A quick blog posts for those residents of Florida who have been enjoying state-enabled discounts for storm-preparedness: get them while you can as they might not be around much longer.
“What we’re giving them now is not right,” Apopka State Representative Bryan Nelson (R) said.
Nelson is both a lawmaker and an insurance agent. He said those discounts need to be cut so inland homeowners can stop subsidizing premiums for coastal homeowners.
For example, the statewide average discount for fortifying your home is 13 percent. For coastal-area homes it’s 50 percent — a greater reward for protecting homes at greater risk of damage.
The discount, for those homeowners who had wind resistant shutters, fortified roofs, etc., was pushed upon insurance providers by the state to give homeowners some shelter from high premiums. However, some lawmakers believe it has gone too far.
During the next few months, lawmakers will review recommendations from insurance companies about how they may want to reduce or eliminate premium discounts especially for coastal homeowners. They’ll vote on a measure in the spring and those changes would take affect in January 2011.
With State Farm increasing premiums and such, it will be interesting to see how the legislature handles this matter – and how policy-owners react.