MIAMI (CBSMiami) – One problem the Florida Legislature failed to handle on this 12 months’s session was the rise of house owners insurance coverage charges in Florida.
On Sunday’s “Dealing with South Florida,” CBS4’s Jim DeFede requested Republican State Sen. Jeff Brandes if there may be an insurance coverage disaster within the state.
Brandes: Completely. I believe it’s a disaster on shoppers. You already know, we’ve had the patron advocates say that the insurance coverage business, shoppers are on life assist. And what we see is 30% charge will increase yearly for shoppers going ahead. That could be a large downside. And if anyone doesn’t imagine that charges doubling each few years isn’t an issue, I don’t know what, I don’t know what else to inform them. However we’re in a state of absolute disaster and our property insurance coverage, Citizen’s Property Insurance coverage, two years in the past had about 480,000 insurance policies. It now has 800,000 insurance policies only a 12 months and a half later, and we anticipate it to be over one million insurance policies by the top of the 12 months. Within the meantime, we’re shedding insurance coverage carriers. Carriers are pulling out of the state. Buyers aren’t investing in Florida. The business as a complete misplaced $1.5 billion in 2020. It misplaced $1.6 billion in 2021. And so this can be a market that’s in collapse.
DeFede: You’ll suppose {that a} legislative session that’s 60 days with two or three months earlier than that of committee hearings would have taken a deep dive on this problem and began tackling it on day one in every of session. Why didn’t that occur this 12 months?
Brandes: Completely. Look, this invoice ought to have been labored on eight months in the past. And but right here we’re on the sixtieth day of session in negotiations with the Home on what the insurance coverage business ought to appear to be going ahead. I believe we’re headed in the direction of a particular session. I believe it’s been an absolute catastrophe of a 12 months within the property insurance coverage world, a minimum of on the coverage entrance. However on the finish of the day, look, the legislature dropped the ball on property insurance coverage this 12 months. There’s little doubt about that, however it’s going to take the governor to get engaged at a a lot deeper stage and actually power the hand of the Home and the Senate to place some significant insurance coverage reforms on the books. As a result of with out that, you’re going to lose extra firms. Shoppers are going to have much less decisions and costs are going to rise.
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DeFede: I believe what the quantity is, I noticed just lately, there are six firms which have introduced they’re pulling out of Florida simply within the final couple of months, right?
Brandes: That’s right. And we’ve had firms go to the Workplace of Insurance coverage Regulation and ask for a 100% charge will increase. So we all know it’s all arms on deck round right here. And, sadly, we’ve got some members which can be nonetheless sleeping beneath deck.
DeFede: As we focus a lot time and a spotlight on these so-called tradition struggle points, whether or not it’s the ‘Cease WOKE Act,’ the ‘Don’t Say Homosexual’ invoice, immigration, no matter you wish to wish to take care of that finally ends up sucking up on a regular basis within the session the place significant points, whether or not it’s property insurance coverage or inexpensive housing, these are the massive points that I believe voters are extra fascinated with listening to, and but they’re not being addressed. Why aren’t they being addressed?
Brandes: Properly, look, my concern about this 12 months stepping into was it was going to be a crimson meat 12 months, a crimson meat 12 months, however it was not going to be a state crimson meat 12 months. It was going to be a nationwide crimson meat 12 months. And that’s precisely the way it performed out. It’s, we’re taking over nationwide points which can be on the perimeters, you recognize? You already know, the state of Florida getting concerned within the immigration world. You already know, the ‘Cease WOKE Act,’ the ‘Don’t Say Homosexual’ invoice, these sorts of sort of nationalized points which can be meant for the nationwide viewers. In the meantime, you recognize, we’ve got actual issues of property insurance coverage and auto insurance coverage and housing. Making housing extra inexpensive. In simply so many alternative areas – felony justice system or jail system is falling aside. So we’ve got we’ve got a ton of various areas, however this simply wasn’t a coverage heavy 12 months. I imply, I sort of hearken again to the previous Wendy’s industrial the place the woman opens up the bun and mentioned, ‘The place’s the meat?’ That’s sort of how I felt about this legislative session.
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Different legislators DeFede spoke to agreed with Brandes that there’s a want for a particular session within the coming weeks to handle the rising price of house owners insurance coverage.