Governor Elect Rick Scott Appears to Support Raising Insurance Rates and Easing Rules on Delayed or Denied Claims

Insurance company executives were thrilled that Rick Scott won the Florida Governor’s office. I can appreciate that any politician may run on a platform that, upon further reflection, seems absurd or not what they meant. From my impression, many voted for Scott because they were fed up with the status quo. Floridians may be even more upset if they learn that their newly elected governor is supporting a plan which will result in higher property insurance rates and laws that would provide immunity to insurers who treat their customers in bad faith.

Here is what Rick Scott has to say about the property insurance marketplace:

Florida’s current property insurance system is broken and is putting us all at risk. Driving out solvent private insurers from our state and forcing homeowners into a government run company that is not financially sound is a huge gamble that has put homeowners and taxpayers at risk. Politics as usual has driven out private insurers and placed Florida in a position that, if hit by one big hurricane, could bankrupt all insurers, further damaging – perhaps beyond repair – our economy. I want to open the property insurance market back up in Florida so that financially solvent private insurers can compete, allowing consumers to choose what they want from a free market. I want to ensure that Floridians have that choice and not force them into a system that may ultimately not be there to protect them.

This means that Rick Scott supports allowing insurance companies to charge as high a price as possible. The problem is that history has proven insurance markets are not regulated or truly “free,”  insurance companies had times of boom followed by bust. It did not work over a hundred years ago, and there has been no academic study to suggest a different result today. While Americans love the concept of free markets, we have all learned in basic economic classes and from experience that many poorly regulated markets have destroyed commmunities and financial stability.