Florida Underwriter spoke with Insurance Consumer Advocate Steve Burgess following his recent statements contesting requests for steep rate increases by Citizens Property Corporation. Burgess offered an analysis indicating the rates should be just under three percent instead of Citizens' proposed 45.2 percent. He spoke at one of the public hearings dealing with the Citizens rate hike requests held in Miami last month. He also objected in writing to CFO Tom Gallagher and Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. Burgess contested parts of the larger increase saying that they involve public policy matters and, by law, should be debated by the legislature.
Burgess actually was the first to hold the advocate's role as established by the legislature, and served in the early 1990s under then-Commissioners Gallagher and Bill Nelson. Gallagher reappointed him in August 2004 upon the retirement of the most recent advocate, Elsie Crowell, who held the post for seven years.
Q. How do you see your role in Florida's high-profile, frequently-in-crisis insurance industry?
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