TALLAHASSEE – Democrat Charlie Crist turned up the warmth Tuesday on Gov. Ron DeSantis because the state’s property insurance coverage woes deepened two months after he signed into regulation industry-friendly measures stemming from a particular session of the Legislature.
The transfer by Crist got here a day after Bankers Insurance coverage Group, based mostly in his hometown St. Petersburg, introduced it was pulling out of Florida. The corporate is no less than the sixteenth insurer to depart the state, declare insolvency or cease writing insurance policies in current months.
Near 400,000 Florida householders have misplaced their insurance coverage protection this 12 months.
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“Regardless of this, Gov. DeSantis is attempting to take a victory lap,” Crist stated Tuesday at a Tampa information convention, the place he was joined by the state’s former Insurance coverage Shopper Advocate, Sean Shaw, additionally a former Democratic state Home member and lawyer normal candidate.
“Working Floridians know he’s turned his again on them, as a result of the hits maintain coming,” Crist stated of DeSantis. “You’re paying an excessive amount of for much less protection.”
Crist is looking for the Democratic nomination for governor within the Aug. 23 main, vying with Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. The winner of that contest will face DeSantis in November.
Fried has stated that as governor, she would work to cut back frivolous lawsuits and restrict insurance coverage fraud to convey down property protection charges. She additionally would strengthen the Insurance coverage Shopper Advocate’s function.
Banker’s announcement comes at the same time as 27 corporations are working underneath the specter of having their monetary scores downgraded by Ohio-based Demotech, which charges insurance coverage companies. Whereas the downgrade was speculated to happen Tuesday, the corporate has informed state officers it received’t happen “till additional discover.”
DeSantis’ marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. However the governor’s spokeswoman, Christina Pushaw, stated the workplace is monitoring the state of affairs with Demotech and the potential downgrade’s impact on hundreds of thousands of Florida policyholders.
Echoing issues aired by Florida’s Chief Monetary Officer Jimmy Patronis, DeSantis’ workplace was crucial of Demotech’s “inconsistent utility of its personal methodology and its unilateral choice” involving Florida’s insurers.
Crist stated that DeSantis ought to assure that no house owner be left with out insurance coverage, resulting in doable mortgage foreclosures. The Republican governor additionally ought to enable anybody who loses protection to affix state-backed Residents Property Insurance coverage, Corp., at a fee that won’t change for a 12 months, and increase its protection limits.
Residents already is being flooded with new clients, and projected to achieve 1.2 million insurance policies by the tip of this 12 months. Residents’ President and CEO Barry Gilway this month stated the corporate was experiencing “nearly incomprehensible development.”
The property insurance coverage market’s freefall comes even after DeSantis known as the Might particular legislative session that steered $2 billion of taxpayer cash right into a fund to assist insurers pay hurricane harm claims, restrict lawsuits towards corporations and have householders shoulder extra of the price for roof replacements.
However even with the advantages enacted by the governor, householders’ insurance coverage charges proceed to climb. Property insurance coverage premiums in Florida are thrice the nationwide common, in line with the Insurance coverage Data Institute.
Crist, a former Republican governor and a Democratic member of Congress since 2016, was a combative advocate who took on insurance coverage corporations throughout his time within the government workplace.
He managed to get charges decreased early in his time period, whereas permitting Residents to tackle extra insurance policies, however by the point he left workplace in 2011, fee had been climbing once more and his successor, Gov. Rick Scott, was dedicated to decreasing Residents’ measurement, triggering even larger personal insurance coverage charges.
The scale of Residents then, nonetheless, was roughly 1.2 million insurance policies — the identical mark it’s anticipated to achieve this 12 months, even with DeSantis’ adjustments.
“Corporations go to the Legislature and say in the event you allow us to do no matter we wish to do…then over a few years, the charges will go down,” Shaw stated. “It’s a promise the Legislature retains falling for.”
John Kennedy is a reporter within the USA TODAY Community’s Florida Capital Bureau. He will be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport
