Suncoasteam Blog

A special legislative session in Tallahassee is working to find ways to lower homeowner property insurance in Florida. Rates for some owners, especially those with older homes, have sometimes tripled in recent years.

Beach and island homes in southwest Florida have been especially hard hit with rate increases. Several insurance companies have not renewed policies and will not write new ones. This leaves owners with only one choice€¦ Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state run insurance company.

Legislators are trying to find ways that will allow Citizens to reduce rates and hold them down. There area several proposals for cutting costs at Citizens and private insurers. Among the proposals is to require companies that sell homeowner policies in other states to offer them in Florida. Some companies “cherry pick€ policies, only writing high profit auto insurance. Another idea is to prohibit a company from setting up a Florida only subsidiary to insulate its national company’s profits.

Some have suggested that Citizens be allowed to become a competitive company, writing policies for less vulnerable properties and perhaps even auto insurance. This, it is said, will make insurance more competitive across the board.

Other ideas are to allow policy holders to forego high premium wind coverage, purchase policies with higher deductibles or have exclusions such as vulnerable pool and lanai cages.

New building codes will go a long way toward improving homes ability to withstand high winds. When homes are stronger, insurers will be happy to take the risk. As more new and stronger homes are constructed, overall risk should lessen.

James B. Mulligan, Licensed Real Estate Broker
18245 Paulson Dr.
Port Charlotte, FL 33954

Jim Mulligan (941) 456-3034
Andy Leonard (941) 662-0033

Questions sales@suncoasteam.com

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The following is an excerpt from a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. The writer expressed interesting ideas for addressing insurance problems in our state (and can be applied nationwide). We need more innovative ideas like these, especially from those elected to address them.

The writer makes the point that insurance companies often choose only to write auto polices and neglect homeowner insurance. Insurance companies should be encouraged to write policies for all types of coverage offered anywhere in the nation. If XYZ Insurance Company writes automobile and homeowner insurance in Kansas, they should not be permitted to write only automobile in Florida. Write all or write none€¦
***

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Reader suggests cure for insurance woes

Editor:
Our current state-run dwelling insurance program should be turned over to the insurance companies selling property and/or casualty business in Florida. The state would still provide underwriting guidelines to protect those people that are underinsured or unable to obtain insurance.
The insurance companies would participate in the pool based (percentage-wise) on their annual earned property and/or casualty premium sold in the state of Florida. That way those companies that sell auto-only coverage must still participate in the pool. Too many companies have taken the gravy (auto premiums) and said “no thanks€ to helping solve the dwelling insurance problem.
A second idea would be for the insurance pool to cover wind only and for all dwelling policies sold by insurance companies would be sold x-wind (without wind coverage). This should bring more companies back into the marketplace because their biggest concern has been wind losses. More competition means lower rates!
The insurance companies would participate in the wind pool under the same percentage guidelines that I previously discussed. Either way we get the state out of the insurance business which should be positive for the state and its citizens. Time to stop talkin’ and start doin’.
Name Withheld

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