Brown: 'We are being punished' by insurance

“We are being punished, it’s going to devastate our state.”

Longboat Key Mayor Jim Brown made that statement to more than 75 constituents who attended an insurance roundtable discussion Nov. 8, near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

Brown explained rising insurance rates are causing financial hardships for barrier island residents and forcing some to consider moving to the mainland.

Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, heard Brown’s concern and the concerns of others at the roundtable he called to discuss the rising cost of insurance and the impact it’s having on the area’s economy.

“It’s just not acceptable to lose your home over rising insurance costs,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan invited Brown and Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Monti to speak on the panel that also included real estate and insurance professionals.

No one on the panel had good news to report.

Brown reported that his wind insurance rose from $9,600 to $55,000 before he was able to negotiate a $23,000 annual premium.

“Congress has got to look at this,” Brown said. “My wife and I want to sell our house and we’re not sure we will be able.”

The Federal Emergency Management Association’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) went through an overhaul after Superstorm Sandy ripped through the Northeast last year and caused major destruction, both to the area and the NFIP.

That overhaul, the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, is now costing property owners and diminishing their ability to stay in their homes.

Buchanan, who supported the act’s approval when it passed in July 2012, is now trying to get the act suspended to return rising insurance hikes back to normal levels while alternative modifications are made.

Buchanan plans to hold a delegation meeting Nov. 21 to discuss the issue. Buchanan has co-sponsored a bill “to fix this.”

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]