STATE TAKES AIM AT FLOOD INSURANCE

Florida Joins Lawsuit Against Feds

Mel Montagne, president of FIRM, and other board members are in Tallahassee this week to oppose the increases proposed in Monroe County.

“At a hearing Thursday afternoon, Citizens will present their proposed rates to the Office of Insurance Regulation, which also takes public comment, and FIRM will continue to provide commentary against the increases,” Montagne told the Keys Weekly on June 5. “Since 2003, Monroe County policyholders have given Citizens a profit of $850 million.”

In other words, Keys owners have paid $850 million more in premiums than they have received in insurance claims.

In addition, Montagne said, the county that provides the most profit to Citizens Insurance has no representative on the Citizens’ board of governors.

“Since 2021, Monroe County, which has 19,000 policyholders, has been without a representative on the Citizens board, yet there are two people on the board from St. Johns County, where there are only 4,800 policyholders. Tell me that’s not political,” he said.

“Monroe County residents consistently shoulder the burden of fraud and Citizens’ inconsistencies in addressing these circumstances for the rest of the state,” states the FIRM website.

Visit firmkeys.org for further information and to take part in the Call to Action to oppose unfair rate increases for Monroe County.

Help FIRM fight for fair insurance rates. Visit firmkeys.org and click on the Call to Action to contact state insurance officials.

MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com

Wind insurance rate increases aren’t the only costs crippling Monroe County property owners.

A new requirement forces everyone with a wind insurance policy with the state-run Citizens Property Insurance to also carry flood insurance.

The state of Florida has joined nine other states in a lawsuit filed against the federal government that opposes sharp increases to the cost of flood insurance through the national flood insurance program.

Board members from the Keys nonprofit group Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe — FIRM — are in Tallahassee this week opposing Citizens’ increases to wind insurance, but also offering their support and research to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in the federal lawsuit.

“Citizens policyholders must secure and maintain flood insurance regardless of whether they are in areas prone to inundation, elevated, or do not have a federally backed mortgage,” states the FIRM website. “FIRM supports efforts to protect from floods and ensure homeowners are educated about what their policies do and do not cover. However, the flood insurance requirement has led to an additional financial burden for Monroe County residents already struggling to afford astronomical windstorm insurance rates.”

Mel Montagne, president of FIRM, told the Keys Weekly on June 5 that he is hoping to schedule a meeting with Moody “to let her know we’re behind her and are willing to help with this flood insurance lawsuit that Florida has joined with nine other states.”

For more information about the proposed Citizens rate hikes and the flood insurance requirement, visit firmkeys.org and take part in the Call to Action to help the organization’s efforts on behalf of Monroe County property owners.