MIAMI.- Seeking to reduce high homeowners insurance prices, a state representative has introduced a bill that would make state insurer Citizens Property Insurance the exclusive provider of windstorm policies, freeing up other insurers of this risk so common in Florida.
Under HB-1213, introduced by Sheldon Roach, R-Lee County, insurer Citizens would no longer be the insurer of last resort, offering comprehensive coverage to Florida homeowners who cannot find affordable coverage in the private market. , to become the exclusive provider of windstorm coverage.
Roach’s goal is to free the private insurance market from the responsibility of selling basic comprehensive coverage that includes storm risk in order to influence lower insurance rates.
Today, windstorm insurance is included in a standard homeowners insurance policy.
If this proposal is approved, Citizens would follow a model similar to the National Flood Insurance Program, NIFP, which is administered by the federal government; in this case, it would be administered by the state government.
Under the logic of HB-1213, private insurers freed from assuming flood and storm wind risks would have no choice but to reduce prices.
Roach proposes that the state would accumulate reserves during non-hurricane years that could be tapped when necessary. “Too many insurers have collected premiums and kept them in their pockets during non-hurricane years and then go out of business after a major hurricane.”
The issue is that when an insurer goes bankrupt, its debts are transferred to the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association and the assessment of risks is passed on to customers.
Detractors of this idea suggest that in the end it could be more expensive. They claim that if a major hurricane hits, it could bankrupt the state of Florida.
The reality is that many homeowners located in windstorm-prone areas, such as coastal communities, have difficulty qualifying for coverage with a private insurer and many are forced to obtain their policy with Citizens, the state’s insurer. last resource.
Citizens, with an 18% market share and more than 1.3 million policyholders, has gone from being an insurer of last resort to becoming Florida’s leading insurer.
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