Residents brace for next wave
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Help is on the way for many homeowners across the state as officials begin issuing grants for the My Safe Florida Home Program and residents await the impact of the recently passed Insurance Industry Accountability and Consumer Protection Act.

On Jan. 22, Governor Charlie Crist signed the massive insurance reform bill. Officials from State representative Greg Evers' office say the bill is a comprehensive approach to the crisis that is affecting virtually every Florida citizen.

"I would like to congratulate and commend leadership on guiding us in what is a right and very necessary and direction," Rep. Evers said in a prepared statement. "To call the rate problems in Florida to be a hurricane crisis and not an insurance crisis is the equivalent of calling California's power problems as being caused by a darkness crisis and not an energy crisis."

The bill instills additional accountability requirements for insurance companies, including higher reserves for Florida-only insurers, an oath

of truth in rate filings, an expedited payment of claims and many other tactics designed to lower skyrocketing insurance premiums. The bill also:

Prohibits excess profits by property insurers and requires a return of excess profits to policyholders.

Requires insurance companies to evaluate the hurricanesecurity of a structure rather than the date of construction when determining risk. Age of the home may not be used as the sole reason for rejection of coverage.

Requires any insurance company that writes homeowners policies in other states and writes auto insurance in Florida to sell homeowners insurance in Florida in an effort to eliminate a current practice called "cherry picking."

Require insurance companies to give at least 100 days written notice for any nonrenewal, cancellation, or termination of a homeowners' policy during hurricane season.

Allows homeowners to choose quarterly and semiannual installment plans to pay the premium, subject to state approval.

Allows homeowners to exclude windstorm coverage from their policies by writing a statement and providing approval from the mortgage holder.

Requires the Insurance Consumer Advocate to provide an annual report card on insurance companies, including information on complaints and payment timeliness. The report will use a letter grade under guidelines set by the Financial Services Commission. Currently, no such program exists for property insurance.

Requires insurance companies to provide notice of combinations of discounts, credits, rate differentials, or reductions in deductibles for windstorm mitigation.

Requires the Financial Services Commission to develop a uniform home grading scale to grade a home's ability to withstand wind damage.

Allows homeowners who invest in mitigation the option of lowering their hurricane deductible or choosing instead a reduced premium.

"I'm looking forward to see if the proposed reforms have an effect on insurance rates," said Tiger Point resident Tony Basel, who claimed to have $15,000 in damages to his home from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Although his wind policy was never canceled, Basel said he was subject to rate increases like many other Floridians.

It's a roll of the dice," said Basel, who works as a clinical systems consultant in Pensacola. "The state of Florida is gambling that we don't see another two years like we saw before. Chances are if we do, these changes that have gone through the legislature could wind up costing the taxpayer a little more than they had bargained for."

However, Basel is not going to wait for insurance companies alone to protect his place of residence - he took advantage of the $250 million My Safe Florida Program. The program offered free home inspections to homesteaded properties valued less than $500,000. The inspections focused on ways for homeowners to strengthen their homes against hurricanes and could lead to state grants of up to $5,000 to pay for the improvements.

Basel was one of 14,000 Floridians to participate in the pilot program, has already completed his inspection and now awaits a report about his status.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced Jan. 22 that inspection reports and applications for matching grants are being mailed to homeowners who received free home inspections.

"I'm sure there are other houses that are less prepared than mine is," Basel said of his stucco Tiger Point home that was built in 1994. "I hope that those people take advantage of this program as well."

Basel added that he was unaware of anyone else that applied for My Safe Florida Home.

Homeowners choosing to make the recommended improvements are eligible to receive matching grants from the state up to $5,000. The grant funds must be used to implement improvements specified in the inspection reports, and homeowners will be required to use participating contractors. The list of participating contractors, organized by county and type of work performed, are available on-line at www.mysafefloridahome.com.

The My Safe Florida program is currently being evaluated and in the process of statewide expansion, after which the application process for free home inspections will resume. However, Floridians looking to harden their homes now can learn more about recommended home improvements a t www.mysafefloridahome.com.

To learn more about insurance reform in Florida, visit www.myflorida.com.