One of the things that make it hard for people outside Florida to keep track of what's happening with Rhonda Santis's state is that most of their major newspapers are behind paywalls. Fortunately for us, my friend West Palm Wendy keeps me informed, Yesterday she sent me this update:
[...] Also on Next Door this week, I'm seeing a bunch of neighbors posting about their massive homeowners insurance increases. This is in my community where the exteriors are all covered by the HOA, and we got new roofs, I think two years ago. One person said their insurance went from $700 to $1800, another $1000 to $2800.
So what does this cover? Same as my renters policy, which I pay $155 for? Apparently HOA fees are going to skyrocket, too, because their insurance is going up massively. No one will be able to afford to live here anymore. These are cheap houses!
People are also reporting that they replaced their roofs at their insurance company's insistence last year, and still premiums doubled this year. One person's went from $3000 to $8000 in two years. It's unreal what is happening here.
People used to retire to Florida was that it was CHEAP. Well, not anymore! And these insurance hikes, which Puddin' Head Ron is doing little to help, are way beyond the financial ability of seniors on fixed incomes, especially considering they live in $100,000 condos. So instead, Meatball Ron doubles down with a sweetheart deal for the insurance industry. Via the Palm Beach Post:
TALLAHASSEE – Tens of thousands of lawsuits – an almost 700% increase – flooded the offices of court clerks across Florida days before Gov. Ron DeSantis signed sweeping new business-backed legal restrictions which help shield insurance companies, property owners and others accused of wrongdoing.
The law went into effect with DeSantis’ signature on Friday. But the lawsuit logjam will take months for clerks and later judges to sort out, officials say.
[...] The crush was prompted by attorneys seeking to have cases heard under less-restrictive laws that were in place before Friday.
The moral of the story? When you move to a low-tax, lightly regulated state, you get what you pay for.
