Posted on 01/18/2007 9:00:06 AM PST by doc30
TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers appear ready to deliver on one of Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign promises to punish insurers who have retreated from the state's property market while still writing other insurance in the Sunshine State, such as auto.
In a surprise voice vote Wednesday, the Florida Senate agreed to force Florida insurance companies who write property insurance in other states to offer it here if they want to continue writing any insurance in this state. The House has a similar proposal.
"The 'cherry-picking' in this state has got to stop," said Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, as he proposed the new language on the Senate floor with co-sponsor Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon. "We've got to send a message to the insurance industry, because we've heard that message from our homeowners back home that they won't tolerate the cherry-picking in this state any longer."
(Excerpt) Read more at sptimes.com ...
This can only end badly.
This statement alone indicates that you have no idea what you are talking about. Insurance is based on spreading the risk. Not everyone in Florida lives on the beach, but we all are at risk here.
Complaining about insurance companies not wanting to cover your house which is in a hurricane prone area is the same as the overweight, junk-food scarfing, cigarette smoking slob who insists that they should be given health insurance for the same premium as someone who watches what they eat, exercises, etc.
And this one takes the cake. You have no idea what it is like to worry whether you will have insurance next year, or what it might cost. When your insurance doubles, and then doubles again, and might just dissappear all together, it is a bonafied CRISIS!
Homeowners insurance is REQUIRED by anyone with a mortgage. It is also desired by anyone that would like to keep his or her house should the paper boy fall on your driveway and bust his kneecap. Nobody is suggesting that Insurance companies lose money either. I do think that it is unfair for a company to offer Homeowners insurance in one state (or county) and not another. If you bought a house in Florida today, your choices in insurance are one: Citizen's.
I think we can count on policyholders in MT objecting strongly to their rates going up significantly so that homeowners in FL don't have to pay so much.
For certain sure nobody will give you a mortgage on an uninsured property.
I checked on my insurance payment this year as my "mortgage" payment hasn't changed at all.
Amazingly enough, living near Orlando, my insurance hasn't gone up a bit in the past few years.
I should go do some major knocking on wood now. Be back later ;)
ping...
There are also a lot of carriers pulling out of NJ and NY coastal areas. We get a lot of calls for those, too.
Wrong, but a good attempt.
I live about 10 miles inland, in a well-drained location about 60 feet above sea level. If I board up well, I should have minimal damage even from a major storm.
Should I pay the same amount per $100,000 of value as somebody with a new $5M home right on the beach, which will absolutely, positively be destroyed if a Cat 4 comes ashore there?
If so, I am paying part of the risk for somebody with a great deal more money than I have. Those on the coast generally are wealthier and more politically powerful than those inland. That's why the state refuses to allow individual risk assessment by property.
They ought to do the same with health insurance too.
I think you hit on the REAL problem.
A home along the ocean should be building for the worst case scenario not the most common bad scenario.
That 4 million dollar home should be build for a cat 5.
Construction codes do not say what a person can or can not build or where they can live in THIS case, just to the level of quality they must build.
Perhaps what we need is a rating system for individual homes. So a house with a rating of 3 will survive a category 3 with no damage. Thus we get away from the "block" system and go into the personal responsibility system.
Insurance companies reduce risk by buying reinsurance to insure themselves against catastrophic losses. Reinsurance for insurance companies is relatively cheap but more than coastal homeowners can afford. New money is needed for realistic loss projections.
Coastal homeowners have a potential source of new money available to them: state revenues from offshore drilling. Awkward of course because the state holds the rights to the money. Since the pristine seaview affects the coastal residents primarily, the state could allow drilling and use the procedes to buy down reinsurance rates. Residents lose some of their view but benefit by lower insurance rates.
The days of having it all are over.
I'm not talking about "less competition", I'm talking NO competition, at all. The State of Florida would essentially become "self-insured" and de-facto owners of the building and supply industry.....
What about the person in the 45 year old mobile home 5 miles from a paved road in a county with only a volunteer fire department?
Should he pay the same per square foot as you?
BTW, he has three Dobermans, a Rotwieller, and a couple Pit Bulls!
Do you live in Florida or have personal experience with hurricanes, risk assessments and damage appraisals?
IMHO, state insurance regulators should only ensure that the companies have adequate statutory capital to underwrite policies in their state, so that snake-oil insurance companies don't simply file bankruptcy when there are many claims to be paid. Laissez faire, buyer beware capitalism fails here because people can't be expected to become expert in analyzing insurers' financial statements.
The regulators should NOT be in the business of determining premiums, what policies can or cannot be written in a particular state, etc., however. The private market can deal with this just fine. People can then shop based upon prices and coverage while being assured that the companies will have the dough to pony up when the time comes.
Should he pay the same per square foot as you?
Nope. He has different risks than I do.
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