The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation heard testimony at a public hearing this week regarding State Farm Florida’s proposed rate increase. The insurance company is asking that the OIR approve an average 28 percent increase for its homeowner policyholders in order to cover the rising costs of non-catastrophic claims.
Not all insurance providers are created equal. Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind when purchasing homeowners insurance.
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee began its discussion of SB 805 this week. The bill is the session’s major insurance bill, addressing cancellation of policies, delays in payment and, of course, sinkhole coverage. Florida’s sinkholes dominated the debate.
Florida’s state insurance company may suspend coverage for homeowners who have made Chinese drywall claims. According to an attorney representing about 300 claimants, Citizens Property Insurance has started to alert policyholders with the defective building material that their coverage will be dropped.
Citizens Property Insurance, Florida’s state-run insurance company, reports that 200,000 new customers have signed on this year, bringing the total number of insureds to 1.3 million. These customers represent about $457 million in property coverage, or approximately 18 percent of Florida’s total property insurance coverage.
Florida’s property insurance companies filed for significant rate increases last year, most citing sinkhole claims as their rationale. Homeowners are skeptical that the sinkholes are at the bottom of the issue. The issue made it to the legislature, and the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee released a report this week that is likely to continue, rather than resolve, the controversy.
The hurricane season of 2004 brought devastation to many areas in the southeast. Even though hurricanes have historically caused significant damage, what the people experienced six years ago was unlike any other. Florida experienced one of the busiest hurricane seasons in 2004, but since then Mother Nature seems to have calmed down for the time being. With fewer hurricanes over the past several years, insurance policyholders might expect insurance premiums to go down or at least stay the same. However, rates continue to increase.
The last post in this series.
A Florida newspaper’s report about the reinsurance market pointed out the enormous profits made by the off-shore companies — profits that could be, but aren’t, reinvested in the state. It doesn’t look as if the trend among Florida insurance companies of relying so heavily on these reinsurers is on the downswing, either. And, apart from the companies’ lack of commitment to the state and her residents, there’s something distasteful about the way reinsurers root for catastrophes.
We’re not quite done with our discussion of the reinsurance market in Florida. A recent news report brought to light the facts and the issues associated with reinsurance arrangements Florida insurance companies have taken on since the 2005 hurricane season. Homeowner insurance premiums have increased, but the money insurance companies rake in isn’t staying in the state. It’s going to off-shore investors, who run shell companies here while they track hurricanes from afar.
