Florida’s hurricane fund remains strong heading into season
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida fund that helps private insurers pay out claims after a hurricane continues to be in strong shape ahead of storm season.
Estimates prepared by Raymond James show the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund will have $17.6 billion available this year. This marks the second year in a row that the fund has more money than it would need to pay out if storms racked the state.
The estimates were formally approved Thursday by a panel overseeing the fund.
The financial health of the fund is important because the state can impose a surcharge on most insurance policies to replenish it if the money runs out. Some critics have called the surcharge a “hurricane tax.”
The fund has grown because Florida has avoided major hurricanes since 2005.
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I\’m in shock reading this press release about this State hurricane fund.
\”The Florida fund that helps private insurers pay out claims … \”
Does this really mean that FL\’s taxes reimburse insurance companies when they pay out claims after a hurricane? The same insurance companies that rake in mega-billion\’$ in premiums every year from the people who are paying to protect their homes and businesses if disaster strikes. Does anyone else wonder why our taxes are being used to make insurance companies hang on to their profits?