Lawmakers discuss solutions to Florida's home insurance crisis during roundtable

Florida lawmakers discuss home insurance crisis

Jordan Bowen reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Lawmakers came together Saturday to find solutions to Florida's home insurance crisis and discuss the impact climate change has had on the problem.

Congresswoman Kathy Castor hosted a special roundtable discussion in Shore Acres, which is one area that suffered from significant flooding.

During big storms like Idalia and Tropical Storm Eta as well as Debby the Shore Acres neighborhood in St. Pete saw significant flooding. During Idalia, at least 1,200 of the roughly 2,600 homes flooded. Meghan Martin saw up to 18 inches of water in her home.

READ: Disaster assistance now available for Pinellas County residents impacted by Debby

"We've lived here for eight years and the first four or five were amazing. Unfortunately, we've flooded twice now in the last three years," Martin said.

Martin said her home insurance has more than tripled over the last few years. Last year, Florida saw some of the sharpest home insurance premium increases in the country.

A map from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows the average annual home insurance premiums. Florida is in dark red with several counties in South Florida reporting an average annual premium of $4,000 or more.

"We are paying more for our property insurance here in the state of Florida than any other state right now. On average, folks are paying over $6,000 annually, and it's practically doubled just in the past few years and folks are looking for solutions here in Florida," U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said.

That's why, on Saturday, Castor held a special roundtable discussion on the home insurance crisis at the Shore Acres Rec Center with U.S. Senator from Rhode Island and Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse. He warns Florida's home insurance crisis could end up costing all federal taxpayers.

"We have had in the Senate Budget Committee testimony from the big mortgage companies that a property insurance crisis cascades into a mortgage crisis and when you can't get mortgages, that cascades into a property value crash," U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said.

Whitehouse's budget committee has done investigations into the state insurer of last resort, Citizen's Property Insurance, to see whether it'll need to be bailed out by the federal government if disaster losses ever exceed the ability to pay.

Castor argues climate change is contributing to the home insurance crisis and hopes to see Florida invest more in renewable energy like solar.

"It's about time that state leaders begin to help solve the problem by reducing the drivers of climate change and that is the pollution, the burning of fossil fuels that is fueling a crisis here in the state of Florida, but all across the country, all across the globe," Castor said.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: