Click the button below and follow the link. Next, insert your address and determine who your State Senator and State Representative are. Make note of their name and capitol office phone number.

Call your State Senator’s and State Representative’s capitol office and say:

“Hello, my name is [insert your name] and I live in your district. I am calling because I am concerned about the lack of affordable property insurance in Florida. I am urging you to take action to reduce rates by reforming the Cat Fund. Reforming the Cat Fund will save Florida families $750 million! Thank you.”

Consider also sharing your personal story if you have struggled to find affordable property insurance or with rate increases.

Now that you have taken action, encourage your friends and family to do the same! The more who call the more likely change will happen.

• Share your story on social media with the hashtags #FLRateReduction #CatFundReform.
• Download a call-to-action graphic and share that as well.
• Tell your friends and family to call! Send them this link!
• Call again next week!

DOWNLOAD SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE 1

DOWNLOAD SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE 2

The “Cat Fund” or the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is a tax-exempt state trust fund created by the Florida legislature in 1993 after the catastrophic losses suffered from Hurricane Andrew. The Cat Fund itself provides public reinsurance to Florida insurance carriers. Reinsurance is the insurance that insurance companies buy.

How will reforming the Cat Fund reduce insurance rates?

• Removing the 25% Surcharge – The Cat Fund currently has a 25% surcharge, the cost of which is ultimately paid for by Floridians.  In essence, the surcharge is a tax on a tax. In 2009, the legislature mandated the surcharge as a temporary measure to increase the cash balance of the fund. The cash balance in the fund now exceeds $12 billion and is adequate to meet future needs, thus it is no longer needed.
• Return the “Attachment Point” Back to $4.5 Billion – The “attachment point” simply means the dollar amount that triggers when the Cat Fund starts helping pay for insurance claims, it is currently $8.2 billion. Reducing this number back to the $4.5 billion that it was in 2005 will help decrease costs for insurance carriers and therefore reduce costs for policyholders.

The Cat Fund and reinsurance are complicated policy issues that can be difficult to understand. What is clear is that these common-sense reforms would reduce the cost of homeowners insurance by $750 million and permanent changes would save Florida families $150 a year. 

Source: The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Demystified: Legislative Relief for Florida’s Homeowners

FAIR or The Federal Association for Insurance Reform is a non-profit, non-partisan consumer advocacy group based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. FAIR believes that all consumers should have access to affordable insurance with quality coverage and advocates for balanced public policy that will help achieve this goal. FAIR has been working on property insurance issues on behalf of Florida consumers for over a decade and we appreciate your help on this critical initiative!

Contact the FAIR office at (754) 200-4538 for questions or more information.