Insurance wars

From the Sun-Sentinel-

Tallahassee - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist ratcheted up his anger with property insurers Tuesday, saying he favors calling insurance company executives to testify under oath before the Legislature about why they're not lowering prices for consumers.

"It's a new day, and they're not getting their way anymore," Crist said after a Cabinet meeting in Tallahassee. "They should not be able to run this Capitol anymore."

Also Tuesday, state insurance officials said they've rejected a proposed 7 percent rate reductionby State Farm Florida Insurance Co., insisting that Florida's largest private carrier of homeowner policies can push prices even lower.

The move comes as three dozen property insurers are asking Florida officials to approve steep increases in the price of insurance, derailing promises made by Crist and legislators to the state's homeowners earlier this year that rates would decline.

Alex at SOTP is right, Insurance companies will most likely get their way in regards to homeowner's insurance rates. Like I blogged previously, no company can be forced to do business in Florida. The threat to prohibit companies like State Farm from selling auto insurance unless they change their homeowner's insurance practices, is mostly talk.

Dear wife and I moved into this house in 1998. Back then we paid approximately $960 for homeowner's insurance. Our latest yearly premium was almost 4,800. That is a roughly 500% increase. The rates were probably too cheap to start with, considering the risk of living in a hurricane prone area.

Bottom line- I don't expect rates to go down, only up. Who knows how much longer we can afford it down here. Maybe I'll be the Montana or Wyoming Masochist one day.

Linked to- Cao, Conservative Thoughts, Random Yak, Stuck on Stupid,