Tallahassee Spotlight: Garrett Richter
For this installment of Tallahassee Spotlight, we focus on a Senate member at the center of all property insurance discussions in the Florida Legislature. Senator Richter is the Chairman of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. All property insurance legislation must come through his committee at some point. In addition to serving as Chairman, Senator Richter has personally sponsored the most significant property insurance bills over the last few years:
- SB 2044 (2010) – made sweeping changes to Florida’s insurance laws (made it easier to increase rates)
- SB 408 (2011) – made sweeping changes to Florida’s insurance laws SIGNED INTO LAW
- SB 1950 (2009) – imposed certain regulations on Public Adjusters
Those bills, as well as his voting record on the following bills/amendments illustrate his pro-industry inclination:
- SB 2264 (2010) – imposed various restrictions on Public Adjusters. Voted Yes in Committee and on the Floor
In the following quotes, Senator Richter defends his views on Florida’s insurance problems:
This bill [SB408] is very consumer friendly…It attacks cost drivers. It attacks fraud. It promotes competition….All of those things, he said, will lower costs for consumers.
Sweeping property insurance bill passes Senate, St. Petersburg Times, April 28, 2011
I commend Governor Scott for signing SB 408 this afternoon as we continue to promote a competitive market with solvent companies that our policyholders can rely on. SB 408 is a result of a collaborative effort among regulators, insurers and consumer advocates.
Senator Richter Press Release, May 17, 2011
Despite the fact that we haven't had a major category hurricane (in the last few years), Florida has been hit with hurricane sinkhole.
Florida Lawmakers Consider Insurance 'Bailout' After Puzzling Spike in Sinkhole Claims, Fox News, April 19, 2011
Richter believes insurance companies have been tagged for millions of dollars in questionable, if not fraudulent, claims where policyholders received settlements for something as minor as a crack in the driveway or didn't use settlement money to repair damages.
Lawmakers delay action on property insurance bill, Gainesville Sun, February 7, 2011
Senator Richter was given the chance to provide answers to a standard questionnaire, but he never responded to my inquiry. Since the Senator was unavailable or unwilling to respond, we can only let his pro-industry record speak for itself. Indeed, after a close examination of his recent votes, it is clear that Senator Richter is no friend to Florida’s 8 million policyholders.
As a side note, I am unaware of which "consumer advocates" were a part of the "collaboration" that resulted in SB 408...
If Florida has the misfortune of having a major hurricane event this year, this "consumer friendly" legislation (SB 408) will in my opinion double down the misery for all of us in the aftermath of a very long prolonged recovery period , if in fact we are able to recover. If interested in why I think they got it wrong you can read the summer edition of my firms newsletter, On Property where the featured article is titled Florida Property Insurance Reform Version 2011- Bad Timing Given the Symbiotic Relationship of Property Insurance , Real Estate, and the Bad Economy. This can be found in the Resource section of the main page in the Newsletter Archives on our web site publicadjuster.com.
I would be interested to see the other side (supporters of SB 408) post a rebuttal to my thinking on this blog
Sean,
One of the troubling aspects of this legislation is that it involves so many different aspects of insurance law. If it was an omnibus bill dealing with one topic of insurance law, the outcome of the legislation would be on the merits of that one issue. Instead, lawmakers are forced to vote up or down on only one bill that involves completely different issues.
This method of lawmaking is flawed and results in bad policy reflected in illogical laws. Our governing leadership should stop the practice.
There is an old saying that "EVERYBODY GETS THE KIND OF JUSTICE THEY CAN AFFORD" It seems to me that the recent goings on in Tallahassee are an example of that.
Daniel