Insurance Premium Increase - This Time From the State of Florida!

Starting in March of 2008 most insurance policies in the state of Florida will carry a 2% surcharge. The money generated by this will be used to pay claims of policy holders from four insurance companies that went out of business after our rash of hurricanes in the years 2004 and 2005. This surcharge will even apply to customers of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state operated insurer. Previously they had been exempt from paying surcharges.

The companies that failed were Atlantic Preferred, Southern Family Insurance, Florida Preferred, and Vanguard. The first three were owned by Poe Financial Group which was based in Tampa.

The surcharge is supposed to be a one-time assessment at this time, and a total of $315,000,000 is expected to be raised by its imposition.