An annual insurance company gathering at Monte Carlo is funded by Florida’s extensive spending on insurance and reinsurance. This expensive gathering is paid by the two thirds of property insurance premiums that now leave Florida as unregulated payments to largely offshore companies that sell hurricane protection to insurers and that operate without rate control or consumer oversight.
These unregulated companies determine how much Floridians must pay for property insurance, and whether property insurance is available at all in Florida.
Florida’s increased reliance on this unregulated market is eroding the industry’s ability to withstand the inevitable disaster that a major hurricane will inflict on Florida.
Meanwhile, Florida’s insurance companies are pleading poverty today despite the fact that Florida has not been hit by a major hurricane in 5 years. This costly dependence on reinsurers will only hurt Florida especially since the reinsurers only play by the rules established on Wall Street and fail to play any role in insuring the risk here in Florida.
Indeed, former Gov. Jeb Bush set aside his free market ideology to conclude that Florida could not “be at the mercy of people who hope for catastrophes to keep their rates high” purely for profit and to the detriment of all Floridians.
This problem is highlighted by the fact that from 2004 to 2009, Florida carriers’ reinsurance bill nearly tripled, from $1.4 billion a year to more than $4 billion.
The portion of homeowners’ premium devoted to reinsurance in that time increased from 37 percent to 64 percent, according to an analysis conducted of 70 Florida-only property insurers. The national average is only 19 percent.
That in turn drove up the cost of coverage for all of Florida’s homeowners. Quarterly premium reports show the average Florida homeowner pays 72 percent more today than in 2003. The average premium has nearly doubled or more in nine coastal counties.
And despite all of this, the State of Florida is nonetheless poised to aid these insurance companies to the detriment of Floridians across our great state.
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EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.
Before opening our law firm in 2006, our attorneys worked for some of the state’s, and nation’s, largest law firms, and worked representing the insurance companies for years. Our attorneys are now uniquely positioned to use that experience to assist individuals and businesses alike throughout Florida with their insurance claims. As a result, our attorneys are well versed in the impact insurance has on businesses, condominiums, and individuals alike. Our insurance litigation practice group is prepared to tackle your insurance claim.
Given our extensive experience litigating for, and against, insurance companies, our insurance litigation practice group is prepared to provide aggressive, efficient and effective representation on a broad spectrum of insurance claims in Florida for local, national, and international clients. We are prepared to advocate insurance claims at the pre-suit stage, trial, appellate and arbitration levels.
If you are facing a dispute over an insurance claim in Florida, contact Alvarez & Barbara, LLP for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.
Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.