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Lawmakers Chew On Insurance Issues
Published: Jun 24, 2006
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PLANT CITY - Rising premiums and hard-to-find insurance coverage emerged as the hottest topics of conversation as local lawmakers gave their annual report on the state legislative session.
State Rep. Trey Traviesa said an overhaul of property insurance was the greatest piece of "unfinished business" in Tallahassee. Traviesa and a fellow Republican, state Rep. Rich Glorioso, promised to make insurance a top priority in the next session.
Traviesa and Glorioso shared the stage Thursday at the annual Eggs 'n Issues breakfast sponsored by the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. State Sen. Tom Lee was unable to attend but sent a staff member who read a prepared statement saying he was honored to serve the area. Lee is leaving his Florida Senate seat because of term limits but is running for state chief financial officer.
Eggs 'n Issues has been a Plant City tradition for more than 20 years. Following in a well-established format, the lawmakers gave a brief overview of the 2006 legislative session and then took questions from the audience.
The two lawmakers touted a number of accomplishments during the recent session, including more money for education and roads, help for foster children and incentives for developers to offer affordable housing.
During the question and answer part of the program, much of the time was spent on rising rates for property insurance and problems finding coverage. Veteran Plant City insurance agent Mark Poppell said calling insurance issues a crisis was an "understatement" and said the situation could cripple the economy.
Local banker Bob Tanner added that not only homeowners, but also business owners, were feeling the crunch of escalating rates.
Traviesa said the issue would be the "No. 1 priority" in the coming year, mentioning less government regulation of rates to encourage more competition among insurers as a possible answer.
Contact Dave Nicholson at (813) 865-4432 or dnicholson@ tampatrib.com
