TAMPA, Fla. — Florida voters frustrated by skyrocketing homeowners' insurance premiums want to make sure state leaders are listening.
"The price of things here seemed very reasonable at first, the last few years they've gone up so much it makes me wonder, can I continue to stay here as a senior citizen, retired, fixed income," said homeowner Marilyn Sweeney.
"You know, the insurance situation is not getting better," said Slake Counts, a Tampa Heights homeowner.
We're now taking those concerns straight to the three candidates running to be Florida's next chief financial officer.
The CFO oversees the state's insurance market, making the race critical for homeowners statewide. Two Democrats — military veteran, attorney and former IRS watchdog Earle Ford and former Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo — are heading into the August primary. The winner will face Republican and current CFO Blaise Ingoglia in November.
DEMOCRAT EARLE FORD
Ford, after watching a viewer video expressing concerns, said these homeowners are spot on.
"I think it hits the mark," Ford said.
He argued the current administration has failed to deliver meaningful relief.
"The first thing is I think the property tax is a distraction. We know that this administration has done nothing to lower the prices. They say it's under tort reform, and what they've really done is they defamed the consumer," Ford said.
Ford said enforcement would be his first priority if elected.
"First thing, enforcement, right? We have laws that are not being enforced, right? The Office of Insurance Regulation has the ability to enforce these laws, make sure these issues are being pressed, and when you, I think under Milton we had almost 40% of claims never paid out or they ended up in zero or no money being issued. And they just fall to the wayside, right? The state needs to step in and making sure these people are made whole again," Ford said.
WATCH: Extended interview with Earle Ford
Learn more about Ford's campaign here.
FORMER STATE SENATOR AND DEMOCRAT ANNETTE TADDEO
Taddeo, who sat on the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee for five years, shook her head while watching the same viewer video.
"People are fed up. I'm fed up too. I'm running to make sure that we have that balance and that voice for the people," Taddeo said.
She framed the CFO role as a watchdog position — one she said has not been filled adequately.
"The job of CFO is particularly the job to be the watchdog of taxpayers. And you can't be a watchdog when you are a lapdog either for the governor or for the insurance companies. We need someone that is actually going to say, show me the books, show me the numbers. Don't hide all this money," Taddeo said.
Taddeo said forcing insurance companies to be transparent about their profits is key.
"They always claim that they have proprietary reasons why they can't open up the books, but the fact is, when you're getting policies from Citizens [Property Insurance] to build a business, literally — and then the year after they go up, like you reported, they go up astronomically. So that's not OK," Taddeo said.
Watch extended video with Annette Taddeo
Learn more about Taddeo's campaign here.
CURRENT CFO AND REPUBLICAN BLAISE INGOGLIA
For weeks, Tampa Bay 28 anchor Nadeen Yanes requested a sit-down interview with Ingoglia. His office said they couldn't make the time. However, she caught up with Ingoglia in Orlando, where he was a keynote speaker at a workshop for insurance companies.
The brief interaction did not provide an opportunity to show Ingoglia the same viewer video shared with the other two candidates. When asked about viewers who felt the state hasn't done enough because it isn't reflected in what they pay every day, Ingoglia responded.
"You can send them to our office and we can show them on average what their premium would have been if it wasn't not for tort reform. I promise you it would be a lot higher, maybe even double," Ingoglia said.
Ingoglia also pointed to transparency as a solution.
"One of the things I think we can do is we can have — and I tried to pass legislation with this, it didn't go through — is to have more clarity and more transparency and insight on how these insurance companies derive their profits. So if we get that information, we can craft better policy to make sure policyholders aren't being gouged. But let me be clear, we and I specifically have told insurance companies that we have historic reforms, you have to start delivering results, you have to start delivering lower prices," Ingoglia said.
Watch extended interview with Blaise Ingoglia
Learn more about Ingoglia's campaign here.
Share Your Story with Nadeen
As part of her commitment to help you navigate the state of insurance, Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Nadeen Yanes is here to listen to you. If there is an insurance problem you have run into, or feel others need to be aware of, we want to hear about it. Just fill out the form below.
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