Addressing The Insurance Crisis: Alex Sink's Approach

[Crewleader]

----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Sink for CFO
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 8:14 PM
Subject: Addressing the Property Insurance Crisis: Alex Sink's Approach

Dear Friend,

“As Chief Financial Officer, I will be a strong insurance consumer advocate that stands up for families and businesses who buy property insurance in Florida.” In the midst of a full-blown property insurance crisis, the Legislature waited until the last hour of the 2006 session to pass a terrible bill in the dark of night that allows insurance companies to raise rates up to 10 percent with no approval. The Legislature’s plan made it easier for insurance companies to raise rates and removed important consumer protections. Within days after the Legislature passed its plan, major insurance companies asked for huge rate increases and dumped thousands of policyholders from property insurance coverage. The Legislature’s efforts were so inadequate that the governor had to appoint yet another commission to “study” the insurance crisis.

It’s time to stop forming commissions and start finding solutions. Though no one can solve the property insurance crisis alone and there are no easy answers, I’m going to fight for some common-sense solutions as your next Chief Financial Officer. I’ll stand up to companies who don’t pay their claims, fight fraud that increases everyone’s rates and work with neighboring states to spread the insurance risk of hurricanes. As your next Chief Financial Officer, I will take the following actions to help control homeowners’ insurance rates:

(1) A Strong Insurance Consumer Advocate
As Chief Financial Officer, I will be a strong insurance consumer advocate that stands up for families and businesses who buy property insurance in Florida. As your insurance consumer advocate, I’ll fight to control the exploding cost of property insurance. If insurance companies are refusing to pay legitimate claims, I’ll make them pay. And I’ll take steps toward making sure that Florida’s consumers have insurance policies that describe in plain language exactly what is – and what is not – covered.

(2) An Innovative Regional Solution
The problem of violent weather is a national problem, and we need a national catastrophic fund to spread the risk. But Congress can’t get its act together even after a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina. I am not going to wait for Congress any longer. As Chief Financial Officer, I will call all of my counterparts in coastal states from Texas to Maine and work with them to discuss the creation a regional catastrophic fund that helps spread the risk of tropical weather.

(3) A Stronger Florida Catastrophe Fund
We need to expand and strengthen the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. A stronger “CAT Fund” will establish a more predictable property insurance market and attract more private competition for our insurance business. One of the reasons for high insurance rates is the cost of “reinsurance”­– backup insurance that insurance companies buy to cover payment of claims. Through the CAT Fund, the state is able to leverage cheaper reinsurance rates for private insurance companies. There are several proposals to expand the state’s involvement in providing reinsurance, and reducing the cost of re-insurance will help to lower rates.

(4) Fighting Insurance Fraud
As Chief Financial Officer, I will be the state’s top prosecutor of insurance fraud. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, insurance fraud costs each Florida family an additional $1,500 per year in increased premiums. In fact, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, fraud can inflate premiums by as much as 30 percent. As Chief Financial Officer, I will increase the number of fraud investigators and otherwise strengthen anti-fraud efforts so that we have the resources to crack down on the fraud that raises our insurance rates.

(5) Better Hurricane Mitigation
When homeowners take steps to strengthen their homes, those efforts should result in discounts on their property insurance. As Chief Financial Officer, I’ll also fight to unify building codes around the state and increase other mitigation efforts so that citizens from Pensacola to Fernandina Beach to Key West are ready for storms before they arrive.

Even if we’re lucky in 2006, hurricanes aren’t going away. It is essential that we elect a leader who is willing to ask tough questions and stand up for consumers and businesses to solve our insurance crisis. Please continue to share your stories and ideas on how we can work together to solve Florida’s property insurance crisis.

Thanks for your help,
Alex



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!



If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Alex Sink for CFO.



Get Involved | Donate

http://www.alexforcfo.com/

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Alex Sink, Democrat, for Chief Financial Officer.