Dec 18
Florida Property Insurance Spiking for Schools Too
There have been daily stories out of Florida for the couple of years about the implosion of the private property and casualty insurance business in the state. Most firms have dropped the coverage altogether, making the state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp the largest insurer in the state. Despite government intervention, homeowner rates have soared.
Florida’s schools are facing no less dramatic a collapse in the available coverage and the cost. For example, the insurance bill for Pasco County schools jumped from $2.8-million last year to $6.7-million this year, even though the amount of coverage dropped from $100-million to $50-million. That’s the maximum coverage that was available, even though school buildings are built to standards that often make them shelters for hurricane victims.
The coverage limits mean only 4.45 percent of the $1.1-billion in Pasco schools property is insured. And Pasco, which has had relatively little hurricane damage, is in fact better off than other places.
Statewide, school districts paid $178-million this year, an 81.5 percent increase over last year’s $98-million tab, according to a report from the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. But the amount of covered property fell 80 percent – from $7.4 billion last year to $1.5 billion this year. The result: Less than 3 percent of the value of Florida schools is covered. Two years ago, 21 percent of property was insured.
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December 27th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
How can the state expect to protect this vital part of Florida\’s educational infrastructure when the insurance costs fluctuate in such an unbelievable manner? With only 3% coverage, it leads me to the conclusion that one really bad hurricane could leave a huge swath of children with no place to attend school…
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com