Why Republicans are coughing up billions of dollars to save Florida’s insurance market
2 years ago

Why Republicans are coughing up billions of dollars to save Florida’s insurance market

Salon  

In the three months since Hurricane Ian struck Florida, the state's fragile property insurance market has been teetering on the brink of collapse. In recognition of this crisis, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis convened the state's Republican-controlled legislature last week for a special session devoted to stabilizing the insurance market. Florida's property insurance premiums are already about three times higher than the national average, and analysts expect them to rise another 20 or 30 percent next year. Earlier this year the state created an additional $2 billion reinsurance fund, and lawmakers added another $1 billion fund last week, pumping more money into the languishing market to protect the remaining private carriers.

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History of this topic

Florida Democrat Blasts GOP Sen. Rick Scott Over Insurance Crisis
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Florida Democrat Blasts GOP Sen. Rick Scott Over Insurance Crisis

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Wetter, more destructive hurricanes, like the back-to-back storms that pummeled Florida this fall, are pushing the state’s homeowners insurance market to the brink of collapse. “Politicians have been lying to so many Floridians by not giving them the right information and by selling them on fraudulent policies through some of these insurance companies they’ve brought here.” She …

Muni Moment: Florida CFO on Rebuilding After Hurricane
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Muni Moment: Florida CFO on Rebuilding After Hurricane

Bloomberg  

00:00 Water carries insurance in the case of the state of North Carolina. But most people would think, Why do I need to have flood insurance while I live in North Carolina? With experience of hurricane Ian, can you just walk us through for the people who weren't aware of this, how the rebate system actually works down in Florida? …

Hurricane Helene poses a major test for Florida’s battered insurance market
2 months, 4 weeks ago

Hurricane Helene poses a major test for Florida’s battered insurance market

Politico  

So far, however, insurance industry officials and even Gov. They also have adequate levels of reinsurance to handle large loss events like a major hurricane.” DeSantis echoed that sentiment earlier this week and pointed out that the market did not react badly after Hurricane Idalia plowed through north Florida last year. “People wouldn’t be making the investments if they didn’t …

California’s home insurance crisis: What went wrong, how it can be fixed and what owners can do
8 months, 3 weeks ago

California’s home insurance crisis: What went wrong, how it can be fixed and what owners can do

LA Times  

Sheri Marchetti-Perrault and James Benton embrace as they sift through the remains of their home, which was destroyed by the McKinley fire near Yreka, Calif. The crisis reached new heights last week when leading insurer State Farm General announced that it wouldn’t renew 72,000 property owner policies statewide, joining Farmers, Allstate and other companies in either not writing or limiting …

Insurance crisis leaves homeowners vulnerable in hurricane-prone Louisiana
10 months ago

Insurance crisis leaves homeowners vulnerable in hurricane-prone Louisiana

Al Jazeera  

Since the 2020 hurricanes, nine insurers became insolvent in the US state of Louisiana within a couple of years. Risky business models “We built way too many houses in really dangerous places,” said Edward Richards, an emeritus professor at Louisiana State University who focuses on insurance and extreme weather. In 2005, State Farm and Allstate had the largest market share …

Senate committee investigating Florida’s state-backed home insurance company as private insurers flee
1 year ago

Senate committee investigating Florida’s state-backed home insurance company as private insurers flee

CNN  

CNN — The US Senate Budget Committee is launching an investigation into whether Florida’s state-backed home and property insurance company has enough money in the bank to withstand future disasters, as scientists warn warming oceans and sea level rise are making storms more destructive. Ron DeSantis said, “I think most people know Citizens has not been solvent.” After Florida was …

Homeowners Flock to Last-Resort Insurance Policies
1 year, 2 months ago

Homeowners Flock to Last-Resort Insurance Policies

Live Mint  

Robert Dubie was paying around $1,100 a year to insure his Paradise, Calif., home before it burned down in a wildfire five years ago. Michael Soller, California’s deputy insurance commissioner, said, “The growing Fair Plan is a problem not just for people in the Fair Plan, but for everybody in the state.” Even in states where the last-resort plan offers …

Homeowners face rising insurance rates as climate change makes wildfires, storms more common
1 year, 3 months ago

Homeowners face rising insurance rates as climate change makes wildfires, storms more common

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report says. “Some places may be impacted very minimally, but other places could see massive increases in insurance premiums in the coming years,” …

Unprecedented damage from storms is upending the insurance industry
1 year, 4 months ago

Unprecedented damage from storms is upending the insurance industry

LA Times  

A person stands outside a damaged home after a tornado hit May 13 in the unincorporated community of Laguna Heights, Texas. “The effects of climate change can already be seen in certain perils like heatwaves, droughts, floods and extreme precipitation,” Swiss Re Group Chief Economist Jérôme Jean Haegeli said in a statement. “Besides the impact of climate change, land use …

Farmers pulls out of Florida property insurance despite efforts to stabilize the market
1 year, 5 months ago

Farmers pulls out of Florida property insurance despite efforts to stabilize the market

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Farmers Insurance became the latest property insurance company to pull out of Florida on Tuesday despite repeated efforts by Republican Gov. “Florida’s leaders have stepped up to the plate by delivering historic reforms to Florida’s property insurance market to ensure competitiveness and increase consumer choice,” Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky wrote to the company. About 12% of homeowners …

Ron DeSantis Is Letting Hundreds Of Thousands Of Poor Floridians Lose Health Coverage
1 year, 6 months ago

Ron DeSantis Is Letting Hundreds Of Thousands Of Poor Floridians Lose Health Coverage

Huff Post  

Florida’s Ron DeSantis is now officially a candidate for president, and so far his campaign is going about as expected. The states agreed, and it’s one reason that Medicaid enrollment swelled ― which, in turn, was partly why the number of Americans without health insurance fell to record lows. The Medicaid Purge In Florida The state’s official data showed that, …

Florida columnist issues dire warning to Ron DeSantis
1 year, 11 months ago

Florida columnist issues dire warning to Ron DeSantis

Raw Story  

Editor Steve Bousquet predicts that, amid Ron DeSantis’ increasing popularity among the GOP, if the Florida governor doesn’t pivot from focusing on “culture wars” issues and ideas to more pressing issues that greatly impact Floridians, his legacy could be hurt in the long run, WGCU Public Media reports The Opinions editor and columnist at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Bousquet noted …

DeSantis signs bill seeking to stabilize insurance market
2 years ago

DeSantis signs bill seeking to stabilize insurance market

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Gov. “This is going to make a huge, huge difference.” Florida has struggled to keep the insurance market healthy since 1992 when Hurricane Andrew flattened Homestead, wiped out some insurance carriers and left many remaining companies fearful to write or renew policies in Florida. The bill new law will create a $1 billion reinsurance fund, put …

Florida lawmakers seeking to calm property insurance storm
2 years ago

Florida lawmakers seeking to calm property insurance storm

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers took three days to try to fix a home insurance problem that’s been stormy for three decades, approving legislation designed more to keep private insurers in the state than to immediately save property owners money. Earlier this year, Florida homeowners already were struggling to replace dropped policies or pay premiums, with a swelling number of …

Florida Senate passes property insurance overhaul
2 years ago

Florida Senate passes property insurance overhaul

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate on Tuesday approved sweeping legislation that would overhaul the state’s property insurance system, which has struggled due to insolvencies, high costs and major storms. “Homeowners in Florida are being crushed right now by the cost of housing and insurance costs are a major part of that,” said Democratic state Sen. Darryl Rouson. Loopholes in …

Hurricane Ian’s aftermath isn’t the only crisis facing Florida. There's also an insurance mess.
2 years, 2 months ago

Hurricane Ian’s aftermath isn’t the only crisis facing Florida. There's also an insurance mess.

Slate  

It’s the statistical equivalent of an alligator in the drive-thru: Florida accounts for 9 percent of the nation’s homeowner’s insurance claims, but 79 percent of insurance lawsuits. Whether trial lawyers and unethical contractors are really responsible, one thing’s for sure: Florida’s property insurance market is deeply broken, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Period.” “We’ve labeled it the most unstable …

Ian deals blow to Florida’s teetering insurance sector
2 years, 2 months ago

Ian deals blow to Florida’s teetering insurance sector

Associated Press  

Daniel Kelly and his wife bought a 1977 doublewide mobile home in May for about $83,000 at Tropicana Sands, a community for people 55 and older in Fort Myers, Florida. About 12% of Florida homeowners don’t have property insurance — or more than double the U.S. average of 5% — according to the Insurance Information Institute, a research organization funded …

Ian threatens Florida’s already unstable insurance market
2 years, 2 months ago

Ian threatens Florida’s already unstable insurance market

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s property insurance market was already in peril. The scale of the storm’s destruction will become more clear in the coming days but there is concern it could exacerbate existing problems and burden a state insurance program that has already seen a sharp increase in policies as homeowners struggle to find coverage in the private market. “Florida’s …

Ron DeSantis ignored a real crisis in Florida because he is obsessed with owning the libs: columnist
2 years, 7 months ago

Ron DeSantis ignored a real crisis in Florida because he is obsessed with owning the libs: columnist

Raw Story  

Ron DeSantis to the GOP-controlled Florida State Legislature, Republicans in the Sunshine State have been aggressively fighting the culture wars, defending the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, railing against critical race theory and punishing Disney for not being on board with their agenda. Washington Post opinion writer Lisette Alvarez, in a biting column published on May 19, argues that Florida …

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