HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2006-888
RESOLUTION NO. 2006- ~ ~ ~
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SUNNY
ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, RELATING TO LOBBYING THE FLORIDA
LEGISLATURE TO AMEND THE FWUA LEGISLATION TO AMEND THE
ARBITRARY WINDSTORM "LINE" OF EAST OF U.S. 1 AND EAST OF 1-
95 SO AS TO FAIRLY DISTRIBUTE RISK THROUGHOUT THE STATE;
SEEKING SUPPORT FROM ALL NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES WITH
THIS INITIATIVE; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature in November 1993 created the Florida HlllTicane
Catastrophe Fund, under Section 215.555, Florida Statues, and also enacted the FWUA, an
association of private insurers, under Section 627.35 I (2), Florida Statutes, to provide hurricane and
windstorm insurance to Florida residents who could not obtain an offer for coverage from another
insurer; and
WHEREAS, the FWUA (Citizens Insurance) is the only available source of hurricane and
windstorm insurance for thousands of residential property owners in Florida, for all residents east of
U.S. I and 1-95, and provides windstorm insurance coverage for all properties east of this line,
including the residents of Sunny Isles Beach, who are not able to obtain an offer of coverage in the
voluntary market; and
WHEREAS, there have been 27 tropical events during the 2005 hUlTicane season, including,
but not limited to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma; and
WHEREAS, weather experts predict that the future hurricane cycle for the upcoming 20
years shall consist of higher strength and more frequent hurricane and tropical storm activities, as
compared to the past 20-30 year cycle; and,
WHEREAS, based upon the foregoing, the insurance industry shall be increasing windstOlm
premiums for all Florida residents, and many insurance companies may be leaving the market; and,
WHEREAS, the FWUA arbitrary "windstorm insurance coverage line" requires a higher
insurance premium, through Citizens Property Insurance, for all those prope11ies east of the artificial
line; and,
WHEREAS, continued existence of this arbitrary imaginary line, with no basis in science,
which was created as a political compromise by the Florida Legislature and Florida Insurance
Commissioner as part of the FWUA, shall inordinately burden those property owners east of the line,
despite the fact that hurricanes affect all of Florida; and,
WHEREAS, due to the devastation from the past two years of hurricane events that affected
Florida, all properties east of this arbitrary line face a 40 to 50 percent increase in their insurance
premiums; and
R2006-888 Windstorm Insurance Coverage Line Fwua
Page I of 3
WHEREAS, in addition, due to the FWUA, all those properties west of the arbitrary line
also shall have to pay a premium under the FWUA to help the State overcome the costs associated
with the past few hurricane events, however the premium shall not be as costly for those west ofthe
arbitrary line; and,
WHEREAS, the elimination of the artificial and unscientific line would benefit all of
Florida, as the line has outlived its usefulness; as elimination ofthe line would create a greater pool
of insured persons; and ensure greater stability, security and protection for all of Florida.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
Incorporation of Recitals. The above whereas clauses are incorporated by reference.
Section 2. Request of the City Commission. The City Commission of the City of Sunny Isles
Beach hereby seeks the support of all neighboring communities in Miami-Dade County, Broward
County, Palm Beach County and all other affected communities within Florida to support the City's
efforts to lobby the Florida Legislature to remove the arbitrary line under the FWUA legislation so
that the interests of all Florida residents are further protected and ensure that all residents can obtain
affordable hurricane property damage insurance by creating a larger pool of insured persons, and
provide greater stability, security and protection for all Florida property owners.
Section 3.
Effective Date. This Resolution will become effective upon adoption.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 161h day of February, 2006.
/---? /j),w/?,J f . /t~/
7 man s. Edelcup, Mayor 7.
ATTEST:
~AL
Jane A. Hines, CMC, City Clerk
R2006- Windstorm Ins. Remove Arbitrary Line FWUA 2
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND
LEGAL S FICIENCY
Vote: 5"-\;)
Mayor Norman S. Edelcup
Vice Mayor Roslyn Brezin
Commissioner Gerry Goodman
Commissioner Danny Iglesias
Commissioner Lewis Thaler
Moved by: r~~ UU:.S:I'*s
Seconded by: CO)WW\\$S\b10cr)e. T-HI'\-L~~
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V(Y es)
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R2006- Windstorm Ins. Remove Arbitrary Line FWUA 3
_(No)
_(No)
_(NO)
_(No)
_(NO)
City Commission
Norman S. Edelcup
Mayor
Roslyn Brezin
Vice Mayor
Gerry Goodman
Commissioner
Dannx Iglesias
Commissioner
Lewis J. Tholer
Commissioner.
Police Chief Fred Moas
Interim City Manager
Hans Ottinot
City Attorney
Jane A. Hines
Cify Clerk
18070 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
305.947.0606 www.sibfl.net
February 27,2006
Meighan Pier, Village Clerk
Village of Palmetto Bay
8950 Southwest 152nd Street
Palmetto Bay, Florida 33157
Re:
Resolution Requesting Windstorm Line Amendment
Dear Ms. Pier:
At its regular meeting of February 16, 2006, the City Commission of the City of
Sunny Isles Beach adopted Resolution No. 2006-888, related to lobbying the Florida
Legislature to amend the FWUA Legislation to amend the arbitrary windstorm "line"
of east of US 1 and East ofl-95 so as to fairly distribute risk throughout the state.
Attached is a certified copy of Resolution No. 2006-888 to assist the Village of
Palmetto Bay with the Windstorm Line Amendment initiative.
Thank you.
!~IY lOUrs,
, ~OQ~W~
Priscilla Walker
Deputy City Clerk
Attachment
cc: The Honorable City Commission (cover letter only)
John Szerlag, City Manager (incoming)
Police Chief Fred Maas, Interim City Manager (cover letter only)
Hans Ottinot, City Attorney (cover letter only)
Jorge L. Vera, Assistant City Manager (cover letter only)
Windstorm Line Amendment Reg Reso Trans Lrr
,.
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January 6, 2006
Mayor Norman Edelcup
City of Sunny Isles
118070 Collins Ave.
Sunny Isles, FL 33160
Dear Mayor Edelcup,
I am a Councilman of Palmetto Bay and am writing to you about an issue I'm sure you will be
interested in: the unreasonable high cost of windstorm insurance for those of us who live east of
US 1. This is progressively becoming a major problem for all of us and should be aggressively
addressed. The attachments to this letter are both the resolution passed by our Village Council
last month as well as an article I wrote that was printed in the Miami Herald opinion page on
12/31/05.
State Representative, Julio Robaina, is actively working on this for the next legislative session.
Either myself or our Vice-Mayor, Linda Robinson, will be contacting you in the next few weeks
to discuss this. Please consider passing a similar resolution or endorsing ours. One of us will be
happy to come to your meeting, if you wish.
Hopefully windstorm insurance will be considered by the Florida Legislature in the next session
and significant reform will take place. All the pressure we can put on our legislatures will be
helpful.
Many thanks. Feel free to contact me - my personal e-mail is edfellermd@aol.com and my cell
phone is 305-588-2347.
Sincerely,
~~~
Ed Feller MD, Councilman, District #1,
Village of Palmetto Bay
cc: Anthony Szerlag, City Manager
8950 Southwest 152 Street, Palmetto Bay, Florida 33157
Tel: 305.259.1234 . Fax: 305.259.1290
r'
IEht~Btl'tdli
Herald.oom
Posted on Sat, Dec. 31, 2005
For more-equitable insurance costs
Does the wind from hurricanes stop at Dixie Highway? Is there a large magical barrier that prevents wind from damaging
properties west of the road? What about storms like Hurricane Wilma that arrive from the west?
State law acts as if such a barrier exists. For purposes of windstorm insurance there is a line that runs down Interstate
95 from North Florida and switches to U.S. 1 in South Florida.
If you live east of U.S. 1 you almost certainly have windstorm coverage from Citizens Property Insurance Company, the
high-risk, state-developed company that, by law, charges higher premiums than anyone else. If you live west of the line,
you can get windstorm insurance from commercial carriers at competitive rates.
Those who live east of Dixie Highway, are, in effect, subsidizing the rest of the state. With the more than 50-percent
increase in rates proposed by Citizens and the additional potential assessments this year for Hurricanes Katrina and
Wilma, this inequity will increase. Many of our residents, especially those retirees on a fixed income, will not be able to
afford to stay in their houses.
Hurricanes, the damage they cause, the costs of repair and the impact on insurance costs are facts of life in Florida. The
state formed this artificial line many years ago in a successful effort to keep insurance companies writing windstorm
insurance. When Citizens was formed it incorporated this artificial line into its policies. Almost all of the private insurance
companies that had previously written windstorm as part of their homeowners insurance eliminated coverage east of the
line and transferred it to Citizens.
The terms of windstorm insurance for those east of Dixie highway who must use Citizens are considerably worse than
those who live west of the road and have this insurance written with their homeowner policy. With Citizens' policies, the
deductible is almost always higher, the premium more, the policy more restrictive and, in many cases, the service worse.
West of the highway, customers can change carriers; those who live east of South Dixie Highway have little choice.
Clearly, the wind does not stop at Dixie Highway. There is no scientific evidence to show that there is a significant
difference in wind strength or damage east or west of this road. I see more damaged "blue roofs" west of the highway
than east of it these days.
This artificial boundary was a compromise made to keep insurance companies writing policies in the state and to shift the
burden of windstorm risk to a state company.
It may have made sense in the past, but the experience of the last few years has clearly shown that windstorm damage
is a statewide problem. We have seen devastating hurricane damage far from the coastlines in Central Florida.
The Legislature should undertake a complete review and revision of windstorm insurance and spread the risk fairly. In
doing this, lawmakers should eliminate this unreasonable and incorrect line.
The Village of Palmetto Bay passed a resolution this month asking our state representatives to promote policies to effect
this change.
Everyone living east of this artificial line who is paying artificially higher insurance rates should contact their state
representatives before the 2006 session starts and ask them to support legislation to correct this problem. The economic
stability of our communities is at stake.
ED FELLER, councilman, Palmetto Bay
1 RESOLUTION NO. 05-102
2
3 A RESOLUTION OF TIlE MAYOR AND VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE
4 VILLAGE OF P ALMETIO BAY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO LOBBYING
5 THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO AMEND THE FWUA LEGIS LA TION TO
6 AMEND TIlE ARBITRARY WINDSTORM "LINE" OF EAST OF U.S.
7 HIGHWAY 1 AND EAST OF 1-95 SO AS TO F AIRL Y DISTRIBUTE RISK
8 THROUGHOUT THE STATE; AND SEEKING SUPPORT FROM ALL
9 NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES WITH lHIS INITIATIVE; PROVIDING AN
10 EFFECTIVE DATE.
11
12 WHEREAS, The Florida Legislature in November 1993 created the Florida Hurricane
13 Catastrophe Fund, under section 215.555,. Florida Statutes, and also enacted the FWUA is an
14 association of private insurers, under section 627.351(2), Florida Statutes, to provide hurricane
15 and windstorm insurance to Florida residents who could not obtain an offer for coverage from
16 another insurer; and
17
18 WHEREAS, the FWUA (Citizens Insurance) is the only available source of hurricane
19 and windstorm insurance for thousands of residential property owners in Florida, for all residents
20 East of US I and 1-95, and provides windstorm insurance coverage for all properties east of this
21 line, including the residents of the Village of Palmetto Bay, who are not able to obtain an offer of
22 coverage in the voluntary market; and
23
24 WHEREAS, there have been 27 tropical events during the 2005 hurricane season,
25 including, but not limited to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma; and,
26
27 WHEREAS, weather experts predict that the future hurricane cycle for the upcoming 20
28 years shall consist of higher strength and more frequent hurricane and tropic storm activities, as
29 compared to the past 20-30 year cycle; and,
30
31 WHEREAS, based upon the foregoing, the insurance industry shall be increasing
32 windstorm premiums for all Florida residents, and many insurance companies may be leaving the
33 market; and,
34
35 WHEREAS, the FWUA arbitrary "windstorm insurance coverage line" requires a higher
36 insurance premium, through Citizens Property Insurance, for all those properties east of the
37 artificial line; and,
38
39 WHEREAS, continued existence of this arbitrary imaginary line, with no basis in
40 science, which was created as a political compromise by the Florida Legislature and Florida
41 Insurance Commissioner as part of the FWUA, shall inordinately burden those property owners
42 east of the line, despite the fact that hurricanes affect all of Florida; and,
43
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WHEREAS, due to the devastation from the past two years' of hurricane events that
affected Flori~ all properties east of this arbitrary line face a 40 to 50 percent increase in their
insurance premiums; and,
WHEREAS, in addition, due to the FWUA, all those properties West of the arbitrary line
also shall have to pay a premium under the FWUA to help the state overcome the costs
associated with the past few hurricane events, however the premium shall not be as costly for
those West of the arbitrary line; and,
WHEREAS, the elimination of the artificial and unscientific line would benefit all of
Flori~ as the line has outlived its usefulness; as elimination of the line would create a greater
pool of insured persons; and ensure greater stability, security and protection for all of Florida.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND VILLAGE
COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
The above whereas clauses are incorporated by reference.
Section 2. The village council seeks the support of all neighboring communities in
Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County and all other affected communities
within Florida to support the village's efforts to lobby the Florida Legislature to remove the
arbitrary line under the FWUA legislation so that the interests of all Florida residents are further
protected and ensure that all residents can obtain affordable hurricane property damage insurance
by creating a larger pool of insured persons, and provide greater stability, security and protection
for all Florida property owners.
Section 3.
This resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval.
PASSED and ADOPTED this ~ day of December, 20 5.
Attest: l~G;:) _
M' an p' r
VIllage Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Eve
Vill
Page 2 of3
.. ~
1 FINAL VOTE AT ADOPTION:
2
3 Council Member Ed Feller YES
4
5 Council Member Paul Neidhart YES
6
7 Council Member John Breder YES
8
9 Vice-Mayor Linda Robinson YES
10
11 Mayor Eugene P. Flinn, Jr. YES
Page 3 of3