeps the JUA from serving as the direct underwriter and being forced to develop the customer service and claims handling infrastructure that has bedeviled Citizens. The Commercial JUA encourages greater participation from private companies and does not create a "Citizens for business".
The Commercial JUA is designed to serve as a short-term solution to the current lack of property insurance availability. Florida businesses are being forced to choose between closing their doors and eliminating thousands of jobs or operating their businesses without property coverage and risking financial disaster if a hurricane were to strike their area.
Providing Options for Affordability
Florida homeowners do not need to be held hostage by offshore reinsurance companies who will not make the necessary insurance available to Florida and for the amount available charging unprecedented high rates. Lowering the threshold of the CAT Fund from $5.2 billion to $3 billion Florida would help stabilize insurance rates and expand desperately needed coverage in the private market.
Gallagher recommends that representatives from the Cabinet offices, the Legislature, Office of Insurance Regulation and the State Board of Administration form a working group to explore this option. A special session would be required to approve changes in the retention level of the CAT Fund. Gallagher has written a letter to Governor Bush asking him to call a special session when a consensus is reached. These changes to the CAT Fund should provide more capacity in the market place and relief to Florida homeowners.
If a special session is not called before the Inauguration, a Gallagher Administration would call a special session to deal with this issue.
Gallagher for Governor Communications
07/27/2006
Tom Gallagher for Governor
Website: www.TG2006.com
DeFede revived a topic Crist faced last year: whether he is gay.
"The point is, I'm not. There's the answer. How do you like it?" Crist said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, as they say on Seinfeld. But I just happen not to be."
Is he or isn't he?