WIND INSURANCE HIKES MAY POSE GREATER RISK THAN HURRICANES

Keys Group Heads To Tallahassee To Fight For Fair Premiums

MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com

Insurance is never a sexy topic, but it’s become a critical one in the Florida Keys.

Previous and proposed hikes to windstorm insurance by the state-run Citizens Property Insurance threaten more than wealthy second- and third-home owners, and it’s time to pay attention.

The steeply rising costs of windstorm insurance through Citizens affect renters whose landlords have to pass on the increases to their tenants — or sell their property. The price hikes affect government agencies, such as the Key West Housing Authority, which must maintain windstorm insurance on dozens of properties while unable to raise the rents of their low-income tenants.

And now, on Thursday, June 8, Citizens will ask the state Office of Insurance Regulation to allow additional hikes that would increase wind insurance costs to Florida Keys policyholders by 14% to 26%. Those increases are in addition to a new requirement that forces all Citizens policyholders to also carry flood insurance, thus adding to an owner’s insurance costs.

The nonprofit Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe — FIRM — has worked for more than a decade to fight the increases that force Monroe County to pay some of the highest rates despite having the lowest number of claims and the strictest building codes in the state. The organization is now asking all Monroe County residents to contact the Office of Insurance Regulation and ask them to deny the sharp increases. Visit firmkeys.org for a formatted letter that can be sent to representatives in Tallahassee.