Today, the American Consumer Institute (ACI) released a new study exposing the perverse incentives driving financial instability in Florida’s homeowner insurance market. The state’s generous fee-shifting policy has allowed attorneys to collect disproportionate attorney fees in assignment of benefit (AOB) lawsuits, encouraging more costly lawsuits. Today, Florida accounts for nearly 80% of the country’s insurance […]
insurance
Statement Regarding Florida’s Special Legislative Session on Property Insurance
The American Consumer Institute urges Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature to strongly consider tort reform during their upcoming special legislative session. Over the years, Florida has suffered from a range of issues related to insurance fraud, frivolous lawsuits, and the assignment of business suits, each contributing to a poor business environment for […]
HUD Study on FHA Loans Offers Lessons on Avoiding Risk
In 2018, an interesting study was published by the nonprofit R Street Institute, which found that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was allowing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to issue federal loans without requiring earthquake insurance for borrowers, potentially putting the taxpayer at substantial risk should a catastrophe occur. Now several years later, a report […]
Morning Consult: Don’t Bail Out the NFIP Again. Fix Its Flaws
For the last 15 years, the National Flood Insurance Program — the nation’s primary source of flood insurance — has lurched from one financial crisis to the next, accruing a massive $20.5 billion debt with the U.S. Treasury to cover its persistent shortfalls. Congress’ decision to cancel $16 billion of NFIP debt in 2017 only kicked the […]
The Hill: Taxing Climate Change
As environmental catastrophes, like storms and earthquakes, appear more frequent, the ability of consumers to protect themselves from significant financial losses is more paramount than ever. But as American consumers, as well as state and local governments, prepare to cope with climate change, things will soon be much more expensive for consumers, in part due to […]
Behind the Insurance Price Rise
Florida’s property insurance market is nearing collapse. This crisis is not caused by the billion-dollar storms that regularly hit the state but by unscrupulous attorneys who demand excessive legal fees to litigate claims in court. These legal actions have only homeowners in the Sunshine state facing double-digit premium rate increases on property insurance policies. Much […]
ACI Applauds Proposed Reforms To Florida’s Insurance Market
The Following is a Statement from ACI’s Policy Manager and Editor Edward Longe: “ACI praises the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee for advancing two bills that will provide much-needed reform to Florida’s insurance market. The State’s insurance market is currently facing a dual crisis of catastrophic storms and insurance fraud that are making policies unaffordable for […]
Citizens’ Rate Hike Could Stabilize Florida Insurance Market
Florida’s insurance market is in dire need of reform. In a recent state legislative committee meeting, Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier describes Florida’s insurance market as being unstable and unsustainable. Here’s why: While Citizens Property Insurance was intended to be only a “last resort” insurer for homeowners who could not get coverage from private insurers, the struggling […]
North Carolina Drivers Deserve Transparency and Competitive Prices
Several years back, the American Consumer Institute conducted a survey and found that 80% of North Carolina drivers would oppose any plan that to make good drivers pay more so that risky drivers could pay less. That is not surprising, considering better drivers tend to have fewer accidents and violations, making them less risky and […]
Economic Standard: The Need to Reform the National Flood Insurance Program
For years, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which maintains a near-monopoly over the flood insurance market in the U.S. and covers more than 5 million properties nationwide, has been drowning in red ink. Without significant reforms, it will only get worse. The NFIP, which is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was […]