UNITED STATES NEWS

After devastating 2022 hurricane season, AAA not renewing some insurance policies in Florida

Jul 18, 2023, 11:52 AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — AAA won’t renew “a very small percentage” of homeowners and auto insurance policies in hurricane-wracked Florida, joining other insurers in limiting their exposure in the Sunshine State despite efforts by lawmakers to calm the volatile insurance market, the company said Tuesday.

AAA said in a statement that it wasn’t leaving Florida, but that last year’s devastating hurricane season had led to an “unprecedented” rise in reinsurance rates, making it more costly to operate.

Officials with the company refused to say how many policies in Florida wouldn’t be renewed but said that they were “higher exposure” package policies which bundle homeowners and auto policies and were underwritten by Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida. An AAA spokesman wouldn’t explain how the company defined “higher exposure,” when asked.

“This is a decision we do not take lightly,” the AAA statement said. “We acknowledge that this is a difficult time for those affected.”

The affected policyholders already have been notified, and they can apply for auto coverage from sister carrier, Auto Club South Insurance. AAA also said it would continue to write other, new home and auto policies, despite the decision not to renew some policies.

Florida’s insurance woes are leaving some homeowners like Lawrence Kolin in the lurch. His insurer wouldn’t renew a policy for his stucco and brick, Spanish-tile-roofed home near downtown Orlando. With 30 days left until his coverage lapses, he can’t get another insurance company to give him a quote.

“My house has survived 84 years of hurricane seasons,” Kolin, a mediator and trial attorney in Orlando, said Tuesday. “It’s just an untenable situation.”

Florida has struggled to maintain stability in the state insurance market since 1992 when Hurricane Andrew flattened Homestead, wiped out some insurance carriers and left many remaining companies fearful to write or renew policies in Florida. Risks for carriers have also been growing as climate change increases the strength of hurricanes and the intensity of rainstorms.

The decision by AAA comes a week after Farmers Insurance said it was discontinuing new coverage of auto, home and umbrella policies in Florida, joining a long list of insurance woes to hit the Sunshine State recently.

At least six insurers went insolvent in Florida last year. At the end of 2022, average annual property insurance premiums had risen to more than $4,200 in Florida, which is triple the national average. About 12% of homeowners in the state didn’t have property insurance, compared with the national average of 5%, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a research organization funded by the insurance industry.

The Legislature and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have grappled with the issue each of the last two years, including a special session in December. Most of the focus has been on shielding insurance companies from lawsuits and setting aside money for re-insurance to help protect insurers. Critics of DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, say he has focused too much effort on divisive cultural issues and not enough on making housing and insurance more affordable.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP

United States News

Associated Press

Pennsylvania inmates sue over ‘tortuous conditions’ of solitary confinement

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Solitary confinement conditions in a Pennsylvania state prison are unconstitutional, worsening and creating mental illness in those held there, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of five inmates who say they have spent long periods in “torturous conditions.” With limited mental health resources, some of the plaintiffs inside […]

38 minutes ago

Associated Press

The Supreme Court seems likely to side with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to preserve the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a conservative-led challenge. Even some conservative justices sounded skeptical of arguments that the agency, created after the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, car loans and other consumer finance, violates the Constitution in the […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Colorado high court to hear case against Christian baker who refused to make LGBTQ-themed cake

DENVER (AP) — On the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court victory this summer for a graphic artist who didn’t want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, Colorado’s highest court said Tuesday it will now hear the case of a Christian baker who refused to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. The announcement […]

1 hour ago

FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Iowa Fa...

Associated Press

Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President and GOP candidate Mike Pence will take questions on national security and foreign policy Tuesday afternoon at Washington’s Georgetown University. The appearance will be the first in a series of conversations with 2024 Republican presidential candidates on the topic co-hosted by The Associated Press and Georgetown’s Institute of Politics […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Atlanta will pay $3.75M to family of Nebraska man who died after being handcuffed and held face down

ATLANTA (AP) — The city of Atlanta will pay $3.75 million to the family of a Nebraska man who died after police handcuffed him face down. The City Council approved the settlement Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, after the Fulton County medical examiner determined that Ricardo Dorado Jr.’s death on Aug. 21, 2022 was a […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

2 Army soldiers killed, 12 injured in crash of military transport vehicle in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed and 12 others injured after a military transport vehicle flipped on a dirt road leading to a training area in Alaska, officials said. The single-vehicle accident happened Monday as the soldiers headed to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha, or about 30 miles (48 kilometers) […]

3 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Home moving relocation in Arizona 2023...

BMS Moving

Tips for making your move in Arizona easier

If you're moving to a new home in Arizona, use this to-do list to alleviate some stress and ensure a smoother transition to your new home.

Sanderson Ford...

Sanderson Ford

Sanderson Ford congratulates D-backs’ on drive to great first half of 2023

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed a red-hot first half of the major league season, and Sanderson Ford wants to send its congratulations to the ballclub.

...

re:vitalize

When most diets fail, re:vitalize makes a difference that shows

Staying healthy and losing weight are things many people in Arizona are conscious of, especially during the summer.

After devastating 2022 hurricane season, AAA not renewing some insurance policies in Florida