Senate Democrats want Governor Rick Scott to form a multi-state partnership to try and stabilize property insurance rates. Senator Jeremy Ring, a Margate Democrat, says the idea is for states to share the risk in an effort to offset costs.
“Right now, even in our premiums, our premiums are priced based on risk. So if there’s a lower risk, then it would be simple to assume that our rates, while not necessarily lower, would stabilize more,” he said.
Florida’s property insurance market was badly damaged by the 2005-06 hurricane seasons which left insurers billions of dollars in the hole. Companies pulled out of Florida and left the state-run Citizens property insurance to pick up uninsured property owners. That has led to the state assuming more liability than it may be able to handle.
The legislature has tried for years to shrink Citizens and bring more private insurance companies back into the state but the results have not been very successful.
