While Ron DeSantis obsesses about “woke-ism,” and calls climate change “politicization of weather,” the departure of Farmers Insurance from Florida should serve as a wake-up call for him.
Farmers didn’t specifically say climate change is the reason it will be leaving thousands of Floridians in the lurch, but that is clearly the impetus. From the Tampa Bay Times:
On Tuesday, Farmers Insurance informed the state it was dropping home, auto and umbrella policies across Florida, potentially affecting tens of thousands of people. It’s the fourth company to leave the Florida market in the last year — most citing rising risks from hurricanes. Farmers, a large company with a national presence, also has reduced new business in California, citing extreme weather and wildfire threats.
“This business decision was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure,” the company wrote in a statement.
Floridians already pay the highest property insurance rates in the country, according to the Times, as many insurers have either become insolvent or just stopped writing policies there. With thousands of Floridians about to lose coverage thanks to Farmers' departure, the rates will probably go up even higher.
So, what’s Gov. DeSantis doing to help? For one thing, he made it easier for insurance companies to make money by making it harder to sue them. And while that seems to have helped the insurers’ bottom lines, it has not reduced premiums. “The average premium in Florida is 42% higher than last year’s and miles ahead of the average premium nationwide — $1,700,” the Times says.
Maybe DeSantis should start paying more attention to the real struggles of everyday Floridians instead of fighting with an imaginary mouse.
