Expert: Property insurance premiums likely to double by end of year
FORT LAUDERDALE - Steve Brooks lives in south Florida but like others, has another house on the west coast.
Though his Sarasota home is 7 miles inland, he took a hit during Hurricane Ian.
"I have 100 to 150,000 dollars in damages," he said after an oak tree fell on his property in a tornado.
Brooks has insurance and he runs an insurance company. He represents several homeowners who have hurricane damage to their houses in southwest Florida.
"We were on the phone this morning. The wait was three and a half hours to report a claim."
Worse he says, "Everybody in the state will be affected by the hurricane."
Brooks says it's likely everyone's premiums will go up perhaps as much as double by the end of the year and he says options will dwindle with fewer companies writing policies.
Damage reports from the massive hurricane are being assembled.
"Initial estimates are coming in at 30 billion dollars in damages," said insurance expert Caroline Melear.
Melear herself had trouble getting insurance recently on the modest condo she and her husband bought in Atlantis, Florida. Her premium is a whopping $4,000 a year.
She says the hurricane is on top of an industry already in crisis.
"We've had insurers go under and leave. It's because they are profitable. It's because of a litigation problem. Florida has 9 percent of the homeowners' insurance policies in the country but 79 percent of the lawsuits," she said.
The governor said Thursday he believes Florida can weather this catastrophe because the economy is sound and the state has reserves.
Florida's hurricane CAT fund has $17 billion to help insurance companies if needed, but it will not cover flood damage.
FEMA will cover flooding and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association or FIGA will kick in to help policyholders if a company goes under, but Melear says we need a long-term solution.
"It's time lawmakers stop kicking the can down the road," she said.