The skyrocketing cost of insurance premiums in Florida is leading residents to drop their insurance, consider selling their home, and even move out of the state, according to recent reports.
For years now, the sunny, vibrant state has been a magnetic destination for many Americans—a phenomenon which has been driving up demand for housing, especially during the pandemic, as well as home prices.
But while Florida was the number one state in the country that people moved to in 2022, it was also the one with the highest number of residents wanting to relocate, according to a SelfStorage.
The current crisis isn’t so much about climate change as it is an insurance market so rampant with fraudulent roof damage claims that the market can’t bear it. FL legislature tried to correct this but before the law took effect a flood of claims were filed.
Climate change will only make this worse, ofc.
My understanding is that the substantial majority of roof damage claims were legitimate and attributable to predatory roofing companies that would finance and install new roofs after a storm at a huge discount, they’d install a shitty fucked up roof, then would sell the debt to a third party servicer, and then the roofing company would close up shop, rebrand under a new name, and do it again. By the time the roof fails, the original company is long gone leaving the homeowner and the insurers holding the bag.
The legislature and the insurers realized they had a impending consumer crisis and loosened the laws about paying these claims, and essentially opened the door to the fraud.
I wonder if the real issue at this point is that Florida just attracts fraudsters. It was their laws that allowed contractors to have a revolving door of LLC’s.
I’m sure more deregulation is the answer.
Of course it is. Nobody will do business with the shitty roof company that no longer exists ever again. See, the invisible hand works just fine, and might even give you a handjob if you pay it enough.