VERO BEACH, Fla. — Soaring insurance premiums seem to be hitting us all in Florida. For the state's senior citizens, the cost is getting too high.
Ellen Fincher of Vero Beach is worried she may lose the home she has lived in for the last 10 years.
"Every day I get up and think, 'Well, do I start packing,'" Fincher said.
The reason is the skyrocketing insurance. She has a $13,000 premium for her home, which has now climbed to an amount she said she can no longer afford.
"I can't, not when you're on a fixed income," Fincher said. "You live alone, who will help you?"
Like many seniors, Fincher's home is an older construction and she needs a new roof which she cannot afford.
Real Estate News
6 new property insurance companies enter Florida market
It's becoming an issue that insurance agents said they are noticing.
Gregory Buck with National Risk Experts in Palm Beach Gardens said he's seeing seniors struggling with insurance.
"Fixed income, Social Security, they're not getting paid a lot and have a small pension, maybe," Buck said, "but even so when you're paying $1,200 or $1,500 a month, just for the assessment, what do you do?"
Lawmakers in Tallahassee have implemented reforms to try and curb fraudulent lawsuits and entice more insurers to enter the Florida market, but change isn't coming fast enough.
"Many people are in my position," Fincher said.