Did Big Insurance Lobby Keep Florida’s Property Insurance Rates High?

A fascinating article written by Jason Garcia is worth a few minutes of your time. I supported efforts to have admitted Florida insurers to tap into Florida’s Catastrophe Fund. I could not understand why that legislation went nowhere until I read Garcia’s article.

Here is a teaser:

In January, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature had a chance to save money for Florida homeowners who are struggling to afford the soaring cost of property insurance.

Members of a key committee in the Florida Senate were presented with a plan that could have cut the price of homeowner’s insurance by an estimated $150 a year. And it would have done so without simultaneously imposing hidden costs on homeowners — like insurance policies that won’t cover the cost of replacing a roof or legal changes that make it much harder to fight back against a big insurer in court.

The plan involved expanding a public insurance fund known as the “Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.” And it had support from a broad spectrum of industry interest
groups and a bipartisan coalition of elected officials.

But the Big Business lobby hated it.

Now I know the rest of the story.
________________________________________
¹ Jason Garcia. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature could reduce insurance rates right now. A giant insurance company is standing in the way. May 3, 2022. https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/ron-desantis-and-the-florida-legislature?s=r