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Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy Praise Florida State Legislature Committee Passage of Responsible Property Insurance and Mitigation Policy

April 3, 2009

The Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy today issued the following statement praising today’s passage of responsible property insurance and mitigation policy by the Florida State Legislature Committee on Insurance, Business and Financial Affairs Policy. 

House bill 1495 authored by Representative Nelson which must still pass the full House and Senate, helps shore-up the Citizens’ ability to pay claims by placing the state-run insurer on a glide path to more actuarially sound rates.  The bill also would reduce, in stages, the dramatic 2007 expansion of the CAT Fund and continues the My Safe Florida Home program, a successful initiative designed to help residents fortify their homes against hurricanes. 

“The Florida Taxpayers Union applauds the passage of this crucial bill to allow Citizens to charge actuarially sound rates and to minimize the size of the CAT Fund,” said ”This will save taxpayers thousands of dollars in expensive post-hurricane assessments. The Florida taxpayers are already struggling today and the last thing they need is an unnecessary "hurricane tax." - John Hallman, President of the Florida Taxpayers Union.

"Today's committee vote represents the first legislative act aimed at decreasing the scope of both the CAT Fund and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.  Helping residents strengthen their homes through the My Safe Florida Home program, reducing the CAT Fund, and allowing Citizens to charge proper, risk-based and actuarially-sound rates are positive first steps in immunizing the state against future economic disasters."  -  Christian Camara, director of the Florida Competitive Enterprise Institute. 

"It's encouraging, especially with global warming and rising sea levels threatening stronger and more damaging storms, that legislation is now moving to help make the Citizens' Insurance program more financially responsible and to help Florida homeowners take critical steps to reduce their own risks.  It's especially important that all our approaches must work together over the long run to avoid and reduce new, high-risk development along our coasts and in flood-prone areas, and that we encourage people better protect their homes and businesses from future damages.”  - David Conrad, Senior Water Resources Specialist with the National Wildlife Federation.


About Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy
American for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy is a national coalition made up of a diverse set of voices united to support environmentally-responsible, fiscally-sound approaches that promote public safety. The Coalition strongly opposes legislative proposals that encourage people to build homes in hurricane-prone, environmentally-sensitive areas by creating new programs that directly or indirectly subsidize their homeowner’s insurance.

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