Keep State Farm home coverage in Florida
Why haven’t the media investigated the true motive behind Gov. Crist’s continuing refusal to work with State Farm Insurance Co. so that hundreds of thousands of homeowners can continue using it as their home insurer? Do we no longer live in a free-market society?
If a homeowner wishes to pay a higher premium for home insurance to stay with an insurance company, should he or she no longer be allowed to? Don’t premiums differ among auto insurance companies? Do consumers not have the right to select the auto insurance carrier of their choice? Why should the same consumers not be afforded the same right with their home insurance?
After the hurricanes we have had — and specifically after Hurricane Wilma — almost all major carriers left Florida except State Farm. The company has been here through thick and thin. Yet Crist expects the company to continue losing money with Florida home policies. State Farm has been loyal to Florida homeowners. It never ran away after a major event as other carriers did. I and other homeowners want to stay with State Farm, but Crist thinks we would be better off with the state-run insurance pool or some new here-today, gone-tomorrow insurers that want to collect premiums until there is a major disaster.
A bill that made it easier for State Farm to stay in Florida passed the Legislature with an 85-percent Yes vote, yet Crist vetoed it. What is his issue with State Farm? What is his agenda? Why can’t Floridians have the right to select whomever they want to insure their homes and let various carriers compete for their business just as they do in the car insurance business?
DAVID WEINER, Fort Lauderdale