No big windstorms this
year, so where's the break for us?
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Article Courtesy of the Sun Sentinel
By
Ralph De La Cruz
Published November 30, 2006
Congratulations,
y'all. It's official.
The 2006 hurricane season is over today. And the only thing we got was a
little bit of a scare-turned-summer-shower called Ernesto.
OK, so none of us had anything to do with this good fortune. Doesn't
matter. I'm always willing to take credit for something I had no control
over.
Besides, we might as well give ourselves a pat on the back. It's the only
thing we're going to get. Doubt my insurance company is writing a
celebratory rebate check today.
Curious how money only seems to flow one way when it comes to hurricanes
and insurance. When we get pounded by storms, we can expect to have our
pockets shaken out. And yet, when we have a clear season, we get ...
"In the past two years, Florida insurers paid out in excess of $35
billion and took in less than $18 billion in premiums," Sam Miller,
of the Florida Insurance Council, explained in a letter to the editor in
August. "Simple math shows us that no business can survive under that
kind of financial picture."
Of course, Miller's math isn't only simple, it's myopic.
"They shouldn't be able to just count recent years," said Chris
Kowalczyk, vice president of Homeowners Against Citizens. That's big C, as
in Citizens Insurance, Florida's insurer of last resort.
Yep. What's conveniently ignored by Miller is that there wasn't much
action in the dozen years between Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Season
of the Four Hurricanes in 2004.
Let's see ...
There was Erin, a ragged Category 1 storm in 1995. Category 1 Earl hit the
Florida Panhandle in 1998. And Irene, which quickly downgraded after
making landfall near Cape Sable, hit South Florida with tropical storm
winds and a lot of rain in 1999.
Three hurricanes in 12 years -- none an insurance breaker.
No hurricanes hit the state in 2000, 2001, 2002 or 2003.
I assume everybody still had to pay their insurance premiums during that
time. So, taking Miller's numbers and adjusting them downward a bit to
compensate for inflation, you've got to figure the insurance industry
raked in upwards of $60 billion -- without significant hurricane
payouts -- during those four years alone. Throw in 1993, '94, '96 and '97
and, well, you're talking some serious money.
A $17 billion shortfall in 2004-2005, with all that money in reserve,
shouldn't have been a big deal.
And yet, companies have gone under. Others said they wouldn't insure us
anymore.
The problem, of course, is that being publicly traded companies, when the
big money's made, it's not simply kept in reserve for a windy/rainy day.
It's paid out to shareholders, big-dollar execs and parent companies.
So when we get hit hard over a couple years time, the companies claim
hardship and demand exorbitant rate hikes.
It's not just the insurance companies doing this. If you want to read an
interesting analysis, go to Monday's editorial pages where Brad Ashwell of
the Florida Interest Research Group broke down BellSouth's proposed $34.6
million hurricane-related increase.
Thankfully, Floridians aren't keen on being easily separated from their
money. So groups such as Kowalczyk's emerge.
HAC (www.hacfl.org) is
confronting the problem politically. It was one of the major issues in
last month's elections.
"Floridians have been crying for rate relief for more than six months
already," said Kowalzcyk. "If the Legislature doesn't act within
the next three months, it's going to be an economic disaster."
The group has a 33-point plan that starts with a call for an investigation
of Citizens, and an overhaul of state insurance laws -- including the law
allowing national companies to have Florida-only subsidiaries.
I'm partial to No. 32.
"The citizens of Florida should not shoulder the burden of risk.
Insurance companies are in the risk business, let them accept their
risk."
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