Commentary: I was a political refugee. Will I be a climate change refugee too?

After Andrew, I spent the better part of 20 years as a business journalist writing about the financial destruction and scars that hurricane left behind.

In the wake of the powerful storm, Florida's property insurance market had collapsed. We stalwart Florida people all stayed behind, yes, but the big brand names in the insurance business high-tailed it out of the Sunshine State, which had been dubbed the "Plywood State" by some pundits, the "Blue Tarp State" by others.

A succession of state leaders implemented all sorts of policies and measures to fill the void and offer insurance policies.

The Catastrophe Fund, the Joint Underwriting Association, the wind pool, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, all became very familiar to us. Remember, too, when Big Insurance created Florida-only subsidiaries so the next Andrew wouldn't tank the whole company?

In truth, these efforts were bandaging to keep Florida's all-important real estate economy viable. It took almost two decades to restore a functioning private insurance marketplace.

That relatively affordable insurance market came back in large part because of calm hurricane seasons, minus the 2004-'05 time frame, that allowed insurers to stock up reserves.

That bounce back came at a price -- higher premiums and deductible shock, for example. And modifications. After Wilma in 2005, insurers stopped covering screened-in patios. I know of a homeowner who recently got a letter from their insurer informing him that, to keep his coverage, he must replace his roof at his own expense.

All of this has raised the cost of living in a state that had billed itself as low-tax and low-cost. Just imagine how much more costly a Cat 5-plus storm would make our insurance safety net.

Now, my point is not to point fingers or blame politicians, insurers or developers. I bought a home post-Andrew. I heard the warning in 2005. I knew what I was getting into, just like Hyman Roth said in The Godfather II: "This is the business we've chosen."

Still, the measures that will be needed the next time Florida has to restore a shattered property insurance market will likely price me out of the state. The cost of homeowner insurance, let alone the deductibles and other add-ons, may well make my home state unaffordable.

The difference between an immigrant and a refugee is that one decides to go and the other is forced to go.

Politics forced my parents out of Cuba. I fear weather may force me out of Florida.

Antonio Fins is the politics editor of the Palm Beach Post. He came to the United States from Cuba in 1965 at age 2.

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