DECLE BEACH, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Initial damage estimates for Hurricane Helen are more than $500 million, and that number is expected to rise. The Florida Department of Insurance Regulation said people have filed insurance claims worth more than $507 million since Thursday.
Those in the path of Hurricane Helen and state leaders are concerned about how the storm will affect the state’s already fragile property and casualty insurance market.
Hope Webb spent the weekend cleaning up her Dekle Beach home after Hurricane Helen hit Thursday night. The Category 4 hurricane destroyed her neighborhood just months after Hurricanes Idalia and Debbie hit just down the coast, also damaging the coast. Claiming insurance has never been easy, she said.
“We’re fighting insurance from Idalia,” Webb said. “We are still fighting against unpaid insurance claims, but where will we go from here?”
With the third hurricane to hit Taylor County in more than a year, Webb worries more insurance companies will drop policies and people will have to pay for the damage themselves.
“A lot of people here were buying their own insurance because they couldn’t afford it and they didn’t get paid for it,” Webb said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that the problem would only get worse.
“We just talked to some people whose insurance companies tried to cover after Idalia, so some may not have been able to get insurance,” Governor DeSantis said. Ta.
Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, said other factors were also at play in Helen causing devastating flooding in North Carolina as well.
“This is not based in Florida, and it could have global ramifications,” Patronis said.
Webb is hopeful that Florida’s insurance crisis will improve soon.
“Insurance is a big issue and I hope it’s taken seriously,” Webb said.
Congress made changes to property insurance in a special session several years ago.
Republicans say these changes will take time to lower premiums, but Democrats want more changes. State Sen. Corey Simon, who represents North Florida, said those discussions will take place when lawmakers return to Tallahassee after the election.
Some people may be eligible for individual assistance from FEMA.
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