Fix property insurance — and put consumers first | Editorial [Orlando Sentinel]
Over the past several months, Floridians have been opening their property-insurance renewal notices and gasping in sticker shock — or with dismay when they learn their policies won’t be renewed.
And if they were expecting help from
Gov.
Start with those insurance premiums. Prior to the legislative session, insurance industry analysts said the average rate increase was close to 25%. As TCPalm reported in January,
Despite those increases, a legislative analysis showed that from 2017 through the second quarter of 2021,
That helps explain why five insurance carriers have declared insolvency over the past three years, and around a dozen more have blocked or sharply restricted the number of new policies they are willing to issue in
Lawmakers considered a few different solutions during the session that ended earlier this month. But once again, lawmakers seemed focused on solutions that would either reduce the value of insurance policies in
But that doesn’t fix Florida’s crumbling insurance market.
As they almost always do, lawmakers pointed to Florida’s undeniable problem with insurance-related litigation. Data from the state
If that’s really the root of the problem, though, why do lawmakers consistently insist that the biggest part of any solution is to make consumers suffer more, or force them to take on greater risk? Why not focus more attention on going after the shady characters who are making off with illicit profits? And why don’t they look for ways to make the state’s insurance market stronger, such as restrictions on national insurers who create “pup” companies that limit risk to
Most of all, why can’t
These may seem like unachievable goals, but there has to be an explanation as to why
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