What homeowner wouldn’t be ecstatic over a 25 percent cut in the property insurance bill?
Probably the one whose premium just jumped by 200 percent.
State lawmakers will consider proposals next week that could roll back property insurance rates from 25 percent to 40 percent.
At The Inlets in Venice, where the condominium association’s windstorm insurance increases this month from $75,000 to $206,000, such a reduction would be welcome but “no big deal,” said association president Elmer Day.
“It’s not going to be a barn burner, but anything is helpful,” he said.
Homeowners, condo residents and business owners have been hit with crushing rate hikes in the past two years.
Last year alone, 52 of the state’s 167 property insurers asked for rate hikes of more than 25 percent.
In the Senate, leaders are pro- mising a rate cut of 33 percent to 40 percent. The House plan would trim rates by 25 percent.
The windstorm insurance bill at the Palm Tree Villas in Holmes Beach shot up 300 percent this month, from $1,500 to $6,000.
Like many business owners, Ashok Sawe could get coverage only from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer of last resort.
“Any scraps we can get, we’ll take, because we have no choice,” he said.
He worries about any future rate increases from Citizens, which was considering a 775 percent rate hike for businesses in Manatee County.
That would bring the windstorm premium to more than $50,000 at the six-unit property.
“If that comes, it would create a totally untenable situation for everybody,” he said.
Sarasota landlord Joan Gardyasz wonders if she will get any rate relief.
She had to go to surplus lines carrier Lloyd’s of London for a policy last year, and the premium on her 16-unit apartment building off Swift Road climbed from $5,000 to $28,000.
The legislative proposals may not help those customers of surplus lines carriers, which are unregulated by the state.
“If I can’t get to Citizens or some other insurance company, then excuse my French, but I’m still screwed,” she said.
She had to raise monthly rents by $75 to pass on some of the higher insurance costs.
Patricia Cavalier’s premium for her manufactured home in the Kings Gate Club in Nokomis just went up from $875 to $2,115, a 141 percent increase, with Safeway Insurance.
“It will help,” she said of any rate relief. “It makes me feel better to know that rates are going down rather than going up.
“But will we be facing an increase for the next year? There has to be something that is a long-range solution.”
If insurance rates are rolled back, Day wonders if customers will get a rebate or just a credit toward next year’s bill.
Condo owners at The Inlets initially thought their insurance would be as high as $350,000 this year. Day said their agent managed to work it down, partly with a higher deductible.
“We had to raise our assessment by $100 a month just to cover windstorm insurance,” Day said.
By JOHN HIELSCHER
john.hielscher@heraldtribune.com
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