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August 30, 2024
As a veteran with a lot of friends who are a part of that same community living on fixed retirement income, I can always see how frustrated they are every time they are hit with another increase in their cost of living. For the last several years, the single biggest issue for them has been the cost of homeowner’s insurance.
I fully understand that there are many factors beyond the legislature’s control on this issue. Rising prices for everything – including home replacement – are crushing everyone. With that being said, there are a few things that we can control that needs to be addressed in the state legislature.
The first is fraud. If we can stop insurance fraud in South Florida, it will tremendously impact reducing the price of insurance statewide. The second is litigation. The legislature already addressed big chunks of litigation issues back in 2023. But we need to do more. Maybe third-party financing reform. Third-party financing is a provision for third parties to actually fund lawsuits.
Sounds reasonable until you find out that the financing agent could be a part of an international investment team and that the plaintiff becomes somewhat of a pawn for the lawsuit team.
If we can deal with the fraud issue and continue to chip away at lawsuit reform, it is possible that Florida can once again become the sunshine state for everyone – not just those who are not on fixed income.
Dennis Freytes
Florida Veterans Hall of Fame
Windermere, Florida