Florida homeowners are about to pay more in insurance premiums, and they fail to blame the insurance companies.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Sunday that late last month the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association approved a 1.3% valuation on premium cost of all policies sold in Florida. This includes not only homeowners insurance but also aircraft, crop, flood and malpractice insurance policies.
The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) was created in 1970 by the state legislature to handle claims for insolvent property and casualty companies. Many a times, when an insurance company fails, the other company takes over its policies till the end of its terms. The costs of any claims and litigation filed prior to the acquisition are paid by FIGA.
If the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approves the assessment later this month, it will raise $190 million to cover any claims or lawsuits for Orlando-based St. John's Insurance Co., which went into receivership late last month. was gone. As recently as 2019, with more than 204,600 policies statewide, it was one of the 10 largest insurers in Florida.