When you pay thousands of dollars a year in homeowner's insurance premiums, you are right to expect that if a fire, storm damage, water damage or other catastrophe or loss occurs, your insurer will honor the terms of your policy. Unfortunately, for thousands of Florida residents, this is not the always the case.
The Florida Senate recently passed a bill that would encourage private insurers to offer flood insurance, possibly providing thousands of homeowners with relief from the federal government's National Flood Insurance Program premiums. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R- St. Petersburg, said "It is time for Floridians to control our own destiny and lead the nation with a free-market flood insurance program," as quoted in the Palm Beach Post.
Florida-Based Insurer People's Trust Insurance Cancels Thousands of Home Policies as Hurricane Season Approaches
In mid-March, the federal government passed a bill repealing a provision it made just two years ago that established huge flood insurance premium increases for Florida property owners with homes on or near the coast. The 2012 provision, which called for sweeping changes to the federal flood insurance program, is all but canceled out by the new revisions.
Home and commercial property owners in Florida have faced an unfriendly legal environment when confronted with sinkhole damage. Dealing with an insurance company is rarely simple, and this truth was exacerbated by state laws requiring property owners to demonstrate "structural damage" in order to have a compensable insurance claim. In March of this year, the court system dealt policyholders an additional blow.
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