Floridians currently have legislators that are in the pockets of and doing business for insurance companies. Virtually all states regulate insurance rates because insurance companies have been historically notorious for over charging customers following losses, as well as for under charging customers before declaring bankruptcy.
Now, our legislators have claimed that rates will stay the same and not go up if there are no regulations limiting what insurance companies can charge. Gimme a break.
Insurance companies want the regulation to cease so they can, as a group, raise the rates as much as they can—especially after hurricanes, when insurers leave the market or use the hurricane losses as reasons to raise prices knowing customers have no choice. This is what happened in the 1990s following Hurricane Andrew and after the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes.
Then, we had leaders that stood up to the insurance industry. Now, many legislators in leadership receive significant support and constant lobbying from insurance companies. The result is this anti-consumer legislation.
The legislators supporting this bill say that there will be more competition. I say that the insurance rates are going to rise with greater competition because the insurers are exempt from anti-trust laws, and there is no open market in insurance.
Our legislators are simply deceitful when they suggest this bill will lower rates or keep them the same. For example, State Farm would be charging significantly more had the Office of Insurance Regulation not stopped the requested increase. Under this bill, State Farm and all the insurers as a group could charge as much as they want.
It makes no sense, and it is very disingenuous to suggest that rates will remain the same because of more competition. There will be more competition at significantly higher cost if this bill passes.
