At a September meeting with the Florida Cabinet, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said what the insurance industry has been saying for some time — homeowners' insurers doing business in Florida are losing money. In his report, McCarty said that 102 companies writing policies in the state had underwriting losses in the first six months of the year, compared to 84 that reported gains. The dismal numbers were coming from old and new companies alike. Of the state's newest 21 insurers, 15 lost money.
"There are only two alternatives: Increasing rates, which is really just affecting the symptom, or looking back at the core problems and what can be done," McCarty told the Cabinet. "We clearly have to have companies that are writing homeowners' insurance in Florida that make money," he said. "Otherwise their appetite to continue to do business will go away."
Gov. Charlie Crist, who has made reducing homeowners' insurance rates a centerpiece of his administration, was coy about McCarty's statements. "We'll see," the governor said. "Hopefully most of them don't."
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