LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida’s home insurance crisis is expected to worsen in the coming months as lawsuits against insurance companies could reach $20 billion.
The Insurance Information Institute predicts this could put a greater strain on smaller regional insurers, forcing them to close and owners having to find a company to pick them up.
It’s a question Florida lawmakers must address in the coming days as they return to Tallahassee next month to address the crisis.
Paula Colose and her sister Roseann Cutler have been without power for seven weeks in their North Fort Myers home after Hurricane Ian ripped out the back of their home by ripping out their electrical box.
They can’t bring anyone to their house to do the repairs so the power company can restore their power and that’s not the worst of their problems.
“We can’t afford home insurance,” Colose said.
She is one of thousands of people who now have to pay for their repairs.
Joe Pardo of Cape Coral also had no insurance when Ian left him and his wife with over $100,000 in damage to their home.
State Rep. Adam Botana, who represents residents of District 80 along the coast, understands the pain firsthand.
He said his district, which stretches from Boca Grande to Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach and Matlatcha, was overwhelmed and he too had no insurance.
“I live at the back of Bonita Beach and have a 1968 stilt house. It’s my decision not to have insurance on it. I can’t because the insurance would be astronomical,” said Botana.
He admits lawmakers like him have their work cut out for them.
“We need to open up the market and bring other businesses here and we need to stop relying on citizens for everything. Because Florida taxpayers are going to pay the price,” Botana said.
Reid McDaniel, owner of McDaniel Insurance Solutions in North Fort Myers, pointed out that the cost of roof-related claims will continue to drive up insurance prices.
Since 2017, the state has lost six insurance companies and many are still doing business in Florida and still want to raise rates.
Roseann Cutler says she and her sister cannot afford this to happen again as they look to lawmakers to address the issue.
“We have to be able to afford insurance,” Cutler said.
The date of the extraordinary session has not been fixed. The governor said he wanted this to happen before the end of the year.