South Florida's business owners, like homeowners, aren't seeing relief from soaring windstorm rates.

What may be around the corner for them: rates that could double or even triple. Some insurers covering commercial property, including shops, restaurants, hotels and offices, have requested rate increases ranging from 142 percent to 225 percent. The state has 34 recent filings from 10 insurers, most from the Hartford Financial Group companies.

These come at a time when insurance at any price is still hard to find. The stakes are huge for South Florida's economy, fueled by thousands of small- and medium-sized companies already struggling with the slumping real estate market and high cost of living. Rising insurance premiums not only strain their balance sheets, the extra costs ripple into consumers' pockets.

Frank Nero, president of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade's economic development agency, said a recent survey of business owners found that the cost of property insurance, along with property taxes and the county's transportation infrastructure, are among their top three concerns.

''It's something everybody has on their radar screen,'' says Nero's Broward counterpart, Broward Alliance President Jim Tarlton. Businesses are also concerned about the toll of rising homeowner rates on their employees, he said.

Like homeowners, businesses were supposed to see some rate relief from the insurance-reform bill passed during a special legislative session in January.

State regulators expected insurers to reduce businesses' rates by up to 59 percent. That's because insurers could stock up on lower-cost reinsurance -- backup coverage for insurers -- from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and pass on savings to policyholders.

Insurers did buy reinsurance from the fund, but some are still seeking triple-digit increases. The Office of Insurance Regulation will hold public hearings on these requests in mid-August.

SELECTIVE INSURERS

Although rates haven't eased since the insurance crisis hit businesses hard last summer, agents say some insurers have been more flexible in writing policies. And insurers aren't shedding large numbers of policies as they were then.

Yet many insurers are increasingly selective about the coverage they offer. Some won't cover windstorm damage; others avoid property coverage altogether.

That's what happened to Steven Gissin, who owns Heaven Cycle, a motorcycle accessories store on Bird Road in Miami. After providing a full policy for 10 years, Federated dropped Gissin's shop last year, wanting to write only liability coverage.

Gissin ended up with a policy -- minus windstorm coverage -- from a surplus lines company, an insurer whose rates aren't set by state regulators. At $5,000, the property policy alone cost $2,000 more than what he previously paid for full coverage. Initial quotes on his policies, which renew next month, are higher than what he paid last year. Like many small-business owners, he may have to make a choice: Raise prices and risk losing customers or absorb the costs -- again.

''I thought things would be better this year,'' says Gissin.

Nestor Rivero, owner of Tropical Insurance in West Miami-Dade, says he's considering selling his small office building on Coral Way because he can't keep up with insurance and tax bills.

This year, he has gone without windstorm insurance because he couldn't afford the $16,000 premium on hurricane coverage and a 10 percent deductible -- $55,000. The premium for just fire and liability coverage was a more reasonable $4,000 on his 5,500-square-foot building.