Dick Marting is among the many who’ve had to build back after Hurricane Ian. He lives just off the river in North Fort Myers. About 4 feet of water flooded his home during the storm. “Furniture floated and turned upside down. Refrigerators floated and turned upside down. It (was) a mess,” he recalled. Marting and his wife lived in a trailer on their property for more than a year after Ian. Repairing their home was a long process. So were the insurance claims. “It was slow. Very slow,” Marting said. “They didn’t cover some things that we thought they should cover.” Not only that – since the storm, their flood insurance rate has nearly doubled. “We were disappointed – but we kind of anticipated it,” he said. Marting, like so many Floridians, is feeling the impact of the state’s home insurance crisis. Right now, a big part of fixing it has to do with the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. “It’s really essential to have a stable insurance market in Florida – to have Citizens at a manageable risk level,” Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute told NBC2.Friedlander said that means moving policies from Citizens to private insurers. That’s happened with more than 300,000 standard home policies since just October, he explained. Now, new legislation would help Citizens to shave even more policies. It would allow surplus lines insurers to take out policies from Citizens on second homes. There are about 77,000 such policies in the state, according to a Citizens spokesperson. “Secondary homes have been a big issue in Florida because many of the standard home insurers have stopped writing that business,” Friedlander said. Surplus lines insurers are not regulated the same way as standard insurers and don’t have the same backstops that pay customers if a company goes under. But that isn’t a major concern, Friedlander explained, because the legislation would require those insurers to have an A rating and be financially strong to do business. “The financial strength of surplus lines carriers in Florida is very strong. In fact, in many cases, stronger than the standard residential insurers operating in our state today,” Friedlander explained. “So going with a surplus lines carrier should not be a concern for a consumer because they are very highly rated and the chances of them going insolvent are virtually zero.” As for Dick Marting, he already has sandbags stuffed ahead of the next hurricane season – and a more permanent solution in the works. “Because of insurance – and for peace of mind, both – we’re going to raise the house 6 and a half feet,” he said. “Once and for all, making sure this doesn’t happen again. That’s what we’re trying to do.” “Due to state regulations, a surplus lines insurer could only take out policies from Citizens if their rate is within 20% of the Citizens’ premium renewal price,” Friedlander explained.If it’s more than that – a customer can opt to stay with Citizens.
Dick Marting is among the many who’ve had to build back after Hurricane Ian. He lives just off the river in North Fort Myers. About 4 feet of water flooded his home during the storm.
“Furniture floated and turned upside down. Refrigerators floated and turned upside down. It (was) a mess,” he recalled.
Marting and his wife lived in a trailer on their property for more than a year after Ian. Repairing their home was a long process. So were the insurance claims.
“It was slow. Very slow,” Marting said. “They didn’t cover some things that we thought they should cover.”
Not only that – since the storm, their flood insurance rate has nearly doubled.
“We were disappointed – but we kind of anticipated it,” he said.
Marting, like so many Floridians, is feeling the impact of the state’s home insurance crisis. Right now, a big part of fixing it has to do with the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
“It’s really essential to have a stable insurance market in Florida – to have Citizens at a manageable risk level,” Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute told NBC2.
Friedlander said that means moving policies from Citizens to private insurers. That’s happened with more than 300,000 standard home policies since just October, he explained.
Now, new legislation would help Citizens to shave even more policies. It would allow surplus lines insurers to take out policies from Citizens on second homes.
There are about 77,000 such policies in the state, according to a Citizens spokesperson.
“Secondary homes have been a big issue in Florida because many of the standard home insurers have stopped writing that business,” Friedlander said.
Surplus lines insurers are not regulated the same way as standard insurers and don’t have the same backstops that pay customers if a company goes under. But that isn’t a major concern, Friedlander explained, because the legislation would require those insurers to have an A rating and be financially strong to do business.
“The financial strength of surplus lines carriers in Florida is very strong. In fact, in many cases, stronger than the standard residential insurers operating in our state today,” Friedlander explained. “So going with a surplus lines carrier should not be a concern for a consumer because they are very highly rated and the chances of them going insolvent are virtually zero.”
As for Dick Marting, he already has sandbags stuffed ahead of the next hurricane season – and a more permanent solution in the works.
“Because of insurance – and for peace of mind, both – we’re going to raise the house 6 and a half feet,” he said. “Once and for all, making sure this doesn’t happen again. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
“Due to state regulations, a surplus lines insurer could only take out policies from Citizens if their rate is within 20% of the Citizens’ premium renewal price,” Friedlander explained.
If it’s more than that – a customer can opt to stay with Citizens.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.