Posted On: October 17, 2007, 10:23 am CDT

Posted By: Transplanted to Florida

Amen Karen!

I CHOSE to live in Florida, and I realize there are risks inherent with my resident state. But, that is not an excuse to have ridiculously high rates or suppress competition (the insurer of last resort becoming the only choice most of the time!).

As for the argument made by others here, including Blondie, that people should not live in Florida. Puh-lease! Does anyone think before they speak? Seriously, most places have some risks that residents must deal with. That still does not mean that the population can be exploited because they live there. Using the faulty argument of "don't live there" and applying to all places, that would leave the entire population of the US (not considering other countries) concentrated in a small amount of space. Of course, that would increase the chance of other risks (e.g., communicable diseases being transmitted more frequently and more severely). What do we do then? Move to places less populated? Oh wait; we can't live there because they are not 100% certified "safe zones". That argument is a slippery slope that should not be approached. You will continue sliding down and there's no making your way back to the top.

I am not saying that rates in hurricane zones, earthquake-prone areas, tornado alley, etc. should not be higher. I am not advocating community rates across the board. The risk is higher in certain areas of the country. I get that. What I am saying is, if you want to justify the high rates and defend the insurance companies, do it using actuarial methods (without padding the assumptions to justify the rates - use ACTUAL experience) or valid arguments. I am sure the moderately-priced home sitting out on the Gulf of Mexico is going to cost more to insure when compared to the same home several miles inland. But, how many hurricanes come up the Gulf Coast? Are they using the same, or similar, risk factors as they use in the Keys, or on the Atlantic coast? If you can convince me, mathematically, that they are needed, then I may gripe and moan because the insurance expense is going to take a bigger bite out of my budget, but I'll at least understand and agree that it's needed. But, don't say "You live in FL, your bad. We can charge what we want."

Also, to be clear, I do think Crist is going overboard. I think he's just so intent on keeping rates down and not looking at it logically. He is going to do more damage than good, in my opinion.