Floridians Would Pay More to Shore-Up Cat Fund: Survey

A new survey finds that 70 percent of Floridians fear being assessed hundreds or thousands of dollars in “hurricane taxes” because the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund may run out of money to pay insurance claims.

The telephone survey of 805 consumers conducted by the American Consumer Institute (ACI) asked consumers if they support or oppose allowing the catastrophe fund to sell “more insurance coverage than it can pay in claims?” Eighty percent opposed.

Nearly half of consumers said they were willing to pay “a little more,” if doing so would avoid insolvencies and higher taxes.

When asked if they would be willing to pay $15 a month more in premiums to make the catastrophe fund financially sound, 55 percent agreed, with 35 percent opposing.

Support for paying somewhat higher premiums to make the hurricane fund financially sound was the greatest among Democrats (62 percent), those using Citizens homeowners insurance (65 percent) and those with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 per year (63%).

The question about paying higher premiums mirrors legislation filed by Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, that addresses the fund’s finances.

The group said its survey was conducted after the state hurricane fund’s chief operating officer, Jack Nicholson, reported that the fund was “dangerously exposed” and billions of dollars short of meeting its insurance obligations, if the state suffered major hurricane damage.

The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research is a Washington, D.C. educational and research organization that supports fiscally responsible government, lower taxes and regulation, and more consumer choice.

Topics Catastrophe Trends Hurricane