How true JR. More often than not, being populist means not doing the right thing. I feel sorry for the staff of Citizens. they must be black and blue from all the kicking by voters and their politicians.
What a nightmare this would be. How many of these policyholders will buy the bare bones policies and then when a hurricane happens and they find out they have no coverage and then sue the agent for not telling him he needed better coverage? Oh, I can see it now. \”Ted, my agent told me I didn\’t need all those coverages. IF I had known the policy I bought didnt\’ cover anything, I would have bought the deluxe package\”. So now Ted is going to have to have not only 10 separate signed disclosures, he better have a witness and video that the insured actually knew he was getting lousy insurance because he was too cheap to buy complete coverage.
The article doesn\’t make clear whether the rate cut is strictly for Citizens policyholders, or for all property insurers in FL. I own a second home (cinder block and constructed in 2003) in FL (not a coastal area) & the premium in 2005 was $900. The same policy renewed a year later @ $2,800. This is more than a 300% increase in just one year. I stripped off what I could and the premium is now $2k, which is a 220% increase over the prior term. It seems outrageous & illegal.
Curious, you\’re right that what is happening here is outrageous, but it\’s not illegal. Fingers continue to point at insurers, when meddling and micromanaging of the industry by politicians is what got us where we are today. Tallahassee has been gradually but firmly tightening the screws on insurers since 1993, and they\’ve finally had enough.
You might also want to take with a grain of salt these political claims of 25% instant savings. This is pure fiction, penned by politicos desperate to look like they\’re doing something positive. The truth is that they don\’t really even understand the problem — they\’re trying to treat symptoms and completely ignoring the disease. And you heard it here first — when these promises of big savings don\’t materialize over the coming months, these screeching politicos will blame insurance company greed rather than their own failure to grasp and correct the problem.
Boys and girls, we\’re in for a long, bumpy ride here in Florida.
Fantasia, thanks for your response. I\’m curious to know if Floridians (year round FL residents) are taking the same insurance premium hits as we secondary homeowners. If they are, how can the average individual (let alone a retired person), afford HO insurance? It seems that there may very well be mass exodus from the state of FL for both primary and secondary homeowners. Logic dictates that given the situation, less people will consider relocating to FL & residents will sell & go elsewhere.
This special session was a disaster. You have to be kidding, a 25% mandatory rate reduction??? Citizens is underfunded as it stands now and if the rate reduction is to apply to all insurance companies, they will virtually shut down the homeowners market, because the private insurers, who rate their policies based on sound actuarial underwriting guidelines and unlike Citizens have to answer to their reinsurers, cannot absorb underfunding their product.
All the legislature did was put a very small bandade around a potentially large problem. These geniuses in Tallahassee better hope we don\’t have any hurricanes that hit Florida in \’07, with Citizens grossly underfunded, mandating a 25% rate reduction and Citizens not reinsured, the crap is going to hit the fan. Consumers are whining for the government to help us now,what happens after a hurricane Andrew or Charlie or Jeanne and companies start closing their doors because they were not able to properly underwrite a risk and charge the appropriate premium??? I guess we will get another special session. Then everyone can blame George Bush, like New Orleans did.
Absolutely unbelievable!
Tom, point well taken…but how can the average individual in the state of FL afford home insurance? That is the question. There has to be an alternative. How high is high enough? The rate that would be commensurate with the exposure to loss is not affordable to the average individual, which most of us are….average individuals. It seems that something similar to the NFIP program would be in order. A program subsidized by the federal govt. While I understand that the insurer must adequately price its product so as to make a profit & remain in business, insurance coverage must also be affordable.
Citizens is crusin\’ for a brusin\’. They\’re undercapitalized and economically insolvent as it is. A couple more Category 3+ storms and they\’re wiped out.
Am I ever glad I left Florida the year after Hurricane Andrew.
I live here year round and work in the insurance industry. My premiums have more than doubled as well as my taxes, which everyone forgets about.
I may not be average homeowner since I only own 1 home and cannot afford to have a 2nd home. Certainly not in Florida.
We have a real mess here
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How true JR. More often than not, being populist means not doing the right thing. I feel sorry for the staff of Citizens. they must be black and blue from all the kicking by voters and their politicians.
boy, would I love to run an insurance company in Florida and have the state legislature as my board of directors! I predict a train wreck.
What a nightmare this would be. How many of these policyholders will buy the bare bones policies and then when a hurricane happens and they find out they have no coverage and then sue the agent for not telling him he needed better coverage? Oh, I can see it now. \”Ted, my agent told me I didn\’t need all those coverages. IF I had known the policy I bought didnt\’ cover anything, I would have bought the deluxe package\”. So now Ted is going to have to have not only 10 separate signed disclosures, he better have a witness and video that the insured actually knew he was getting lousy insurance because he was too cheap to buy complete coverage.
The article doesn\’t make clear whether the rate cut is strictly for Citizens policyholders, or for all property insurers in FL. I own a second home (cinder block and constructed in 2003) in FL (not a coastal area) & the premium in 2005 was $900. The same policy renewed a year later @ $2,800. This is more than a 300% increase in just one year. I stripped off what I could and the premium is now $2k, which is a 220% increase over the prior term. It seems outrageous & illegal.
Curious, you\’re right that what is happening here is outrageous, but it\’s not illegal. Fingers continue to point at insurers, when meddling and micromanaging of the industry by politicians is what got us where we are today. Tallahassee has been gradually but firmly tightening the screws on insurers since 1993, and they\’ve finally had enough.
You might also want to take with a grain of salt these political claims of 25% instant savings. This is pure fiction, penned by politicos desperate to look like they\’re doing something positive. The truth is that they don\’t really even understand the problem — they\’re trying to treat symptoms and completely ignoring the disease. And you heard it here first — when these promises of big savings don\’t materialize over the coming months, these screeching politicos will blame insurance company greed rather than their own failure to grasp and correct the problem.
Boys and girls, we\’re in for a long, bumpy ride here in Florida.
Fantasia, thanks for your response. I\’m curious to know if Floridians (year round FL residents) are taking the same insurance premium hits as we secondary homeowners. If they are, how can the average individual (let alone a retired person), afford HO insurance? It seems that there may very well be mass exodus from the state of FL for both primary and secondary homeowners. Logic dictates that given the situation, less people will consider relocating to FL & residents will sell & go elsewhere.
This special session was a disaster. You have to be kidding, a 25% mandatory rate reduction??? Citizens is underfunded as it stands now and if the rate reduction is to apply to all insurance companies, they will virtually shut down the homeowners market, because the private insurers, who rate their policies based on sound actuarial underwriting guidelines and unlike Citizens have to answer to their reinsurers, cannot absorb underfunding their product.
All the legislature did was put a very small bandade around a potentially large problem. These geniuses in Tallahassee better hope we don\’t have any hurricanes that hit Florida in \’07, with Citizens grossly underfunded, mandating a 25% rate reduction and Citizens not reinsured, the crap is going to hit the fan. Consumers are whining for the government to help us now,what happens after a hurricane Andrew or Charlie or Jeanne and companies start closing their doors because they were not able to properly underwrite a risk and charge the appropriate premium??? I guess we will get another special session. Then everyone can blame George Bush, like New Orleans did.
Absolutely unbelievable!
Tom, point well taken…but how can the average individual in the state of FL afford home insurance? That is the question. There has to be an alternative. How high is high enough? The rate that would be commensurate with the exposure to loss is not affordable to the average individual, which most of us are….average individuals. It seems that something similar to the NFIP program would be in order. A program subsidized by the federal govt. While I understand that the insurer must adequately price its product so as to make a profit & remain in business, insurance coverage must also be affordable.
I\’d like to know what the alternatives are.
Citizens is crusin\’ for a brusin\’. They\’re undercapitalized and economically insolvent as it is. A couple more Category 3+ storms and they\’re wiped out.
Am I ever glad I left Florida the year after Hurricane Andrew.
I live here year round and work in the insurance industry. My premiums have more than doubled as well as my taxes, which everyone forgets about.
I may not be average homeowner since I only own 1 home and cannot afford to have a 2nd home. Certainly not in Florida.
We have a real mess here