September 7, 2006

Recently, we announced that the Florida Hurricane Crisis Coalition (FHCC) was being formed.

On Wednesday, September 6, companies and associations came together at AIF headquarters to be briefed about the work of the Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee (PCIRC), which is chaired by Lt. Governor Toni Jennings.  The PCIRC is meeting today in Tallahassee for the second time (the next PCIRC meeting is scheduled for Miami at Florida International University on September 21).

This morning FHCC delivered a letter to the PCIRC expressing their collective concerns about some proposals before the PCIRC which could allow for the imposition of taxes (assessments) to be added to all commercial property and casualty insurance policies.  These taxes would be imposed if there are any deficits from hurricane losses and the state-created entities do not have enough money to full pay the claims.  Please see the attached letter from the FHCC.

Also this morning, AIF distributed a letter to the PCIRC regarding a proposal that could lower the threshold for accessing Florida CAT Fund dollars.  Again, if the claims exceed the dollars available, then taxes (assessments) on commercial property and casualty policies could be imposed.  Please see the attached AIF letter.

All business owners in Florida should be VERY concerned about the impact some of these ideas could have on the cost of your commercial insurance policy.  We strongly encourage you to call-in and participate on our next FHCC meeting on Monday, September 11, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.