A Double Play for Insurance Companies — Governor and the Florida Legislature

Homeowners Insurance in the State of Florida is already out of reach financially for many Floridians who own homes and are struggling in this economy to makes ends meet.

We have gone several years without hurricanes and when we had a few in 2005 homeowners insurance rates went through the roof.  What happened to all the profits that the insurance industry made for all the years that Florida did not experience any storm damage?

To make matters worse, on May 17, 2011 Governor Rick Scott signed into law SB 408.  This law is for the benefit of the insurance industry and certainly not for the people of the State of Florida.

Senate bill 408 does a number of things in favor of insurers and one of the primary gifts is to  allow insurance companies to raise rates up to 15 percent without filing for approval with the Office of Insurance Regulation.

The law also makes it harder for Floridians to collect on claims.  Insurance companies will be permitted to withhold a percentage of the loss payment until repairs are made and, understandably, contractors are going to insist on payment in order to affect repairs. How many people in the State of Florida can afford to pay for repairs and then get reimbursed from your insurance company?  To pay out of your own pocket for repairs defeats the purpose of having insurance.

For articles further explaining the problems created by this new law, click here.