Insurance town hall meeting draws big crowd
On Tuesday, at the Cape Coral Yacht Club, two state representatives, two insurance providers and a Cape City Council member hosted an insurance town hall to explain what the state legislature came up with and answer homeowners insurance questions, of which there were many.
The result was that time will tell if what the state legislature came up with will suffice, and some residents, some very passionately, don’t know if what they came up with is going to be nearly enough.
State Reps. Mike Giallombardo and Bob Rommel explained the plan: Litigation reform and the assignment of benefits from third parties, especially roofers, and $2 billion per year for two years in reinsurance to the insurance companies. Also, a home cannot be automatically cancelled just because a roof is a certain age
“We’re sorry so many people are going through this situation, but we’re hoping what we did will bear fruit real soon and we’ll chip away, look at some of these things and take the next steps,” Giallombardo said. “There’s no immediate fix right away. We need to let some things play out.
Indeed, many people have seen and heard about roofers who claim they can get you a free roof, only to have the claim tied up in court for years, making that $15,000 roof into a $500,000 roof.
Which is why the big insurance carriers have left the state, leaving smaller companies to come in and deny policies to anyone with a roof more than 15 years old.
Brian Chapman of Chapman Insurance Group said eight companies have gone under since Hurricane Irma in 2017, including one that day. He said it was frustrating for everyone.
“We have a broken system and while there were legislative things that were passed and there’s time to see them play out and come back to the consumers,” Chapman said, who spoke alongside James Barfield of Barfield Insurance. “I hope the big companies come back. There’s opportunity in Florida for insurance companies to be profitable, but what’s happened after Irma doesn’t make them excited to come.”
Among those who spoke out in the Q&A period was Realtor Sheena Reagan, who said the insurance market is a mess and that she was disappointed by what she heard.
“I was hoping to hear about getting relief to homeowners who were dropped from their insurance policies or experienced increased rates. What we got was ‘Oh, we can’t talk to you. Your roof is 15 years old,'” Reagan said. “The life expectancy of a roof is 20 to 25 years. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve never seen a roof blow off after 12 years. When I sell a house, I don’t want to tell the buyers that have to replace the roof in four years.”
Reagan said that after 15 years, the roof should get inspected and if there’s an issue you address it. Meanwhile, the insurance companies are accepting inflated claims made by attorneys on behalf of roofers, making the insurers at fault.
Linda Biondi asked why homeowners are penalized for making a claim. She had a water pipe burst that flooded the house four years ago and has seen her insurance rates go through the roof.
“For the years you don’t file a claim, you don’t get a discount. My insurance was $1,800 per year, then we were dropped and another company picked us up for $3,600 per year, got dropped again and now we’re $4,700,” Biondi said. “Many older residents have fixed incomes and they can’t keep doubling the amount of money they’re paying.”
Councilmember Gloria Tate was happy with how the meeting went in that it will clarify the roof situation.
“There are other issues with water heaters and electrical panels, but roofs are the main issue because of all the lawsuits. You don’t see a lawyer tackling a water heater or electric box,” Tate said. “Every piece of legislation they pass will help in some way. It’s a step in the right direction.”
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com