[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

The Governor can only control insurance rates so much before the rip-off/scammers of insurance compaines pull out of the state of Florida altogether and then the situation could get worse than it currently is now.

With that said, I can say that so far, Crist has been an EXCELLENT Governor, but if he cannot get either the Property Homestead expemtion raised to $200,000 (minimum) OR regulate insurance to try to force prices down, he will NOT get re-elected, as Floridians will want to crucify him for it (wheter or not it is his fault ot not). He needs to do one or the other. The easiest for Crist to push is lower property taxes. And this is done through a major raise in the Homestead exemption.

Crist needs to push for a Homestead exemption of $200,000 (meaning anyone who has a house here appraised for less than $200,000 would pay $0 in property taxes). Since most FL houses cost a LOT more than that, the state would still get some revenue. The gov't must then stop the county commissioners from spending $30,000 in office furniture, stop county vehicles from being gaz guzzlers, and etc. That way, there should be p[lenty of money left over for the state and the county. That was there is also enough money for FL families to save and/or feed their kids and not feel strangled by property taxes.

Let the Michael Jacksons and Wesley Snipes who have houses in FL pay for the damn property tax. They can afford it, we, the regular Floridians cannot.

FINALLY someone who makes sense!! What can I do to help this happen?

[FL_TN_Nana]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

[b]
Crist needs to push for a Homestead exemption of $200,000 (meaning anyone who has a house here appraised for less than $200,000 would pay $0 in property taxes). Since most FL houses cost a LOT more than that, the state would still get some revenue. The gov't must then stop the county commissioners from spending $30,000 in office furniture, stop county vehicles from being gaz guzzlers, and etc. That way, there should be p[lenty of money left over for the state and the county. That was there is also enough money for FL families to save and/or feed their kids and not feel strangled by property taxes.

Let the Michael Jacksons and Wesley Snipes who have houses in FL pay for the damn property tax. They can afford it, we, the regular Floridians cannot.

That sounds good to have a $200k homestead exemption...probably too good for counties. I would predict at that point all of our properties would be reappraised and the "assessment" would be at 100%, not the reduced amount on which we are currently taxed. And there would be a big push for additional county or city sales taxes although that probably wouldn't go through as long as it required taxpayer vote.

Oh, Wesley Snipes had a Florida home go into foreclosure and he was indicted for tax evasion! That was last year & I haven't heard anything recently about this. But, maybe he owns more than one home in Florida. Maybe OJ could help him out?

[daisies76]

I live in Jacksonville and while our insurance is not as high as S. FL, our policy went up from 950.00 to almost 1800.00. this is for a 1700 sq ft house that was built in 2002 AFTER the new hurricane codes were written, so we have discounts applied, but it still went up almost 100%

[jhlcomp]

I spoke to our underwriter at State Farm as I was getting mixed info from our agent.

Some may see as much as a 7% decrease in their current increased rates, but most will not see any changes from the new rates.

We are now paying close to $9000.

[FL_TN_Nana]

Nationwide Ins. just got an ok yesterday, thru arbitration, to increase rates an average of 54% across the state, but then say they have to pass on some decreases to their customers. But that sounds like an increase on insurance, not a decrease.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-insure3107mar31,0,1787810.story (broken link)

[macguy]

Originally Posted by FL_TN_Nana

Nationwide Ins. just got an ok yesterday, thru arbitration, to increase rates an average of 54% across the state, but then say they have to pass on some decreases to their customers. But that sounds like an increase on insurance, not a decrease.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-insure3107mar31,0,1787810.story (broken link)

It's the oldest negotiating tool there is. You ask for as much as you can get, and settle for what you wanted in the first place. They knew they had to at some point give up something and built it into their increase. They probably wanted something like 40 or 45%. They will just have to give back 10% or what ever, either way getting what they want. We don't win anything. Then next year they will get a little more and after that a little more.

Scraping the whole system is the only answer. A La carte insurance policies, selling the buyer only what they want or need fairly priced. It is the only way and insurance companies will have to come up with policies like that.

[cruiser_jim]

Originally Posted by summergal

It seems that the "reduction" isn't really what it seemed. The increases are still going into effect . Apparently the reduction is just a small decrease in the original increase Has anyone had their rates go up recently or did you see a real reduction? I'm still waiting for my renewl notice. What's happening with your rates and what location are you?

Link:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/18/Bu...just_a_d.shtml

My March renewal with State Farm increased 300% with never a claim.

[tallrick]

The other option is building to last and saying "good bye" to greedy insurers. The "a la carte" solution is the next best thing, prohibit insurers from refusing coverage for fire only or liability or comprehensive without windstorm. Otherwise when the next disaster hits rates WILL go up, government cannot control private business.

[Rocket 1]

Why does the goverment need to ensure low insurance rates? I understand complaining and working to lower your taxes. But we live in a free market. The market will dertermine what people are willing to pay for insurance. Not the goverment.

[cruiser_jim]

My March renewal with State Farm went up 300% ($2982 to $8875). Never a claim for 25 years.