Editors note: In light of the special session on insurance, which is expected to consider the Governor's Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee, a group of newly elected House Democrats have come forward with their own plan that focuses on policyholders' rates.

The Homeowners' Protection Act requires that the state take a business-minded approach to begin repairing Florida's broken insurance market and deliver meaningful rate reduction. First, to identify solutions to the insurance crisis, we must think like a business owner. Under the current circumstances, the product (windstorm insurance coverage) offered through the private sector is so costly that consumers are not willing or able to afford the product. Consensus has been reached that the underlying factor driving the high price of the product is the soaring cost of reinsurance purchased from the private market.

Overhauling the current system requires that a complex, but critical question be answered: How much risk can the people of Florida responsibly assume while maximizing premium savings? The current system in place has the state already assuming unprecedented risk through Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the Property & Casualty Joint Underwriter Association, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Fund. Unfortunately, the people of Florida have assumed the most irresponsible risk with no cost savings and without spreading the risk.