Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business / Economy News

John Grant Opinion: Continued Progress is Needed for Florida’s Property Insurance Woes

As chairman of the Florida Senate Insurance Committee,‭ ‬I was heavily involved in the insurance crisis that followed Hurricane Andrew more than‭ ‬30‭ ‬years ago.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬once again,‭ ‬we are in an eerily similar situation with homeowners‭ ‬and insurers alike suffering.‭

Recently the market took another hit when Farmers Insurance‭ ‬became the fourth insurance company to leave the state within the past year.‭ ‬Then AAA piled on and said it would issue some non-renewals‭ ‬on‭ ‬a small percentage of its business within Florida.‭ ‬Both Farmers and AAA‭ ‬indicate their changes are because it’s‭ ‬become increasingly difficult to manage risk exposure in Florida.‭

This is underscored by‭ ‬Hurricane Ian’s devastation on the Gulf Coast,‭ ‬rebuilding,‭ ‬and recovery costs,‭ ‬leading‭ ‬to an unprecedented rise in reinsurance rates.‭ ‬Those increases,‭ ‬escalating housing prices,‭ ‬and inflation rates are creating the perfect storm for homeowners,‭ ‬especially our seniors who are on fixed incomes.‭

According to the Insurance Information Institute,‭ ‬the average annual property insurance premium‭ ‬in Florida‭ ‬is more than triple the national average.‭ ‬If homeowners haven’t lost their insurance,‭ ‬they’re likely to face rate increases.‭ ‬If they lose their insurance and can’t find a replacement,‭ ‬then they face foreclosure because most banks require‭ ‬proof of‭ ‬insurance to write loans on mortgages.‭

Thankfully,‭ ‬two special sessions‭ ‬on insurance in recent years‭ ‬led to revisions in the state’s legal infrastructure,‭ ‬specifically limiting‭ ‬the number of lawsuits that can be filed against insurance companies.‭ ‬Gov.‭ ‬Ron DeSantis‭ ‬and the legislature‭ ‬also made it possible to provide financial incentives to insurance companies in an effort to entice them to stay.‭

It has been made clear that the significant gains and momentum from the previous sessions will take some time to benefit both insurance companies and consumers.‭ ‬The Speaker of the House recently said that it will take a‭ “‬couple of years before it levels out.‭” ‬We cannot wait that long–especially seniors.

‭ ‬It’s important that politicians on both sides of the aisle not rest on the anticipated progress and call another‭ ‬special session on insurance to work on additional reform that can provide additional insurance relief.‭ ‬The legislature has made improvements,‭ ‬but they can do better.

With the state-led Citizens Property Insurance,‭ ‬which is supposed to be the insurance of last resort,‭ ‬projected to reach‭ ‬1.7‭ ‬million policies,‭ ‬or nearly four times its size in‭ ‬2020,‭ ‬we need additional reform now‭! ‬Citizens has added some‭ ‬4,000‭ ‬new policies within the past month.‭ ‬Change is necessary to help policyholders,‭ ‬make sure more insurers don’t leave our state,‭ ‬and give our residents more cost-effective options.‭

Clearly,‭ ‬this is a complicated issue that impacts almost everyone in the state,‭ ‬and this crisis is going to take a collective effort to solve.‭ ‬To be successful,‭ ‬we need our national and state-based insurers to continue their commitment to Floridians.‭ ‬The issue is not an insurance one alone.‭ ‬It affects the entire state economy.‭ ‬The time for the governor and the Legislature to act is now‭!

John Grant is a former Florida state representative and state senator.‭ ‬He is the president of Seniors Across America and a member of the PBM Accountability Project of Florida. He is also a member of the National Senior Citizen Hall of Fame.

Author

Archives

Related Articles

Top Story

Marion County, FL — The state of Florida has awarded more than 7,800 recruitment bonuses to newly hired law enforcement officers through the Florida...

Florida Government & Politics

Throughout the state, media outlets are running headlines that hype Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ feud with the Florida House Speaker, Danny Perez. The issue has evolved...

Trending News

Florida lawmakers from the Senate and House released their fiscal year 2025-2026 spending budgets. But how do they compare with each other and the...

Governor Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a plan to provide property tax relief to homeowners across the state, including rebate checks averaging $1,000 for...

Advertisement
Florida Daily
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

HOW WE COLLECT E-MAIL INFORMATION:

If you sign up to subscribe to Florida Daily’s e-mail newsletter, you will provide us your e-mail address and name, voluntarily, and we will never obtain any of your contact information that you don’t voluntarily provide.

HOW WE USE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS IF YOU VOLUNTARILY PROVIDE IT TO US:

If you voluntarily provide us with your name and email address, we will use it to send you one email update per weekday. Your email address will not be given to any third parties.

YOUR CONTROLS:

You will have the option to unsubscribe to our E-mail update at anytime by clicking an unsubscribe link that will be provided in each E-Mail we send.