ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Cheryl Lucy is thankful that her homeowner’s insurance premium has only gone up by about $200 this year.
“Fortunately, that’s still a pretty good percentage for me to work with,” she said.
But mostly, she’s just happy to have coverage for her St. Petersburg home.
We first met her in September 2022. At the time, she was dropped by her previous insurer after years of massive increases in her premium…
“I got a letter last week that they left me,” she said, “The only reason was, ‘We’re reducing our reach in Florida.’
Lucey is now one of 1.23 million people with a homeowner’s insurance policy as a result of Florida’s ongoing insurance crisis.
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But her sigh of relief may be short-lived as the “insurer of last resort” recently revealed it hopes to halve its growing client list – in what it says is an effort to help fix the state’s insurance market.
“People say, ‘I need affordable insurance.’ I agree. We want insurance to be affordable, but that’s why we need to have more competition; we need to have more private companies coming back to the state,” said the company’s CEO Tim Serio.
It’s a move former state Sen. Jeff Brandes said will help promote more competition in the private insurance market.
But on top of that, he also offers a three-step solution to Florida’s insurance crisis that focuses on making Tampa Bay the center for the state’s insurance market recovery.
First proposal: Citizens move headquarters to Tampa or open a satellite office in the area
“They are a citizen-backed and owned property insurance company. They are the insurer of last resort. But in many communities, they are the only insurer. But they have a responsibility to produce research on best practices and really help overall. Brandes said, “In many areas, Citizens is a leader in the state, and they need to be located in Tampa versus Jacksonville, where they are separated from the rest of the insurance community. in Florida. Why not make them the center of Florida’s insurance community and let them be the organizer and catalyst for best practices in the state.”
Second proposal: The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) moves its headquarters to Tampa or opens a satellite office in the area
“Why aren’t you where your insurers are? Setting up a satellite office here would really facilitate that connection between your regulator and the insurers in the state. It would allow for more programs led by the Office of Insurance Regulation, more leadership from the Office of Insurance Regulation, and frankly, more knowledge and integration with know-your-customer, know-your-customer,” Brandes said.
Third proposal: Partner with local scientists and researchers to develop best practices across the country
Whether it’s Sarasota, Tampa Bay, the vast majority of the property insurance market in Florida is located there,” he said, “So by bringing them together and allowing Citizens and OIR to be that catalyst for both change and for research and best practices — we think that would be something that would create an almost Silicon Valley-like environment for the state of Florida for its property insurance industry.”
Brandes also said that while he doesn’t think lawmakers need to step in to drive these changes, he believes getting the Legislature involved can speed up the process.
And while we wait to see what the fix will be, Lucy shared this message with those charged with resolving it.
“We work hard and we want to enjoy where we live and be able to afford what we live. So we need help,” she said.
