PCI, Florida Chamber: Polling Data Demonstrates Floridians’ Support For Long-Term, Market-Based Property Insurance Solutions
Aug 13, 2010
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (“PCI”) and the Florida Chamber jointly published results of a poll in which 800 registered Florida voters were asked for their views on Florida property insurance, political and voting-related issues. The poll was conducted by Public Strategies, Inc. during the time period of July 26 through July 31, 2010.
The August 12, 2010 PCI/Florida Chamber news release on the poll results is reprinted below.
To view additional data, click on the following hyperlinks:
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Polling Data Demonstrates Public Support For Long-Term, Market-Based Property Insurance Solutions
TALLAHASSEE – Polling data reveals that the majority of Florida voters understand that long term property insurance stability is a public policy goal of the utmost importance. According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), this should be a top priority issue for Florida’s next governor.
The poll of 800 registered Florida voters was taken July 26-31 by Public Strategies Inc. The poll measured public attitudes toward business, insurance and opinion leaders, as well as voter preferences in the races for governor and U.S. Senator.
“Rather than thinking government is the answer to our property insurance problem, Florida’s next Governor should develop market-based, fiscally responsible solutions that don’t leave taxpayers holding the bag,” said Adam Babington, vice president of Governmental Affairs for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “We have said for years that Florida is financially unprepared for a hurricane, and it’s clear that the voters of Florida agree.”
Key findings include:
- Job approval for Florida Governor Charlie Crist is currently at 59 percent.
- Crist, running as a no-party-affiliation candidate for the U.S. Senate, leads Republican Marco Rubio by 6 points in a three-way race with Democrat Kendrick Meek; Crist leads Rubio by 8 points in a three-way race with Democrat Jeff Greene.
- Republicans Bill McCollum and Rick Scott each lead Democrat Alex Sink by 3 points in three-way races with Lawton “Buddy” Chiles, who is running with no party affiliation. Both results are within the plus-or-minus 3.5 percent margin of error, which means that the race is a statistical tie.
- By a 55 percent to 42 percent margin, voters believe people living in coastal areas of Florida should pay higher homeowners insurance rates than those who live inland.
- Less than four in ten are aware of the state’s ability to tax insurance policies to subsidize Citizens Property Insurance Corporation homeowners insurance policies, and just one in five favor the policy.
- A large majority (65 percent) of those polled would give policyholders one year to file an insurance claim.
- Insurance agents are seen as highly credible on homeowners insurance issues. The governor, homeowners insurance agencies, media outlets and the Florida Chamber of Commerce are also viewed as credible.
“This poll sends a clear message to lawmakers that any property insurance reform needs to be targeted at making the marketplace more competitive and geared toward long-term stability,” said William Stander, PCI’s vice president and regional manager for Florida. “Florida voters believe changes to the insurance laws over the past four years that promised to improve conditions for consumers have failed, with 86 percent of homeowners believing their homeowners insurance situation has either stayed the same or gotten worse. Nearly 50 percent of consumers think their homeowners insurance situation has gotten worse, while only seven percent think conditions have improved. Clearly, government must work together with insurers and consumers to find long-term, common-sense solutions that work for all of us.”
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