WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida's insurance commissioner faced a question this week that many homeowners in the state have been asking.
"Do you have an estimated time as to when we can tell them they can start getting some relief?" state Rep. Marie Paule Woodson, D-Hollywood, asked.
The question came during a hearing for the House Subcommittee on Banking and Insurance in Tallahassee.
"We recognize there was no instant lever to improve the market both short term and long term," Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky said while explaining it's hard to mark a time when rate relief will arrive.
Woodson and others on the subcommittee said they are still hearing from people back home.
"I've gone out and knocked on doors recently, talked to a lot of constituents, and the No. 1 question is, 'What are you going to do to bring down or balance premiums in Florida?'" state Rep. Tom Fabricio, R-Miami Lakes, said.
Real Estate News
Lawmaker: Home insurance relief possibly 5 years away
Reforms passed last year by Republicans in control of the Capitol are designed to curb rampant litigation in the Florida insurance industry, lure in more insurers and bring more competition to the market.
Yaworsky said a positive step is five new companies are set to come and write policies in the state.
"Those companies are well capitalized," he said. "This is what we're looking for, the scenario we want, the capital coming into the state. We need capital in the state. This is not the wild, wild west."