Insurance Surcharge No Big Deal
The Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times ran front page articles regarding a surcharge being made to all policyholders in Florida. The cost for a typical policyholder with a $1,000 to $1,500 premium is $30 to $40. This morning I spent nearly $90 to fill my car's gas tank. Not that long ago, it cost about $60. So, to put that insurance surcharge in perspective, many of us pay the same additional amount as the annual surcharge every week or so when we fill our gas tanks. The story did not deserve front page coverage. What does deserve to be on the front page is an article informing people what the assessment would be if a Hurricane Katrina struck Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa. The assessment would be hundreds, even thousands, of dollars tacked on to every auto, boat and homeowner's policy.
