The Florida Governor has once again vetoed legislation that would have helped protect homeowners in the state. The veto preserves the current regulatory policy of underfunding insurers (including the state’s own insurer-of-last-resort) from having sufficient capital reserves to pay for homeowners for their losses. The legislation would have permitted insurance companies to collect modestly higher premiums in order to guarantee homeowners protection against hurricane losses and other potential claims. A number of insurance companies have become insolvent and many more have stopped writing insurance policies. Ironically, the veto comes as hurricane season begins.
An op-ed from the Florida Times Union gives a good review of the insurance problem brought on by politics-as-usual … http://jacksonville.com:80/opinion/editorials/2010-06-01/story/hurricane-season-dont-rely-luck.