Editorial: Insurance costs should be on voters' minds

Floridians are used to sticker shock when it comes to insurance prices.

Get ready for more.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. — the state-run insurer of last resort for Florida homeowners — is seeking a 13.5% rate hike from state regulators.

Brian Donovan, Citizens' chief actuary, said at a recent hearing the hike would take the average price of homeowners insurance from $3,560 to $4,041, according to stories from Florida Insider and Newsweek.

But Donovan also said if Citizens wants to be in line with what private insurers charge, it would have to raise rates by 92.8%, according to the reports.

That's crazy.

Florida's difficult insurance situation still needs addressing.

The average homeowners insurance premium in Florida costs $5,531 per year, according to financial firm BankRate LLC. That's the most expensive in the country.

The national average is $2,270.

In 2019 (before COVID and the post-pandemic inflation wave), the average homeowners insurance policy in Florida cost $1,989 annually. The national average was $1,272, according to consulting firm Capco.

Those translate into 178% and 78% increases, respectively.

The insurance situation in Florida is still a major problem and goes beyond Republicans and the insurance industry blaming "billboard lawyers."

Litigation has been part of the challenge with insurance. But Floridians need better solutions than Republicans aligning with insurance companies and Democrats siding with trial lawyers.

The high tide of insurance costs is most magnified in Florida with warmer ocean and Gulf water temperatures resulting in bigger, stronger, more destructive and more costly hurricanes and tropical storms.

The changing, warmer climate has its economic and social costs regardless of politics or prescribed solutions.

Car insurance premiums are also up across the country since the post-pandemic spike in prices.

Car insurance premiums currently average $2,329 nationally and $3,451 annually in Florida, according to Bankrate.

Cars and homes are more expensive to repair — in part because of the inflation wave and in part because they have more technology related parts and systems (especially motor vehicles).

Only New York and Louisiana (which also has high homeowners insurance prices) are higher on the auto front.

Car insurance cost $2,059 on average annually in Florida in 2019 and $1,470 in the U.S. in 2019, according to a report by insurance portal Zebra.com. Those equate to 67% and 58% increases in Florida and nationally.

Higher insurance costs are part of the financial stressors on Florida and American households.

In the first quarter of this year, real wages — wages minus inflation — were still 0.8% below their levels at the end of 2019 before COVID, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Inflation and economic stress are still top of mind for voters as we head into the November elections. But we are not seeing many specific solutions offered by either political camp.

We would think — instead of stressing cultural issues and sound bites — those running for office, especially state and national offices, would be talking more about solutions for these high costs that impact every voter in the state.

Maybe voters should demand they do so and start by making some noise at the polls next week.