Blog: The political wisdom of Charlie Crist, and insurance conundrum for Rick Scott

The following article was published in the Orlando Sentinel on May 25, 2011:

The political wisdom of Charlie Crist, and insurance conundrum for Rick Scott

Even though his fellow Republicans hammered his refusal to give in to the marketplace logic and demands of the industry, Gov. Charlie Crist never wavered in one respect during his four years in office: unrelenting regulation of the property insurance market.

His successor, Gov. Rick Scott, said in an interview last week that the insurance bill he just signed, which allows 15 percent rate increases to pay for reinsurance, didn’t go far enough to de-regulate the marketplace. So who’s strategy is wiser?

The Quinnipiac University poll released this morning make it seem pretty clear voters aren’t happy with the current situation.

On insurance, 63 percent say property insurance is getting more difficult to obtain in Florida and 3 percent say it is getting easier. One in four voters, 26 percent, say there has been no change.

An even larger share, 74 percent, say property insurance is getting more expensive in Florida, as 3 percent say it is getting less expensive and 16 percent say there has been no change.

This frustration with the insurance market for consumers leads 59 percent of voters to call for more government regulation of property insurance in the state, while 29 percent say the state is doing enough.

“Whether the new law changes public attitudes about insurance in Florida, only time will tell, but there is no doubt that the electorate sees a crying need for something to make getting and paying for property insurance in Florida less onerous,” said Brown.

Find this article here:  http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/05/the-political-wisdom-of-charlie-crist-and-insurance-conundrum-for-rick-scott.html