Condo insurance is costing more — when you can find it, at all. Where are Florida’s legislators? | Editorial

The fallout from the devastating and deadly Surfside condo collapse continues in Florida. This time, it’s condo associations — and by extension, condo owners — paying the price.

They’re seeing insurance rates increasing and, at the same time, the availability of insurance decrease. And at least some of the reasons for the worsening market can be traced right back to the Florida Legislature’s failure to pass a single condo-reform bill in the regular session, even though 98 people died in the Champlain Towers South collapse last June.

Lawmakers are already heading back to Tallahassee next month for a special session to address the high costs of homeowners’ insurance. Condo insurance needs to be part of that session. There are 1.5 million condo units in Florida. They are homes, too.

Condo insurance costs up

As the Miami Herald reported, condo associations are struggling to get their pre-Surfside policies renewed. They’re contending with premium increases of as much as 50% or more. Many are being forced to buy insurance that costs more and covers less, or seek insurance from out-of-state “surplus lines” that don’t need to get their rates approved by the state. And all of those costs are passed on to the condo owners, of course.

Even before this, there was an insurance problem plaguing Florida. Insurance companies are pulling out of Florida or going belly up, as they have in the past. Premiums for homeowners’ policies are soaring; the “insurer of last resort,” Citizens Property Insurance, has racked up huge increases in the number of policies; and lawmakers have declared the whole thing a crisis, yet again.

That’s propelling them into session in May. But condo insurance is suffering from similar difficulties. More than 922,000 condos in Florida are more than 30 years old and, after Surfside, many insurance companies no longer want to write those policies and take the risk that goes with it. It’s not hard to understand why: The insurer for Champlain Towers South paid out more than $30 million. Fears are rising that some condo buildings soon won’t be considered insurable at all.

Lawmakers could have helped steady the market by addressing at least some of the issues. Instead, they were consumed by issues of the culture wars and by their own reelection chances in the fall. Unfortunately, doing the work of the people took on far less urgency than their own survival.

And when the first special session — held last week — was called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, it wasn’t for condo insurance or condo reforms. It was to pass DeSantis’ version of new congressional districts and to punish his new enemy, Disney — which opposed anti-LGBTQ legislation.

It served another purpose, too. It sent a don’t-cross-me message to any potential opponents as he runs for reelection and, perhaps, the White House. In other words, the most important things that the governor decreed must get done after the regular session were passing aggressive new congressional maps and getting back at Disney, not helping homeowners and condo dwellers get insurance or simply feel safe in their homes.

The lack of action by lawmakers on anything to do with condos was self-serving. It also was a betrayal of the 98 people who lost their lives when Champlain Towers South fell down without warning.

Legislators have a chance to redeem themselves, at least a tiny bit, if they can actually do some of the work their their constituents want. Next month, when they go back to Tallahassee — on our dime — they need to add condo insurance and, indeed, condo reforms to their agenda. And if they don’t, their constituents back home should hold them fully accountable in November.

This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 4:20 PM.