Monday, December 11, 2006

Homeowners Getting Riled About Insurance

From today's Miami Herald:

'Florida homeowners are no longer silent victims of the state's insurance crisis. From the Keys to the Panhandle, they've mobilized.

In Miami-Dade County, they have launched a major petition drive to tell lawmakers in Tallahassee that soaring rates are choking their personal finances and the quality of their lives. In Pembroke Park, mobile-home owners are putting some new ideas on the table. In Brevard and Collier counties, groups of home and business owners have been hard at work crafting their own insurance solutions.

''Next year, I won't have any savings,'' said Zenobia Lopez of Biscayne Gardens, who signed the Miami-Dade petition. ``Where am I supposed to come up with $5,000 again? We need to do something.'''

Wow - sounds like a grass-roots drive. But it isn't.

'Dynamic Public Adjusters Group, a Kendall-area company that helps homeowners try to get higher returns on insurance claims, started the petition in September under the name Floridians in Action. The group is now beginning to put together a board of directors so its work can continue long after the petition has been delivered.

Some of what the petition seeks: rate relief, tougher statewide building codes and a strong lobbying effort for a national catastrophe fund.'

And here's an interesting idea from the owner's of mobile homes. Very interesting.

'Meanwhile, a group of mobile-home owners in Broward County's Pembroke Park isn't shy about putting new ideas on the table, even if some lawmakers sometimes are. They would like to see auto insurers cover mobile homes since they now insure recreational vehicles and boats.

''If the auto insurers would cover the mobile homes, we could alleviate the burden on Citizens Property Insurance,'' said Michael Sousy, Pembroke Park's code enforcement and community liaison officer, who has helped organize the mobile-home owners.

Citizens is the state-run insurer of last resort. But for many homeowners, like folks who own mobile homes, older houses or condos in coastal areas, Citizens is the only insurer. With nearly 1.3 million policies -- nearly half of those in South Florida -- it's the largest insurer in the state.'

Is it sad, pathetic, or just plain wrong that the insurer of "last resort" is paid for by the government (i.e.; you and I) and has become the #1 insurer in Florida? Note: "All of the above" is a qualified answer to that question.

'Residents insured by Citizens are particularly concerned these days because a new state law requires the insurer to boost its reserves rapidly so it has enough money on hand to cover claims from a massive storm. That means big increases over the next three years. The first one is a 55.8 percent hike planned for March.

Last week, Citizens' board of governors decided to table the increase until after the special session. The board is hoping there will be some changes.

So are other groups around the state.

''Our biggest fear is that the proposals that come out of the special session won't be comprehensive enough,'' said Sherri Hudson, a mortgage banker in Brevard County who has helped organize a group of consumers and business owners called Insurance Reform Now.'

I think it's great that everyone is looking for solutions. Unfortunately, somebody has to pay - and I'm still not seeing how we get around that.

'In recent days, Gov.-elect Charlie Crist, Rubio and several other key legislators have said the planned Citizens rate increase is too onerous and the new provision in the insurance bill requiring the increases needs to be modified or possibly scrapped.

Alex Sink, the state's newly elected chief financial officer, and some lawmakers have also said the state needs a stronger consumer advocate to challenge rate increases. Other lawmakers have called for expanding the state grant program for strengthening homes and allowing consumers to increase deductibles.'



18 comments:

Anonymous said...

The insurance industry has been lodged deep in the pockets of our "leaders" in Tallahassee for years.

One the one hand, I hope that the election of 2006 helps to provide some spine to deal with the lobbyists.

On the other, the insurance companies DID lose a lot of money in this state in 2004/2005. I'd like to know how much they MADE in 2003 and 2006, however.

AnalysisGuy said...

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thebubblebuster.com

Anonymous said...

PEOPLE CAN'T SEE PAST THE END OF THEIR NOSE!!!!

It's the law makers, and the Insurance Commision, that got us into this MESS....

AND ""NOW"" stupid people want the law makers to pass another law, to make it cheaper....

>>>COME ON STUPID PEOPLE!!!<<<<

The median prices of houses in Palm Beach County went up from $183K to $421K....in ||| 4 YEARS |||
And people want their insurance to go down??? YAHH!! RIGHT!!!

The house I had in Palm City went from $150K in '90 to $400K in '06...

Citizens is ""BANKRUPT"" to the tune of $2,000,000,000 ......Yes.....
$2 ""BILLION""
They ain't got no money to pay you if another disaster comes along!!!!

Citizens doesn't buy re-insurance in the open markets....they relie on tax payers of the state to fund any losses.....

They can pass all the laws they want....

|||| IT'LL ONLY MAKE THINGS WORSE THAN THEY ALREADY ARE..||||

The RE-INSURANCE boys from Europe, aren't buying into this mess down here....

EVENTUALLY FLORIDA IS GOING TO HAVE TO GO IT ALONE.....
AND THEN IT WILL REALLY BE A DISASTER.....

>>>>>> YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN NOT LEGISLATE PRICES, AS THEY HAVE DONE FOR YEARS NOW....THE INSURANCE COMPANIES DON'T WANT THE BUSINESS....PERIOD!!!<<<<

THEY WANT OUT, AND THEY ARE CANCELLING POLICIES LEFT AND RIGHT...NOW YOU WANT THEM TO PASS A LAW, THAT ESSENTIALLY SAYS YOU CAN'T DO THAT EITHER????

Anonymous said...

>>>>"" OPEN YOUR EYES FLORIDIAN'S""<<<

We're headed for a form of [STATE] Nationalized Home Insurance!!!!

They've already got 1.3 million policy holders.....

""""AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM""""

>>>>"""BECAUSE THEY ARE LOSING MONEY ON THEM""<<<<

This is a form of socialism for sure!!!!
Next will be health insurance, which is in total chaos, and you name the one after that!!!!

Do you really think some bureaucrat, can run a multi-billion dollar system, and NOT have corruption, and chaos????

IF, you believe that you got rocks in your head!!!!

Anonymous said...

SIMPLE MATH, JUST MULIPLY THE NUMBERS, AND IT SPELLS DISASTER....

SSSOOOO!!!

Citizens is in the hole $2,000,000,000 [billion]....right!!!

Citizens has 1.3 million policy holders.....""RIGHT"

Simple math says that 1000 x 1,000,000 = $1 Billion.....

Simply, send a ""SURCHARGE"" of $2000, to "EACH AND EVERY CITIZENS POLICY HOLDER" to cover the >>>"""DEFICIT""<<<<

Then bill every policy holder the true cost of insurance!!!!


THEN YOU'LL SEE THE GAS PRICES GO SKY HIGH, AS ALL THE FLORIDANS HEAD NORTH ON THE I-75/95 CORRIDOR!!!!

HHHHAAAAA!!! LOL!!! VBG!!!

Anonymous said...

>>>>""" FACE IT """<<<<


THEY ARE PRETENDING A DISASTER DOESN'T EXIST.......

IT'S HERE ....'''NOW'''''
THIS VERY MINUTE....YOUR SITTING ON POWDER KEG.....

There ain't no insurance.....they ain't got any money......Citizens is bankrupt......they're going to bill "ALL" policy holders a token fee for the next """ 10 """ years....

Just like the ole' Wendy's add.....

"""WHERE"S THE MONEY [beef]""" coming from to pay for the next major hurricane????

Are they going to borrow it....finanace it thru "bonds"...
or just bill every property owner with a surcharge, for the rest of their life.....
and into their grave????

You know the old saying!!!!! >>>YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE TAXES THRU DEATH!!!!!<<<<

Anonymous said...

What we know is that the head count is down in the public school system.....

DUHH!!!! Those kids have parents, yah know!!!!

""IF"" the kids ain't there.....where are the parents....

>>>>>>>> """ GONE """<<<<<<<<

IN A FLASH!!!!!!

Same thing is happening California....

Economics, doesn't care, if your rich or poor, black or white, young or old.....

>>>>IT'S GOING TO BITE YOU IN THE WORST PLACE<<<<<

YOUR POCKET BOOK!!!!!

Anonymous said...

FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE TERM >>>>> "" short sale"""" <<<<

Your going to be hearing a lot about that in the months to come.....

I had already talked to my realtor about this conditon months ago, when I brought it up to her.....At the time she didn't seem particlulary receptive to the concept, "BUT", I told her "IF" she wanted to sell me ahouse to find one for me, as I had plenty of time to wait it out!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Florida has got an insurance CRISES across the whole insurance industry.....

>>>>>>>> """ PERIOD ""<<<<<<

People should ask themselves """ WHY """"

It's the legislature, and the Insurance Commissioner who have done this to you....

STUPID PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT!!!!!!

eg]. In Palm Beach County [pop. 1.5 million].....
THERE IS NOT ""ONE"" NEUROSURGIN ON CALL IN ANY HOSPITAL EMERGECY ROOM IN THE COUNTY!!!!

""WHY""....you ask....

>>>>>:INSURANCE:<<<<<

The people in Tallahasse have completely screwed up this state.......

And stupid people look to the legislature, to rectify it....

HHHHAAAA!!!! LOL VBG!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Another example of stupidty...

A Story out of the Palm Beach Post a year or two ago....

An OB/GYN in Boynton Beach delivered a baby with a foreceps, and brain injured the child.....It went to court, and the family was awarded $60,000,000 [$60 Million] settlement.....
On the gross assumption, that there are 6000 baby doctors in the state, that adds up to $100,000 for each doctor.....
My wife's OB/GYN went without insurance at first, then went out of the business NEXT.....

The legislature created this mess, so who do you think is going to clean it up, IF IT'S EVER POSSIBLE????

Anonymous said...

Another thing that has NOT shown up on the radar screen yet....

is the unemployment rate......

What happened to all those construction workers that aren't working HERE!!!!

Where did they go????

I don't think they are going to have a MERRY CHRISTMAS, clipping the unemployment check...

Construction Industry is one of Florida's MAJOR occupations.....
"IF", that turns down, which it certainly appears to be doing...

Things could get pretty nasty, quickly!!!!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree what you're saying, G. Houses triple in value, and the dumbasses want their insurance to stay the same?

WTF, over?!!!

Anonymous said...

Pondering the Imponderable;

So!!!...In yesterdays Daytona News Journal, they said things in the construction industry were 'improving', and that unemployment had decreased from 3.2% to 2.9% in Volusia County......And conditons NOW were even better than 2003....

>>>>>"" WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT???""",<<<<<

The construction sites, around the home building areas look like they have been hit with a neutron bomb...
Building in various stages of construction, from foundations to dried in shells, ""ALL"" standing in stark reality to NOTHING happening!!!!
Where they used to be 100+ construction workers in here on any given day, there maybe NOW, 8-10 workers {MAX}.....

Where did all these construction workers go????
It doesn't appear they are on the unemployment rolls either???

My wife said she thought they have already left the state, for LA & MS....to work on some Katrina projects up there......

Anonymous said...

Exactly - all the unemployed construction workers left the state.

So, unemployment went down. Problem solved. Move along, now - nothing to see here.

Anonymous said...

Auto insurance for mobile homes???

Are they kidding? Take your sorry retarded asses and leave our state you stupid losers. Seriously.

You live in a mobile home in a hurricane zone! What part of the equation do you not get? Leave, go to Iowa, and stay there in your double-wide. ALL mobile homes should be outlawed in southern Florida. Period.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking the same thing when I saw that. And, pray tell, do they think they're going to somehow get a BETTER rate?

Also, Iowa's not the best place for a mobile home (tornado alley)!

Maybe Alaska or Arizona....

Anonymous said...

Information from the Liscio Report, that a market commentator that I read, indicated this:

Tax receipts from 27% of the states reporting were "EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN PROJECTED"....

What does that mean????

It means that 73% of the states reporting, did ""NOT"" have sales tax collections the way they had projected!!!!!

THE CONSUMER IS """'SINKING""" IN A SEA OF DEBT!!!!

The Liscio report, went on to say, that in their opinion, our economy is on it's way to it's first consumer slow down in 15 years...

Anonymous said...

The home owners insurance situation with Citrizens is a total disaster...

The politicans stepped in to a social program, they had NO BUSINESS getting into.....

In a """FREE MARKET"", the rates are set there, by the free market competition....

SSOOO!!! What have we got....a market run by a bunch of politicans, with rates set by bureaucats for the pleasure of the electorate.....

"""""THIS IS RUSSIA MY FRIENDS""""

In Russia they set the prices, and guess what.....they had severe imbalances...to the extent it collapsed.....

CITIZENS IS GOING TO COLLAPSE, EITHER FROM ""DEBT"" OR MISMANGEMENT....right now it looks to me like a little bit of both....

We are soon heading to the point where there will be only one insurer in Florida.....

YOU GOT IT....."""CITIZENS"""

They need kind of a catchy name like they would have in Russia.....like

""""THE PEOPLES INSURANCE OF FLORIDA"""

A vote for Peoples Insurance is a vote for the people!!!!

You can vote for your own insurance rate, and pay what ever you want???? ""BUT" you must vote for me first.....

OOHHH YES!!! In Russia, their companies NEVER lost any money, the irregular imbalances were referred to as ""GOODWILL""" to keep the working class happy!!!!