So, State Farm goes to the State of Florida and asks for a 47% rate hike (statewide), gets a negative from the insurance commissioner and then decides to cancel 1 million policyholders homeowners insurance - in retaliation. Yes, I consider this move one of retaliation against the homeowners of Florida who have been sucked dry by insurance companies for many years.
If the carriers don’t get their way, they simply cancel your policy or, refer you to another insurance carrier, which they have a stake in. Where does it end? First, they make it near impossible for homeowners to get the insurance they need and, if you can afford the premium, you’re still never fully covered, as the carriers are as slick as Wiley E. Coyote.
They came into this State wanting to sell insurance, however, always seem to find a way to hike Floridians premiums and/or pull the old “fine, if we can’t get a 47% rate hike, we’ll just cancel the policies”. This is no different then the big three going to Congress and throwing out the old “if we can’t get billions in a bailout then we’ll layoff how many Americans?”
It comes down to being held hostage. It’s akin to extortion and State Farm should be booted out of Florida and replaced with a state funded insurance plan. Homeowners could pay a flat rate of “x” and renters could pay a flat rate of “y”. It would cut down on insurance fraud, as specific limitations could be placed within each plan. If a hurricane comes by, the Federal Government will declare the area a disaster zone and pump in the additional money to re-build wait…didn’t they do that in New Orleans? OK, scratch the last part of that idea.
When my homeowners was canceled they did it based upon the near miss of a hurricane (or so they said), that was four years ago. The insurance carrier sent me a love note and referred me to Universal, an insurance carrier owned by who? The carrier who canceled me. Huh? My rates quadrupled and I live 20 feet in the air on the second floor of a condo. Huh? (again).
OK, so I cut back on insuring my personal items like furniture, you know, the basics and my rate
Florida Sinkhole Gophers - A State Farm Friend..
still did not go down. The reason for canceling my policy? Sink holes were found thirty miles away and I guess the carrier thought there was a giant mole (or gopher) making his way to Tampa. Please!
Here’s what I did. I have the most basic (I mean basic) coverage I could find. In order to afford my homeowners, I canceled my health insurance. I know what you’re thinking but, drastic times, call for unusual measures. I figured it this way. If I end up with cancer or some catastrophic disease, I can claim poverty and receive FREE health care until the day of my death. I can go on Medicaid. My condo will be protected against impending sink holes and the bank holding my mortgage (on my worthless condo) will be fully protected.
My point is – seems that insurance carriers want to pick and choose who they insure. They discriminate against policy holders based upon a number of factors such as geographical location and even demographics. They do not seem to feel any alligance to their customers – only to pocketbooks. The insurance commissioner of Florida did the right thing by saying NO to a 47% rate hike. If State Farm wants to be out of the State of Florida, so be it, however, once they’re gone out Of Florida (along with their agents and offices) dont’ let them ever conduct business in the State of Florida in the future.In fact, toss them out Florida and don’t even allow them to offer ANY TYPE of insurance.
The counter from the Insurance Commissioner (in a perfect world) would be for him to inform State Farm, you want to cancel Floridians insurance? Fine. However, you can longer sell auto, boat, health or life insurance to a Florida resident ever again. If State Farm wants to put Florida policyholders out on the limb by canceling their policies, send State Farm a message by canceling ALL of your State Farm insurance.
Insurance companies are privately-owned businesses. They do insist to pick and choose whom they insure. It’s THEIR capital at risk, not yours. Neither you nor the governor nor anybody else should be able to tell a private company what to do with its money. If you don’t like one company, buy from another. There are lots of insurers. Why should the government be able to effectively confiscate the capital of an insurer to subsidize anyone’s insurance premiums? Should people in Jacksonville have to pay the same rates as in Miami or Key West?
Your plan is not fair and, basically, is the socialization of risk. Bad idea.
I agree