A survey of priority issues for Florida voters has found that concerns about the homeowners insurance market are number two on their list.

The survey was released today by the Property and Casualty Insurance Association of American (PCI), which said it hoped the research would further what it sees as a needed dialogue on homeowners' insurance.

The survey of 800 persons, conducted January 20-22, found that homeowners' insurance rates were second only to a property tax issue that was being voted on the following week.

Forty-two percent of those surveyed said insurance is at "crisis" level, according to Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the survey, and 75 percent said the measures passed by the state legislature last year have not solved problems.

The goal of the survey, according to PCI President David Sampson, is to strengthen the state's insurance market and "protect the state's economy as it recovers from the next major hurricane, whenever it strikes."

Mr. Sampson recognized that "these are ambitious goals" that "certainly won't happen overnight," but argued that the survey would help further discussions on the issue among "all the relevant stakeholders," including insurers, policyholders, business interests and state lawmakers.

According to the survey, Mr. Sampson noted, voters believed that insurance coverage should be based on risk, by a margin of 69-to-29 percent, and a significantly higher percentage of those homeowners with coverage through a private insurer were satisfied with their insurers' service than those who obtained coverage through the state-run insurer.

"There can be no long-term, comprehensive solution without the private sector being part of that discussion," he said.

The survey, Mr. Sampson added, was also designed to show where voters, many of whom are also policyholders, stand on the issue.

"The policyholders have been left out, to a great extent, of this dialogue," Mr. Sampson said. "What we're worried about is finding a comprehensive, long-term, meaningful solution that addresses affordability and availability that does not put more of a burden on the state, or the taxpayers."

Mr. Sampson said that some state lawmakers have also embraced the idea that more work is already needed on the issue. He said that "a couple of bills" are set for consideration by legislative committees.

"There are a number of legislators that are recognizing that there may be some adjustments that need to be made going forward," he said.

However, he also sought to defend the survey in response to reporters' questions, arguing that it was not undertaken or designed to push an agenda. "We're not trying to dictate" a solution, he said. "This is not a push poll; this is not a push survey."

Special Reports /

PCI Fla. Survey Finds Insurance On Voters' Minds

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