Item M9
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date: August 21,2006
Bulk Item: Yes No
Division:
Staff Contact Person:
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Approval of Resolution encouraging the Florida Legislature to study and enact and/or
amend Legislation addressing the insurance crisis.
ITEM BACKGROUND: The rates of premiums for insurance, particularly windstorm
have escalated dramatically in the last year throughout the State of Florida. The proposed
windstorm rates are considerably higher in Monroe County than in any other County. In
fact, windstorm rates are higher than any factual actuarial basis would support and were
proposed despite the statistical evidence that other locations have suffered a far worse
windstorm impact than Monroe County.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
The BOCC hired an attorney and an actuary to investigate the insurance rates charged in
Monroe County and to represent the County in various hearings regarding the rates. The
last public hearing was held on August 1,2006. The evidence presented by the County
through its attorney and actuary clearly evidenced that the rates proposed by Citizen's
Property Insurance Corporation are not actuarially sound, do not reflect the County's
strict building code, and have had an outrageously unfair impact on Monroe County.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES
NONE
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Approval
TOTAL COST: $ 0
BUDGETED: YES
NO _X_
COST TO COUNTY:
SOURCE OF FUNDS:
REVENUE PRODUCING: YES
NO
AMOUNT PER MONTIl_ Year_
APPROVED BY:
County Atty_ OMBlPurcbasing _ Risk Management
DMSION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
Mayor Cbarles "Sonny" McCoy
DOCUMENTATION:
Included
Not Required
AGENDA Item# Nt 1
DISPOSITION:
RESOLUTION NO. -2006
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY STRONGLY
ENCOURAGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO STUDY
AND ENACT LEGISLATION ADDRESSING THE
INSURANCE CRISIS IN FLORIDA.
WHEREAS, the rates of premiums for insurance, particularly windstorm have escalated
dramatically in the last year throughout the State of Florida; and
WHEREAS, the windstorm rate is considerably higher in Monroe County than any
factual actuarial basis would support; and
WHEREAS, the windstorm rate is considerably higher in Monroe County than in any
other area of the State despite the statistical evidence of more and worse windstorm impacts
elsewhere; and
WHEREAS, within the last three months, Monroe County hired an actuary, a lobbyist
and an attorney with special expertise in insurance regulation to fight the recent filings of
Citizen's Property Insurance Corporation and Florida Peninsula Insurance Company, and to file
pleadings and evidence with the Office of Insurance Regulation in a legal challenge to the rate
filings in an effort to preserve Monroe County's workforce and the quality of life of all of its
residents and visitors; and
WHEREAS, Monroe County already is deemed to have the highest cost of living in the
State of Florida; and
WHEREAS, the exorbitant cost of insuring a home will eventually drive away the
service providers, including not only those employees in the tourist industry, but the police,
teachers and other personnel essential to the viability oflife in Monroe County; and
WHEREAS, the physical composition of Monroe County, the inhabited portion being
primarily a 120 mile chain of islands without ability of any but the northernmost islands to be
provided a workforce from the mainland on a regular basis; and
WHEREAS, in a public hearing before the Office of Insurance Regulation on August 1,
2006, Citizen's Property Insurance Corporation was unable to substantiate or to support their
recent rate filing and at which they were unable to demonstrate that the rate filing was actuarially
sound.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Monroe County, that:
I. It is critical to the citizens of Florida, and particularly the residents and businesses of
Monroe County that the Florida Legislature to study and enact legislation to abate the
insurance crisis in Florida; and if a special session of the legislature is called that the
issue of insurance must be included and take precedence.
(AFt
2. It is critical that the Legislature require Citizens Property Insurance Company and all
other insurance companies selling insurance in the State of Florida to use the Public
Hurricane Loss Projection Model which was paid for by the citizens of the State with
tax dollars and which is a transparent model.
3. It is critical that the Legislature insure that any model used in support of a rate filing
by any insurance company in the State of Florida be transparent and not proprietary to
insure that the citizens and their elected officials are able to analyze and confirm the
accuracy of the assumptions incorporated into the model.
4. It is critical that the Legislature repeal the legislation which allows insurance
companies to charge Florida citizens a new rate before the rate can be challenged or
reviewed by the OIR.
5. The Clerk is directed to mail or fax a copy of this resolution to the following:
Honorable Jeb Bush, the Honorable Charlie Crist, the Honorable Tom Gallagher, the
Honorable Charles H. Bronson, State Senators Larcenia Bullard and Rudy Garcia, and
State Representatives Ken Sorensen and Dennis Ross, and to William Pfeiffer and Robert
Reyes, lobbyists for Monroe County.
5. This Resolution shall become effective upon the date of its adoption herein.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County,
Florida, at a meeting of said Board held on the _ day of , 2006.
Mayor McCoy
Mayor Pro Tem Spehar
Commissioner Neugent
Commissioner Patton
Commissioner District IV
(Seal)
Attest: DANNY L. KOLHAGE, Clerk
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By:
By:
Mayor/Chairman
Deputy Clerk