BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — Florida senators are voicing their concerns with insurance rates going through the roof.
Several Florida state senators talked with Citizens Property Insurance officials during a town hall. Several leaders discussed potential solutions to the state’s insurance crisis.
So many homeowners have experienced increased rates. One man who lives in Brooksville said even in a rural area, his homeowner's insurance rates have increased.
"It doesn’t matter if you live inland or on the coast, no matter what, it’s jacked up," Richard Ross said.
Ross believes lawmakers need to make changes.
"Maybe citizens should only provide secondary insurance and not provide primary," Ross added.
State senators met with officials from Citizens Property Insurance Tuesday night holding a virtual town hall.
“Ideally, the state’s residual insurer should not be the largest property insurer in Florida," CEO and Executive Director for Citizens Property Insurance Tim Cerio said.
Cerio explained in 2018, Citizens Property Insurance had around 450,000 policies and now they have 1.37 million policies. Senators addressed that it's a problem and even more so if we see a hurricane.
"If you have 70 percent of the market share where Ian hit, you would be wiped out?" Sen. Jason Pizzo asked.
"We would have to assess," Cerio answered.
One potential solution brought up during the town hall was a cap on insurance rates. At this point, lawmakers are discussing potential solutions, but want to hear from you.
There will be more town halls, including one in person on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Tampa at the Emanuel P. Johnson Rec Center.