From The Suncoast News:
DADE CITY – County
leaders hope to enlist some help to convince regulators to lower homeowner
insurance rates in Pasco County before a crucial state conference next month in
Tampa. Pasco has been labeled “sinkhole alley” by some insurers, Assistant
County Attorney Elizabeth Blair told the County Commission during its meeting
Monday afternoon. The state-backed insurer of last resort, Citizens Property
Insurance Corp., has said sinkholes were the primary reason for soaring premiums
in Pasco, Blair recalled.
Some state reviews, however, are now in progress to reassess the sinkhole risks
and possibly to adjust insurance rates, Blair summarized. The Legislature this
spring authorized the study. Only “bits and pieces” of information about the
insurance rate reviews are filtering down to county staff, Blair said. “I do
have some good news,” Blair commented. A Monroe County attorney has compiled
documents to challenge existing rates, she reported. Wind damage is the bigger
threat in Monroe County, in the Florida Keys. Blair said the Monroe County
official would be willing to share his research with commissioners at their next
meeting on Sept. 26. Commissioner Jack Mariano said the research might provide
Pasco officials with some evidence to present at the state conference in Tampa,
set for Oct. 12. A blue-ribbon committee of experts appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush
is holding the Tampa meeting to help develop possible solutions to the insurance
crisis. Then the governor has said he plans to decide whether to convene a
special session of the Legislature late this year.
-- CARL ORTH , Suncoast News
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