Following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, candidates running for office in Florida are being barraged with questions on the high cost of property Insurance.
This was evident in a recent forum for the District 3 state Senate race between incumbent Republican state Sen. Corey Simon and his opponent, Democrat Daryl Parks.
Parks blamed Simon for supporting a GOP-backed bill imposing more tort reform on lawyers and limiting Floridians’ ability to sue insurance companies. Simon says the bill was needed to attract more insurance companies to the state.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average Florida homeowner’s policy premium has doubled, jumping 102% over the past three years.
According to an Associated Industries of Florida survey that came out earlier this month, polling shows property insurance cost (along with inflation) ranks as the most critical issue currently facing Floridians.
While Democrats blame the GOP for not doing enough, democrats have been silent on proposals of their own to deal with the crisis.
Republicans mostly support free-market ideas to deal with the state’s economic problems, but the legislation that was passed includes more government involvement to help soften the cost for consumers.
Like $400 million in disaster relief bills, more than $3 billion has been set aside by the Florida Legislature in reinsurance assistance to help attract more companies to the state, and more government proposals are being talked about by Republicans, like having private insurers be allowed to get backup coverage from the state-run Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, a move some say may lower prices.
“These current insurance reforms coming out of Tallahassee won’t do anything to help lower the cost for consumers,” said well-known Florida attorney John Morgan.
Morgan told Florida Daily the GOP is using the trial lobby as a scapegoat because homeowners aren’t seeing the insurance cost go down and they need somebody to blame it on.
“If you’re going to live in the zone of danger, you’re going to have a bigger risk there’s no question about it. If you want to live on the water, you got to pay to live on the water but this so called “reform” doesn’t address those issues, There is so much insurance fraud out there,” Morgan said.
