Florida homeowners aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch from sharply rising insurance premiums.
School board members in the Florida Keys were taken aback this week when they were told that property insurance premiums for the coming school year would jump by about $400,000. The increase is the result of steadily rising insurance costs across Florida, the inherent risk in vulnerable areas like the Keys, and hurricane losses in recent years, according to a local news report.
“The property market has been our biggest challenge,” said Ilene Abella, who is with the school district’s broker, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services. “Between wildfires and major freeze events, there have been lots of major catastrophes, the most billion-dollar-plus weather and climate disasters in U.S. history — 22 events in 2020 and 20 events in 2021.”
Abella said that Gallagher asked 43 insurance carriers for quotes for the Monroe County School District, and 23 submitted proposals. The package that was presented to the school board was the least expensive and has multiple layers of coverage from different companies, including coverages for property, cybersecurity and equipment breakdown, among others.
“The Florida Keys is still viewed as one of the most vulnerable areas in the country,” she noted.
Cybersecurity insurance costs also were a factor, spiking by 83%, officials said.
The total cost for school district’s renewal is almost $1.5 million, Keys Weekly reported. Board members expressed frustration at seeing the quote too late to search for a cheaper alternative in time for the next school year.
“On behalf of taxpayers, we need to look at spending money and not just having insurance to have insurance,” said board member Mindy Conn, who said the board should discuss which types of coverage to drop.
The board voted to renew the insurance, then pledged to look for alternatives for next year.
Photo: Overturned mobile homes in the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Irma (AP)
