News Channel 5 wptv.com
By Whitney Ray
November 3, 2011
TALLAHASEE, Fla. – If a major hurricane hit a large Florida city, all homeowners could be asked to fork over more than a thousand dollars to help pay for losses.
That’s because state-backed Citizens Property Insurance isn’t collecting enough money from premiums to pay claims in that scenario. Governor Rick Scott is giving the Citizens board a month to come up with a plan to lower the state’s risk.
“How many people do you think in Florida are sitting on $1,200 dollars, just waiting for a hurricane, to be able to give Citizens Insurance the money so they can pay people to fix their houses. I don’t think many,” said Scott.
Citizens already has the authority to raise rates 10 percent a year, but efforts are being pursued in the legislature to increase premiums faster to force people away from the state-backed insurer.
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/citizens-property-insurance-remains-shaky
