Florida governor will reject homeowners insurance hike

posted by Michael Hanson

Florida lawmakers are in talks to raise homeowners insurance rates and Governor Charlie Crist has promised to veto any legislation that does so.

Business Week said Crist will happily veto any legislation to raise insurance rates, an issue that over the last two years has put him at odds with his own Republican party.

The Insurance Journal reports that lawmakers and industry experts believe Florida's property insurance system is underfunded. They said the system will likely collapse without higher rates if a natural disaster hits the state.

Florida state Representative David Murzin said that "should a major storm hit, Florida will be forced to borrow tens of billion of dollars - more money than any state has ever borrowed - and the interest payments alone will suck billions of dollars out of the state for decades to come," according to the Insurance Journal. It also said the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is looking at a possible $7 billion shortage that will cost the state $4 billion a year and 70,000 job losses.

Hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and an above average season has been predicted by a forecast team with Colorado State University.