Florida CFO Sink calls for report on Fla. insurers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 10, 2010 – Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has called upon State Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty to take a public account of the state’s property insurers’ financial status at a cabinet meeting on March 23.

“Florida’s homeowners and policyholders deserve nothing less than accurate information about the protection they’ve been paying for, especially as we head into hurricane season,” Sink wrote in a letter to McCarty. She notes that Florida insurers have posted financial losses and some others are failing, even though the state has not been hit by a hurricane.

The request from Sink follows a Sarasota Herald Tribune report that the insurers that exhibiting signs of financial distress cover more than 2 million Florida families. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is currently collecting and examining 2009 year-end financial statements from Florida’s insurers and has previously conducted spot audits of smaller insurers.

Meanwhile, Florida Senate Insurance Committee Chair Garrett Richter supports legislation under consideration to raise minimum capital requirements for Florida insurers from $4 million to $15 million.

Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) (03/10/10) P. 1A; St. John, Paige