We just received the premium notice for our auto insurance policy. We read all the line item amounts which detail the coverages and limits and the corresponding price. Pretty much the same prices as last year for the liability coverage, no fault, comprehensive, collision and uninsured motor vehicle premiums. However, we found this little entry underneath the premium total:
Plus FHCF Assessment – $3.49
In the notes section of the bill, it states that “your policy has increased 1% due to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Assessment.”
After a little bit of research, come to find out that in June 2006 the Florida State Board of Regulation (who oversees the FHCF) directed the Office of Insurance Regulation to levy an emergency assessment on all property and casualty business in the State of Florida. This assessment is applied to all policies issued or renewed after January 1, 2007.  This assessment was deemed necessary because the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund was depleted of nearly all of the $6 billion in reserves it had built up from 1993 following the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons.Â
If you’ve been keeping up with my posts about the homeowner insurance problem, then you’ll know that we are also paying an assessment to subsidize Citizen’s Property Insurance (the state run insurer of last resort). Looks like there is going to be a lot more of these assessments coming, especially after the bill that Governor Crist signed last week.
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5 responses so far ↓
1 Not Made Of Money » Florida Homeowner Insurance - Are The Rates Going Down? // Jan 30, 2007 at 12:07 pm
[...] Got Hit With The Hurricane Tax on Our Auto Insurance Policy [...]
2 Not Made Of Money : Weekly Roundup - 02/02/07 - Hurricane Tax To Emergency Fund // Feb 2, 2007 at 11:09 am
[...] I wrote about quite a few different topics this week. Our auto insurance policy got hit with a hurricane tax. Here in Florida, looks like all kinds of “assessments” are going to be starting. We shared some spending plan and budget calculators, hopefully to encourage budgeting. Learned that we’ll need to be shopping for Quicken 2007 as we were informed that support for Quicken 2004 is being discontinued. I’ve added a daily money saving tips feature. We also wrote about the importance of funding your emergency fund. ***************If you found this post helpful, you can get free updates by subscribing via RSS or By E-mail. Bookmark to: [...]
3 Trixie_ // May 3, 2007 at 11:46 am
I have a $7.07 per month addition to my bill to cover people with hurricane damage. The only thing I own is my 11 year old car. No tickets, no claims. But Allstate is “assessing” me this charge to help the people that do own property in FL. A 6% increase in my rates to finance those with higher liabilities is insane.
4 Carol // Aug 29, 2007 at 11:04 am
I just received my car insurance to find the sneaky little additional charge of $13.00 for the Fl. catastrophy fund!!!! I can’t believe this can be constitutional/? How can they charge our car insurance, when we are already paying “through the nose” on our tripled house insurance??? An above comment said this was subsidizing the Citizen’s (gov’t) ins. which is what I was forced to get—even though I have paid my insurance faithfully for over 10 years and have never had a claim. Still, they cancelled it!!! What a state!! They really want to chase everyone out of here.
Is there some petition or some recourse to fight against this charge? Surely, it can’t be legal?? Once they start the charge, they can easily continue to raise it every year. How many other sneaky ways are they charging us to pay for the rich to live on the beaches??
5 SimNimbus // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I would like to propose a bill that would make it a law that the people of the State of Florida would have to vote before any monetary tax, fee, charge or, levied could be assessed against the people, billed to the people, or added to an mandatory service.
What about all the people in Florida that do not have car insurances. I have to pay non-insured driver insurances just in case I get hit by one of them. But if I get hit by anyone, my insurance bill still goes up.
I think this whole insurances industry is SOFT. They take our money, but when they have to give it back they cry. Do your job and stop complaining. If you put the money we gave you where it needed to be, then you should be able to deal with a storm. But if you went off and gave it away or spent it, and didn’t have the cash to pay on the claims, then how you could call yourself an insurances company.
You’re Fired!!
You didn’t do you job, why should I have to pay for that.
This “fund”, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
This fund pays money out to the insurances companies! NOT the people.
I say we do it right. If the people cannot plan for the future, then make is mandatory to own insurances. If the insurances companies cannot plan for the future, then make it mandatory for the state to insure the insurances companies. What the heck are you going to do if the state cannot plan for the future?
Oh!!! I know, let’s make the people pay for it!! I don’t even own a home! Why am I paying for people who do won one!
Did you look at the map of the people who put in claims?
They were mostly all on the beach, in HUGE HOUSES!!!
This is bull shit. No more!
Put this back to where it belongs! Into the hands of the people.
Let the rich people on the beach buy the insurance and let the insurances company up the rates for them.
If the insurances company does not want to write a policy for huge houses out on the beach, then you can’t live there!! There is too much risk, or buy the house 100% and don’t finance it!
My house will cost me about $200,000 for a 3/2. Your house on the beach will cost $2,000,000 +/-.
My house will not get damaged by a storm and if it does the cost will be low to fix.
Your house on the beach WILL get damaged and I don’t want to even think about the cost to fix it!!!
I get hit with another surprise fee/tax, and the rich have to pay the same amount as I do. Not fair!
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