Mark Lane: Storm’s still a-brewing in home insurance market

Hurricane season is underway, with four named storms already and a potential storm brewing. But core hurricane season, the time when Floridians routinely start their day by calling up the 9 a.m. storm-path map, isn’t until August and September. Too early to say what kind of season we’re in.

Still, insurance companies do not need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Ocean temperatures are reaching hot-tub levels and sea levels are rising. Maybe the lull before the next storm would be an excellent time to clear out of town.

Like Farmers Insurance, which recently gave notice that it would no longer renew or write new insurance policies in Florida. All kinds of insurance: homeowners, auto and umbrella policies. Some 100,000 customers are affected.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis blasted the company’s decision, accusing it of woke policies and “virtue signaling.” In a strangely labored metaphor, Patronis said, “Farmers Insurance is well on its way to becoming the Bud Light of insurance.”

More: Farmers Insurance is leaving its business in Florida

More: Another company avoids risky Florida home insurance policies: Here's what caused the crisis

More: Mark Lane: Windstorm insurance sticker shock hits Florida homeowners

I’m sure when the inevitable next hurricane does hit Florida, the governor and Patronis will denounce it as a woke weather system.

Patronis also promised an investigation into why the insurance company is leaving the Florida market. Hint to investigators: It’s because they’re losing money here and fear they’ll lose more.

But it’s not just Farmers, either. AAA, too, announced that it won’t renew many of its Florida auto and home insurance policies. Bankers Insurance and Lexington Insurance left Florida last year. Who knew that so much of the insurance industry was so woke?

The Legislature has been addressing the insurance crunch for three years now ― mostly forgetting about strapped homeowners who continue to face annual sticker shock and focusing instead on lending a helping hand to insurance companies should they wind up in court. It’s trickle-down insurance relief that hasn’t trickled down.

Meanwhile, Florida homeowner insurance rates are triple the national average. Coastal residents this spring encountered breathtaking premium increases. Here’s a personal example: I own a half-century-old house on the mainland that has weathered a lot of storms without a claim, one that tracks the median home value in my ZIP code, and my windstorm-only policy increased by more the 50% in the past two billings. Many coastal residents paid much more.

Like 1.3 million Florida homeowners, I carry a Citizens Property Insurance policy. The Legislature created Citizens in 2002 to bolster Florida’s failing windstorm insurance market. It was supposed to be a less-used insurer of last resort, but an increasing number of homeowners must resort to it.

It’s kind of embarrassing to Republicans that Florida’s real estate market depends heavily on state-created, socialized property insurance. Yet Citizen rolls keep growing despite all attempts to push customers away into the wilds of the private insurance market.

Citizens regularly invites me to take my business elsewhere, and if I were a more sensitive guy, I’d feel unwanted. The Citizens people regularly suggest alternatives to me. These are usually newly created companies with little or no history of paying claims. Acme Fireworks and Windstorm Insurance Co., a Florida tradition since last Thursday around 2 o’clock. I always decline, but under a new law, Citizens can just kick me out should someone want to insure me for close to what I’m paying.

My late dad, living closer to the beach, faced even higher rate increases, so he decided some years ago to take his chances by going without windstorm insurance. He redirected some of the money he would have paid Citizens into storm shutters, sat back, and waited to see what would happen. The house and its roof are still there.

About 15% of Florida homeowners are similarly defying the elements by going without homeowners’ insurance, more than twice the national average. Whether they’ll be as fortunate as my dad will be seen in the seasons ahead. I’m too much of a worrywart anytime the wind starts to pick up to do likewise but talk to me again if I’m kicked out of Citizens.

Meanwhile, the Legislature is too busy fighting the culture wars to spend too much time thinking about a brewing housing crisis. Legislative leaders seem to think they’ve already done most of the work on property insurance and blame the media for a public that doesn’t appreciate their handiwork. And, of course, woke insurance companies who for some reason are packing up and moving out of state.

Mark Lane is a News-Journal columnist. His email is mlanewrites@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mark Lane: Storm’s still a-brewing in home insurance market