Florida CFO says homeowner insurance remedy 'not
a one and done'
Jimmy Patronis says several
factors hampering relief |
Article Courtesy of WPTV Channel 5 West Palm Beach
By Matt Sczesny
Published January 18, 2024
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TALLAHASSEE — Florida Chief
Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said Wednesday work on homeowners
insurance in the state may not be over.
“We’re going to continue to lean forward
with solutions that help empower the consumer to make those
investments to bring insurance down,” he said from his
office in the state capital.
"This is what I tell people, every single year we got to
work on this problem. It’s not a one and done," he said.
State leaders had been banking on reforms aimed at curbing
fraudulent lawsuits in late 2022 would bring rate relief
sometime this year.
But now Patronis said other factors are hampering the
relief.
"The measures that took place in 2022 are creating the
environment that makes carriers want to do business in
Florida," Patronis said.
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Florida Chief Financial
Officer Jimmy Patronis.
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"But there is still the cost of business, of
inflation that has made home ownership and construction costs more and
because interest rates are higher, those insurance companies are not
jumping into Florida market."
Patronis said four new insurance companies are entering the Florida
market this year and there are “others in the pipeline."
And he said other states are now beginning to feel the pain of rising
insurance rates that Florida experienced over the last year.
"We were the canary in the coal mine. We made the tough decisions that
now they will have to make," Patronis said.
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