TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Nearly five dozen Florida companies have submitted plans to tap into a $2 billion taxpayer-financed plan designed to shore up the struggling property insurance industry that would only save homeowners about 1% to 3% on their annual premiums.
That would barely make a dent in the double-digit increases in premiums millions of state homeowners have endured for years — if those companies actually extend those savings to their customers.
The law creating the fund provides no guarantees that the companies will pass on the savings to consumers. Many are simultaneously filing for rate increases to cover the higher cost of private reinsurance, which they buy to cover themselves in the event of major disasters.
