Even for people living in a state other than Florida, under-pricing this risk is a situation that badly needs to be addressed. Taxpayers can’t afford another “too big to fail” situation, but that’s what has been established here.
Until the state allows market forces to fully work, no amount of tinkering will help the situtation there. The private insurance industry has the capacity and the desire, if they can get the rate needed to make is sustainable over the long haul.
Who says it can’t continue?
As recent evidence proves, anytime an event occurs the Feds will come in and bail everyone out anyway, whether we like it or not.
In coastal counties Citizens is in most cases 25% less or more than private carriers. Homeowners will rarely pay that much more to be insured with private companies. Cutting coverage doesn’t work. Until Citizens has pricing higher than the admitted market they will continue to grow. They all know this and yet continue to do nothing but talk about what to do. Raise rates!
“Doesn’t it make sense that the primary responsibility of how we govern mitigation in our state would fall to the people who do that for a living every day?” asked Westcott.
Actually Ms. Wescott, the people that are dealing with the Hurricane models for “insurance purposes” are actuaries, who deal with insurance issues on a daily basis. So it would make perfect sense for the insurance industry to deal with the hurricane model. Those underwriters at LLoyds are pretty smart people and can tell you within a couple of million dollars the impact of a catastrophy and about when it will hit.
However, what doesn’t make sense is what then Gov. Charlie Crist implemented – having Citizens use a 50 year claims model forecast vs the industry using a 74 or 100 yr model. Why is or was Citizens using a lesser time period? To artifically lower the rates, that’s why. Well if Tower Hill, St. John’s or Security First (to name a few) must use a 100 yr claims projection, Citizens should as well. Unfortunately when rates are properly adjusted citizen groups will yell high holy hell and the misinformed public thinks the agents are getting rich off of Citizens.
Then there are the captive agents who are using Citizens as their primary carrier, since their company has pulled out of the state. But I can’t blame the agents, they must make a living too. But that continues to burden the state with an increase in policyholders.
I am looking forward to seeing these “reforms” and I am afraid that unless they include bringing Florida Citizens’ rates in ALL areas actuarily sound for a 1/100 year event, it may just be another year of wasted paper.
Even for people living in a state other than Florida, under-pricing this risk is a situation that badly needs to be addressed. Taxpayers can’t afford another “too big to fail” situation, but that’s what has been established here.
Until the state allows market forces to fully work, no amount of tinkering will help the situtation there. The private insurance industry has the capacity and the desire, if they can get the rate needed to make is sustainable over the long haul.
“That which can’t continue, won’t.”
Who says it can’t continue?
As recent evidence proves, anytime an event occurs the Feds will come in and bail everyone out anyway, whether we like it or not.
In coastal counties Citizens is in most cases 25% less or more than private carriers. Homeowners will rarely pay that much more to be insured with private companies. Cutting coverage doesn’t work. Until Citizens has pricing higher than the admitted market they will continue to grow. They all know this and yet continue to do nothing but talk about what to do. Raise rates!
“Doesn’t it make sense that the primary responsibility of how we govern mitigation in our state would fall to the people who do that for a living every day?” asked Westcott.
Actually Ms. Wescott, the people that are dealing with the Hurricane models for “insurance purposes” are actuaries, who deal with insurance issues on a daily basis. So it would make perfect sense for the insurance industry to deal with the hurricane model. Those underwriters at LLoyds are pretty smart people and can tell you within a couple of million dollars the impact of a catastrophy and about when it will hit.
However, what doesn’t make sense is what then Gov. Charlie Crist implemented – having Citizens use a 50 year claims model forecast vs the industry using a 74 or 100 yr model. Why is or was Citizens using a lesser time period? To artifically lower the rates, that’s why. Well if Tower Hill, St. John’s or Security First (to name a few) must use a 100 yr claims projection, Citizens should as well. Unfortunately when rates are properly adjusted citizen groups will yell high holy hell and the misinformed public thinks the agents are getting rich off of Citizens.
Then there are the captive agents who are using Citizens as their primary carrier, since their company has pulled out of the state. But I can’t blame the agents, they must make a living too. But that continues to burden the state with an increase in policyholders.
I am looking forward to seeing these “reforms” and I am afraid that unless they include bringing Florida Citizens’ rates in ALL areas actuarily sound for a 1/100 year event, it may just be another year of wasted paper.