from staff
Monroe County has retained the services of Jacksonville attorney Tim Volpe of Volpe, Bajalia, Wickes, Rogerson, Galloway & Wachs to provide legal advice on windstorm insurance.
According to a story on keysnews.com, Monroe County citizens have faced enormous insurance rate hikes over the past few years due to damage from tropical storms and hurricanes.
County commissioners approved a contract that will pay Volpe, who specializes in insurance law, up to $50,000 annually. Volpe’s firm, whose client list includes the Florida Department of Financial Services and the Florida Department of Insurance, specializes in suing insurance companies.
According to the Web site, commissioners were somewhat concerned about the cost, but not about Volpe’s qualifications.
“I’m not concerned about Mr. Volpe; he’s very good,” Commissioner George Neugent said. “My interest is how do we fund this? I would like to see us to contribute on a population basis where everyone is contributing a similar amount of money.”
Monroe County homeowners face escalating rate increases from both Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., a private insurer that Citizens, which was set up to be the state-run insurer of last resort, pays to take off its hands.
Florida Peninsula recently requested a 90 percent rate increase for Monroe County policyholders from $27.92 per $1,000 in coverage to $53.10. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, who oversees the Office of Insurance Regulation, has not ruled on the request. He has, however, turned down a recent rate increase request from Citizens that would have taken premiums from $20 per $1,000 in coverage to $28, a 40 percent increase.
Citizens rates have tripled since 2000 and commissioners are concerned about the number of people moving out of the county.
– some information for this story courtesy keysnews.com