This morning State Senator Gary Farmer joined many of his fellow legislators in sending a request to Secretary of State Laurel Lee for a special session of the Legislature related to property insurance reform. Senator Farmer issued the following statement related to his request:

“Today I joined many of my fellow legislators in requesting that a special session of the Florida Legislature be convened to address our state’s property insurance crisis. It is clear that as the Legislature continues upon its current course of inaction, more and more Floridians are being priced out of the security and peace of mind that should be obtainable through a properly regulated insurance industry.

“While it is important to note that this call to action is bipartisan, it should also be understood that the solutions considered in a special session should be focused on measures that will directly benefit consumers in our state, many of whom face regular premium increases without ever having filed a claim. This special session should not be used as an excuse to simply setup more avenues for major insurance companies to continue to line their pockets.  It has been clear for some time now that the major cost drivers in Florida’s homeowners’ insurance market have been rooted in corporate greed, as insurers wrongly deny or limit claims on a repeated basis and then pass the penalties for doing so onto the ratepayers in order to protect their own bottom lines.

“In short, we must protect homeowners in Florida by calling a special session to address our state’s property insurance crisis, and the only way to effectively do so is to ensure that insurers are held accountable to their obligations to their customers.

“I believe that if Florida’s legislators value their duty to the people of Florida, we will garner enough votes to see a special session called to address the property insurance crisis. Should this occur I sincerely hope to see a deliberative and evidence based process, which will include fact finding procedures in which insurance executives are questioned under oath, and will ultimately lead to the consumer protections that everyday Floridians so desperately need.”