Posted On: February 21, 2006, 7:48 pm CST

Posted By: Richard Paul Dembinsky

Thank you Mr. O.! Having been a resident of Florida since 1978 I have lost track of what things are like in the Midwest. Can you still purchase "fire insurance only"?
Here in Daytona Beach we don't fear loss of our homes due to hurricanes but yet we are now in the big insurance mixing bowl of Florida. Okay I have accepted that my insurance of $550 per year was too low, but going to $1500 was a surprise. Okay you did help me understand your point of view but I don't believe large insurance companies in Florida would directly impact your rate in Illinois. However, if you have investments in the stock market..I believe the lower value of some stocks due to the withdrawal of funds to pay for the damages on the Gulf coast may be possible. I may be wrong but we use this to justify why our stocks seem stuck in a trading range.
We here in Florida do apologize if we gave you the impression we are wanting folks in Illinois to help us get lower insurance rates. I believe the stress of going through these storms has made new residents hit by the storms question everything including whether or not it is wise to live in a hurricane state.

I am still attempting to understand what is the insurance problem here in Florida. It could be the low salaries and quick increase in cost of living are making residents not face up to the high cost of insurance. I know the long term residents also seem to be concerned about using citizens and are moving out of it as soon as possible. As a candidate of Governor I am attempting to learn about the insurance concern of residents and address some of these at my website onballot.com.
We need to get back to having insurance available from several companies so we can assume we are getting a good insurance value. At this point one my existing major insurance company will insure my home, I don't believe any other part of the country has this problem. Oh, one additional point I need help with is whether or not insurance companies in other states keep increasing the amount of coverage required to meet the 80% of value rule. It appears the fast increase in home replacement costs are causing insurance companies a means of inceasing the annual policy rate. My home is insured above the tax appraisers value which includes the acre of land and above what I paid for the property 10 years ago so there may be some unfair practices in some areas of Florida that may not compare to your experience in Illinois. Thanks again for your insurance reality check and I look forward to more information you may provide. Richard