Prick Scott is quietly trying to kill Citizens Insurance.

[Orlandodem]

It's one thing to be against Citizens Insurance. It's another to secretly push for its end, forcing people into the unregulated home insurance market because the regular insurance market can't absorb all customers of Citizens. Make sure people here about this.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110423/ARTICLES/110429779/1109/sports?p=1&tc=pg

[orangeapple]

1. to what degree

are Florida taxpayers on the hook to cover Citizens claims?

I've read they could have liabilities as high as 24 billion dollars.

Should taxpayers be compelled to insure those who want to live on the coast? Or should the price be borne by those enjoying the view?

[Orlandodem]

2. As a resident of Central Florida I understand that I am probably helping to

fund coastal insurance rates. That's not right.

But Rick Scott should not secretly push changes that will suddenly force people into surplus lines. Have the courage to openly campaign on the issue.

[iscooterliberally]

3. I live in South Florida, but I'm inland, by the swamp.

It's almost as bad inland as it is on the coast for South Florida. None of us can get any insurance unless we go with Citizens down here. I have owned my place for about 7 years now. My policy was sold off by Citizens once, but that was right before hurricane Wilma hit us. We got the eye of the storm. The insurance company that bought my policy went belly up before they even got to send an adjuster to look at my place. I'm in Broward county on the east side of the state, and Wilma came up across the Everglades and whacked us pretty hard. Lot's of poor folks lost all their stuff too. There's really no area that is safe from hurricanes in the whole entire state of Florida. Either we have Citizens or something like it, or I guess we'll all have to abandon this state completely. I have lived down here since I was about 11 years old. My parents brought us down here in the early 70s. We went for many many years without incident, and the insurance companies raked in all those premiums for all those years. I think that we need more regulation in the insurance industry as to how much money they need to keep on hand and how much they can charge. I guess they pissed all their money away on Wall Street and then got caught holding the bag when all these storms hit. Now they want to take it out on us. I now have another claim in because a main water pipe started leaking behind the drywall that is behind my kitchen cabinets. Citizens has denied my claim twice already, but I have a public adjuster after them. I lost my entire kitchen due to mold, and have been living with my refrigerator in my living room for more than a month now. The bottom line is that no matter where you live in this country something really really bad can come from out of nowhere and get you good. We pay quite a bit more for our insurance down here already. I don't know my yearly premium, but I do know it's somewhere between $2K-$3K. I spoke to a man in Birmingham, AL last year and his yearly premium was only about $300. Look what just happened up there? We need to spread the risk and make sure everyone is covered, and the damn insurance industry needs to hold onto its money and not go all AIG on us.