PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The first of four scheduled town halls on homeowners insurance was held Tuesday morning in St. Lucie County. They're focused on how Florida got into this crisis and how it might get out.
"I don't think we're going to be done for a long, long time," said state Rep. Dana Trabulsy, a Republican from Fort Pierce who is hosting the events.
The first meeting was with the St. Lucie Chamber of Commerce in which she revealed she is under pressure from her insurer to replace the roof on her home.
"I'm not immune to that and neither is anybody else and understanding we are trying to create a level playing field in Florida so that new insurers want to come into the state," Trabulsy said.
Many of the business professionals in the audience admitted they have also faced insurance struggles.
"In the last couple of years, we noticed our insurance rate increasing," Anita Fischer told WPTV. "My personal homeowners insurance went from $1,900 to $5,900 in one year."
Tasha Carter, the state's Insurance Consumer Advocate spoke to the audience about how litigation and tens of billions in claims over the last five hurricanes in Florida have left insurance companies operating in the red.
"Our insurance market is continuing to create a lot of financial challenges for homeowners," Carter said.
Recent reforms in Tallahassee, according to Carter, have started showing signs of a turnaround, with 25 insurance companies this year either holding the line on premiums or seeking rate reductions.
The remaining insurance town halls are Tuesday night and Wednesday:
Tuesday, July 30 at 6 p.m.
Santa Lucia River Club
3325 Ballantrae Blvd.
Port St. Lucie
Wednesday, July 31 at 10:30 a.m.
Treasure Coast Builders Association
6560 South US Highway 1
Port St. Lucie
Wednesday, July 31 at 6 p.m.
PGA Village Main Ballroom (private event)
9200 One Putt
Port St. Lucie