Private Insurers in Florida Failing Despite No Hurricanes!

The Miami Herald (MH) has a good article analyzing the long list of failed private insurers, their rating agencies and the fleecing of Citizens insurance and by proxy the taxpayer.  HIH has been saying this all along with our article: Opt Out: Citizens Insurance under Depopulation in Preparation for Active Hurricane Season.  We're glad to see MH has picked it up as it should continue  to expose the revolving door in effect with private insurers in Florida.  They come, they fleece, they go!  Modern carpetbagging at its worst all facilitated by the Governor and Sate Legislature. 

MH performed a worthwhile analysis that all homeowners should read so they may make better informed decisions regarding their insurers options.  

Click on the link below for the full article.

TALLAHASSEE: Despite no hurricanes, many ‘takeout’ insurers fail - Florida - MiamiHerald.com

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Gov. Rick Scott: Call a Special Session to Expand Medicaid - Let's Get it Done!

This May, the Florida Legislature rejected $51 billion of federal funds to expand Medicaid to over a million people statewide. 4 million Floridians are currently uninsured across the state – that's 1 in 5 non-elderly residents who lack insurance – and an estimated 1.3 million of the people who need it most are expected to gain coverage through the expansion.

State Representatives – including all the Republicans opposed to expanding Medicaid – will pay just $8.34 a month for state-subsidized health care next year. That’s $30 a month to cover their entire families.

Many business owners could now end up paying tax penalties of $2,000 to $3,000 per employee. The decision could cost Florida businesses up to $218 million in total.

Public hospitals will also suffer because they will continue to care for those 1.3 million uninsured people who seek treatment in their emergency rooms.

Gov. Rick Scott already knows all of this. At a press conference in February he said,“While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the costs, I cannot deny Floridians who need access to health care.”

Ask Gov. Scott to take the stand he promised he would – and call a special session to expand Medicaid in Florida.

P.S. You can also call Gov. Rick Scott at 850.488.7146 to demand Medicaid 

HIH POV:

For us in Homestead expanding Medicaid is essential to lifting many of our most vulnerable residents out of poverty which includes our elderly.  It is essential that this expansion takes place now.  We ask you to petition the Governor to make this happen soon. 

Click on this link to sign the petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/rick-scott-call-a-special-session-to-expand-medicaid

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FL Gov. hammers Citizens Insurance after signing bill - Depopulation Continues

Miami Herald Excerpt:

Scott on Wednesday signed a bill that includes modest steps to shrink the size of the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The bill (SB 1770) creates a new "clearinghouse" designed to steer homeowners into private insurers instead of obtaining coverage through Citizens. The legislation also phases in over three years a $700,000 cap on the value of homes that can be insured by Citizens.

HIH POV:
See previous blog articles:
 Citizens Insurance Depopulation Update - Watch Out For Assumption Notice and Opt Out Form 

Citizens Windstorm Insurance - Depopulation Effort Underway

Reference Link

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/29/3422690/fla-gov-criticizes-insurer-after.html#storylink=cpy

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.: Fla. Gov. criticizes insurer after signing bill - Florida Wires - MiamiHerald.com

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/mayo/blog/2012/10/fun_facts_about_citizens_insur.html

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No Hurricanes in 7 years but Florida insurance rates keep rising

Miami Herald Excerpt:

The biggest expense remains the cost of "reinsurance" - which is the money an insurer spends with an out-of-state or foreign company to provide the company financial backing in case of major claims.
Other causes that have been cited include millions in other types of losses such as sinkholes. A Pulitizer Prize-winning series in 2010 by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune pointed out how insurers paid out millions in bonuses to company executives or had large overhead costs compared to the rest of the nation.
Plus, McCarty conceded all rate filings are allowed to include some percentage of profit for private insurers.
Sean Shaw, the former insurance consumer advocate for the state, put the blame on the Florida Legislature for siding too often with the insurance industry.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/27/3418973/7-years-without-storms-but-fla.html#storylink=cpy

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.: 7 years without storms but Fla. rates keep rising - Florida Wires - MiamiHerald.com

HIH POV:

The current Governor and State Legislature believe the private homeowners insurance market is viable if a storm should hit.  Fact is we've been here before and the moment a storm hits our shores bankruptcy is their best solution to avoid paying claims.  Citizens Insurance Corp is our only saving grace but the State government wants to dismantle the company as we know it.  Click on the pulitzer.org link below to gain an awareness of how we're being fleeced and the worst part, it's all legal.

Reference Link:
http://homesteadishome.blogspot.com/2013/05/citizen-insurance-depopulation-update.html

http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/9194

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Citizens Insurance Depopulation Update - Watch Out For Assumption Notice and Opt Out Form

As reported before on HIH the Citizens Depopulation effort is in full swing. Examples of what to watch out for in the mail are included.  You only have 30 days from the Assumption Notice date to OPT OUT so there's no time to waste once you receive the letter.  You must contact your insurance agent if an OPT OUT form is not included with the Assumption Notice.  Coincidentally we did not receive one.  It's not by chance but by design so you have to be proactive to assert your desires to through your insurance agent.

This shameless trickery by the Florida Legislature in cahoots with Governor Rick Scott is an attempt to turn Citizens Insurance into a less viable alternative for the citizens of Florida.  They seem to think we have forgotten what happened 21 years ago when Hurricane Andrew left Homestead in shambles almost erasing it off the map.  Private insurers at the time were going out of business in droves dropping policies on the doorsteps of the State Government because they could not sustain the losses of a major hurricane.

This is how Citizens Insurance came about once all the private insurers pulled out.  Private insurers are only back to take our money because the Governor and State Legislature have sweeten the deal by providing Citizen Insurance profits as seed money for their fly-by-night insurance start-ups. Experience has shown us that these companies will go belly up once a major hurricane hits South Florida.  They are unsustainable enterprises and are only in business first to take our hard earned money and second because of the mistaken philosophical belief that free market forces are  viable in the windstorm insurance industry.

Fact is folks, windstorm insurance is just like flood insurance, which is run by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) because no private insurance company will touch it.  Simply put the losses incurred during floods outstrip the premiums collected that would be viable in the marketplace.  If private insurance companies were issuing policies for flood, the rates would be so high most of coastal Florida would be depopulated since no one would be able to afford the premiums.  Never mind that no bank would finance real estate ventures without flood insurance.  Windstorm is no different and a national program should exist but political ideology currently trumps logical reasoning in the US Congress and the financial welfare of citizens is an afterthought.

Florida was a pioneer in creating a State run windstorm insurance company while Louisiana did the same after Hurricane Katrina.  Citizens Insurance company makes a profit, it's sustainable,  and it's our only saving grace if a major storm head our way.  You can do something about stopping the dismantling of Citizens by Opting Out and staying with Citizens Insurance.  Examples of the letters received by a Homestead family are provided to you for your awareness. Be on the look out; they are coming your way!



Reference Link
http://homesteadishome.blogspot.com/2013/05/citizen-windstorm-insurance.html

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