Daily Real Estate News  |  October 4, 2005  |   Hurricanes Promise Homeowners' Insurance Hikes An active hurricane season—much of it so far occurring along the U.S. Gulf Coast—could result in homeowner's insurance rate hikes and limited availability in the months ahead. In Florida, a statewide task force is studying Florida’s property insurance crisis and will meet at various locations throughout the state from now until January. Trey Goldman, legislative counsel for the Florida Association of REALTORSŪ, points to the exodus of several insurers—and the dropping of policies by others—as already a real problem for homeowners and prospective buyers. “The private market is leaving and being replaced with companies that are not nearly as well capitalized,” he says. Adding to the problem is the fact that Florida’s insurer of last resort, Citizen’s Property Insurance Corp., is now the second largest insurer in the state. “Our cap fund is running a deficit after last year’s storms,” says Goldman. “Florida’s policyholders are paying surcharges to adjust that, but it’s making for a tough real estate market that’s been masked a bit by low mortgage interest rates.” Goldman says FAR has mobilized its own five-member work group to study the problem. “We’re trying to build up some knowledge and institutional memory in our members on this specific insurance-related issue,” says Goldman. “We’re going to try to jump in where we can.” —By Bridget McCrea for REALTORŪ Magazine Online