Insurer fights rate increase

The head of the Florida Insurance Commission said the state will reject
Florida Farm Bureau’s bid for a homeowner policy rate increase, which
the insurer says is necessary in the case of severe hurricane damage.
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said the proposed 28 percent
average statewide property insurance increase was too sharp and wasn’t
supported by its own numbers. Some South Floridians faced increases of
as much as 96 percent under Florida Farm’s proposal. Officials from
Florida Farm, which has 100,540 homeowner policies statewide and 4,729
in South Florida, said the hike would provide backup storm coverage and
allow claims to be paid in the wake of a damaging hurricane.