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The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America launched an advertising campaign today in Florida warning lawmakers about misguided hurricane insurance bills that will raise rates, make insurance harder to find and force thousands of consumers into the state-run insurance program.
“Through our advertising campaign, we are alerting legislators that some so-called “pro-consumer” proposals being considered will have a devastating impact on homeowners and the insurance marketplace,” William Stander, PCI regional manager said. “During the final days of the legislative session, we are urging legislators to take a true pro-consumer position. Lawmakers should seek solutions that not only provide homeowners with additional consumer protections, but also ensure that insurance is more readily available and competitively priced from a variety of financially sound insurance companies. We all need to work toward making Florida better prepared for the next big storm.”
The Florida Legislature is considering a number of bills that address the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, the state-run Citizen’s Property Insurance Corporation, sinkhole insurance, commercial hurricane deductibles, disclosure of hurricane mitigation discounts and the state’s value to policy law, which requires insurers to pay for flood damage.
“Legislators have made positive changes to some of the proposals,” Stander said. “However, we are concerned that some of the proposals will cause a shift in the marketplace from competition among insurance companies to an increased reliance on government regulators and the problem-plagued Citizens. This would hurt consumers and disrupt the marketplace. An expansion of Citizens will lead to all homeowners paying more for insurance. Florida homeowners deserve better and we are working with the Legislature to provide solutions that will benefit consumers today and in the long run.”