TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With a portion of Farmers Insurance leaving Florida and affecting 100,000 policyholders, the state Chief Financial Officer say he's looking to hold the company accountable.
Meanwhile, Democrats are pointing the finger at Republicans, claiming the reforms passed have not stopped companies from leaving.
"People can’t afford to live here," said Nikki Fried, Democratic Chair.
Several top Democrats held a virtual press conference Wednesday, pushing back at Republicans two days after Farmers notified the Office of Insurance Regulation it plans to stop writing certain new policies.
It's one of many companies doing this in Florida over the past 18 months. Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute, says the crisis was caused by us.
"A man-made crisis led to the market situation, what we’re seeing today," he explained.
Friedlander is talking about claim fraud and the cost of reinsurance, meaning insurance companies need insurance to protect them financially.
"Reinsurance is the number one problem," said Florida Rep. Hillary Cassel. "It is 49% of what homeowners are paying in their premiums."
It's a market like this Friedlander says continues to be extremely volatile.
RELATED COVERAGE: Farmers Insurance will not renew some Florida home, auto policies
During the press conference, Rep. Cassell asked Republicans: Why are the reforms that were passed not enough for Farmers to be willing to stay?
Those reforms target several areas of the crisis, such as claims and companies. Democrats say it's not working, though CFO Jimmy Patronis disagrees.
One day after sending out a tweet, saying he heard a rumor about Farmers Insurance leaving the state, he said in statement, "the Legislature did impactful work to help stabilize the market."
He went on to say, "I have directed my Division of Consumer Services to conduct a deeper dive into Farmers Insurance complaints — and if those complaints hit a certain threshold, it will trigger market conduct investigation.”
The investigation, he said, could lead to fines and levies. That statement caused Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani to fire back on Wednesday.
"Threatening an insurance company is not a good way to attract more insurance companies to Florida, which isn’t what we need right now," she explained.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Michael Yaworsky sent a letter to Farmers on Tuesday, stating they want to discuss concerns over the insurance company's decision. The commissioner went on to explain how he says the recent reform is showing positive signs emerging in the market as a result of the laws taking effect.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell says she has attempted to help homeowners with the crisis.
In March, she filed House Bill 1477, which would have created a commission to oversee the insurance market and make the insurance commissioner position elected rather than appointed, cap premiums and ban property insurers from claiming insolvency under certain circumstances. The bill died in the subcommittee in May.
If you have to shop for new insurance, whether that's because you're not going to be renewed by Farmers or you were dropped previously, you can shop for the best deal using tools from the OIR.
Searching under the resources, it'll provide you with a list of insurances. When you go to homeowners, fill out the prompt to see what competitive rates are available in your area.
"Obviously the challenge we face [is] options are limited," Eskamani said.
