Friday, October 13, 2006

Insurance Gone Wild!

Yesterday, an all-day meeting of the "Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee" was held in Largo. Lots and lots and lots of suggestions, but absolutely no answers. From the St. Pete Times...

'Gloria N. Ellinwood thinks insurance companies should be barred from creating spinoffs that serve only Florida. Ginny Stevans doesn't like how insurers can buy reinsurance from their parent company. Debby Zolobkowski says it's unfair that her premium can be tied to her credit rating.'

'Of those at the meeting - business people, retirees, politicians, and the committee members - no one denied Florida's insurance situation needs fixing. But few could agree on the best way to repair it.'

'When committee member Frank Kowalski said homeowners can't expect to qualify for certain coverage if they don't replace their roof every 10 years or so, Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings replied, "The roof is supposed to last as long as the house."'

'"For retirees earning $13,000 to $20,000, mitigation won't work." said Ginny Stevans from "Home-owners Against Citizens".'

'Snowbirds and residents of manufactured or mobile homes complained that the My Safe Florida Home program is a raw deal. The program, which kicked off in August, offers matching grants up to $5,000 for improvements that strengthen a house against storms. But the grants are available only to site-built homes with homestead exemptions.'

'Steve Burgess, the state's insurance consumer advocate, questioned the potential conflicts of interest posed by his office's position under the authority of the chief financial officer. He said his office might function better under the Cabinet, "although that perhaps would generate its own set of criticisms," he acknowledged.'

'"It's pretty easy to go out and say, 'Hey, this rate's too high, don't allow it,' " said state Sen. J.D. Alexander. But doing that, he said, will chase insurers out of Florida.'

'Three hours into the meeting, committee member Barbara Weese didn't seem convinced problems were being solved. The point of the committee, said the retired schoolteacher, isn't just to make insurers more accountable, but to make insurance more affordable. "The point we're missing," she said, "is something has to be done to get insurance to the people."'

Full Article: No Magic Formula

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Point + Counter Point

"Something has to be done to get insurance to the people" she said...

>>>Why do people look to government to solve all their problems????<<<<

The government didn't start hurricanes....the government didn't build on the beaches???

>>"Make insurers more accountable<<<""

!!!!!! RIGHT !!!!!!

Pass some more laws to make all insurers insure your lousey McMansion on the beach...So I can pay for the re-nourishment and subsidize the insurance....

The Florida constitution doesn't say you have a right to buy insurance, at what you want to pay....

Re-insurance companies in Europe are calling the shots...and they BASICALLY said enough is enough....
!!!THE RISK REWARD PREMIUM, JUST ISN'T THERE!!!

+++++++!!! PERIOD !!!!++++++

Anonymous said...

Right on, G. All the q-tip-heads here in fla are used to getting a free ride, and now their sense of entitlement is threatened.

It'll never change in this state - all you see on the political ads up to this point is how much each individutal is going to cut taxes and cut insurance rates. Great copy for the single minded q-tips, but no explanation is made as to HOW taxes/insurance rates will be cut, and who will ultimately pay for them.

Remember, to get elected in fla, you need to promise the q-tips everything for free.

Anonymous said...

So up-until 2000, I used to live in Stuart, Fl.....On the intra-coastal, we had Sailfish point @ the inlet....
Beautiful upscale community, by Mobil Oil Land Developement, for sure!!!
Only trouble was you had to traverse Macarthur Dr to get there...MaCarthur drive was quite narrow....maybe 100 yds accross, and sometimes during a heavy surf from a NorEaster, waves would wash accross the road....
I worked out ther for years, and just could not understand how all these "SOCALLED" rich and wealthy people could be so stupid to build out there where they had street flooding....
!!!WELL!!! Let me tell you this....My friend told me that the road washed out....there was NO electricity for nearly a year, and all the McMansions turned to "ROT"...
You don't hear about this, cuz they don't want you to know how really bad it was out there....

AND YOU WONDER WHY, THERE IS AN INSURANCE CRISES????

Look at SailFish Point...

$100's of millions of dollars of claims, for sure....

Anonymous said...

I know that Insurers routinely raise their rates, but I was reading that State Farm, Florida's largest insurer of homes, has kept right up with house pricing by increasing homeowner rates nearing 170% statewide since 1992!! Yikes! That seems unreal!

My neighbor said their insurance and property tax increase (again) is having them look into moving to SC... They have lived here for about 20 years. It must be bad! We rent, because it would cost us more than what our rent is (on a new 1600 sq ft home) to buy a an older home less than 1200 sq ft!

Insurance based on credit record is not new… but with so many sub-prime lenders lending to those with a credit score as low as 500, it would seem nearly impossible to me to get coverage at that end of the scale, so I would assume that it would be very costly.

We have only been slapped with Auto coverage that is double here from what we paid in OH, GA or AL! Go figure! Our cars did not double in value! hahaha :)

I noticed that some counties are seeing HUGE increases in their utility bills too, so that on top of the insurance and taxes could lead to bad news for many. Honestly, what is going on in this state?

Anonymous said...

Anyone who lives within 100 yards of salt water ought not to be regulated by the state insurance system - let the open market rule for those willing to live on the beach.

And any form of beach replenishment for these people needs to be PAID FOR by these people.

Anonymous said...

With insurance (both auto and home), there are several factors in play:

1. For auto:
a. We have one of the highest auto claim rates per capita in the country.
b. The "No Fault" law is making it much easier for people to get immediate money for damages. This law was intended to keep the lawyers out of the process, but instead has allowed chiropractors and other scam artists to use and abuse the system.

2. For homeowners:
a. Huge $ of sinkhole claims in the 3 counties above Tampa (Pasco, Hernando, Citrus) are being averaged in and subsidized by ratepayers throughout the rest of the state.
b. Ditto for those areas with hurricane claims from 2004-2005.

3. State insurance regulation is nearly "laissez-faire". In Tallahassee, there is much more influence from the insurance lobby than there is from consumer advocates.

Anonymous said...

...and let us not forget:

In the 2004 elections, the same idiots who legislated us into this mess were ALL re-elected.

That's right - read it again: Democrat or Republican, EVERY SINGLE incumbent who ran for office in the state of Florida was re-elected in 2004.

And people can't understand why this state is so screwed up. Vote 'em all out, I say.

Anonymous said...

Zippo-head reply:

Look back at "all" the past elections...Idiots like you said the same thing...vote them out....

>>>>> WELL <<<<<

Guess what??...They're still there...

DON'T YOU THINK THAT'S IT'S SOMETHING ELSE....

!!!!!THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED!!!!

People like me, don't vote, cuz it don't make any difference who is in there, they do the same corrupt crap, no matter who it is!!!!

Anonymous said...

The Fla Government is the reason Insurance is so high. They (the state gov) do need to fix the mess they made.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Reply:

!!!!! RIGHT !!!!

We desperately need more government intervention...It seems they have NOT got the whole state shut down just yet...with a little more help from a FRIEND in government I'm sure they can do it???

We desperately NEED a 'tourist tax'..
Anybody driving accross the state line,or getting off an airplane should have to pay an "ENTERANCE FEE"....
That'll stop them "SNOW BIRDS" from barn storming our beaches, for sure...then WE can build our own McMansions, out of shipping crates, and card board boxes, and "if" they blow away in the next hurricane ....who cares...they'll ship you some more!!!

Anonymous said...

To Quote crazy g "That'll stop them "SNOW BIRDS" from barn storming our beaches, for sure...then WE can build our own McMansions, out of shipping crates, and card board boxes, and "if" they blow away in the next hurricane ....who cares...they'll ship you some more!!!"

Ahhhhhhhh the good old days! LOL I can not believe how bad this state has become, It was not like this when we left in 1999!!!

Anonymous said...

As long as the geezers vote (and they do, I assure you - just checkout the buses that pull up to the old folk communities every election day to "get out the vote"), the subsidies and the unequal taxation will continue to worsen.

Florida is the absolute worst, but it's also happening in other states.

"Give me free money! I'm on a fixed income!"

Anonymous said...

Slow & low reply:

Careful there!!!! I'm one of those geezers yah know!!!

Last guy I voted for was Nixon the first time!!!! He told me he was NO crook.....Some how, for what ever reason [?]....There hasn't been another politican that I've ever believed in....
Maybe Tricky Dick can be re-incarnated!!!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, G - I get a little uptight when all I see is people screaming at meetings that they can't afford to live here and they need free insurance and free taxes to live here. And, of course, they have no solutions for where this money is supposed to come from.

I love your posts, though. Keep up the great stuff - Tricky Dick, indeed...!

Myself, I like Ike.

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