WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Another one bites the dust
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s insurance market was already staggering, but the beleaguered industry got hit with another haymaker this week when Farmers Insurance said it will end residential, auto and umbrella policies in the state.
Tens of thousands of customers likely will have to look elsewhere for coverage, following an ongoing trend of insurers pulling out of Florida and the ballooning of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s policies.
Farmers said its move will affect only Farmers-branded policies and will not affect policies sold in the state by subsidiaries Foremost and Bristol West. It indicated the Farmers-branded policies make up about 30 percent of the policies sold by the affiliated companies in Florida.
A source told The News Service of Florida that about 100,000 Farmers policies across the residential, auto and umbrella lines of business could be affected, though a breakdown by policy type was not available.
Farmers will not write new policies or renew existing policies, with the non-renewals expected to play out over several months.
“This business decision was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure. Farmers offers insurance through several different brands, and this decision applies only to policies issued through our exclusive agency distribution channel,” Farmers spokesman Trevor Chapman said in a prepared statement.
Democrats wasted little time blaming Farmers’ exit from the Florida market on Republican leaders’ failure to address the state’s insurance troubles.
“Farmers Insurance leaving the state is a clear indication that nothing the Florida Republicans have done has solved the insurance crisis facing us,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said in a statement.
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, however, defended measures the Republican-controlled Legislature has taken in an effort to stabilize the industry.
“We understand the unfortunate decision to withdraw from the state was not based on the impacts of bipartisan reforms in recent years taken by the Legislature or the future of the state’s insurance market, but the company’s financials,” Renner tweeted. “While our reforms will take time to take effect, we put the right systems in place to strengthen our insurance market and provide Floridians with the access to coverage and peace of mind they need for their property.”
State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, a Republican, accused Farmers of “virtue signaling” by leaving the state. In a statement, Patronis criticized the insurer’s leaders for “playing politics” rather than “running a successful company.”
Patronis said he has directed his staff members to put “their heads together” to hold the company accountable for the decision to exit the state and to determine if an investigation is warranted. He also said company officials will “get hauled before the Legislature to answer for their actions when the next legislative session begins.”
SEEKING DISMISSAL
A state lawyer this week filed a motion asking the Florida Commission on Ethics to dismiss a complaint against former state Sen. Jack Latvala, more than five years after the Clearwater Republican resigned from office amid sexual-harassment allegations.
The request, filed Monday by Elizabeth Miller, an advocate for the commission, came after two women critical to the case refused to participate.
Latvala left office in 2017 after the release of a special master’s report about allegations he had sexually harassed Rachel Perrin Rogers, a former high-ranking Senate aide.
Latvala, long a prominent figure in Tallahassee who served as the powerful Senate appropriations chairman before his resignation, denied wrongdoing with the Senate aide but admitted he had an extramarital affair with former lobbyist Laura McLeod.
After receiving a complaint, the ethics commission in January 2018 launched a probe into the allegations. The commission last year rejected a proposed settlement and referred the case to the Division of Administrative Hearings.
But Miller on June 30 asked an administrative law judge to drop the case against Latvala because Perrin Rogers and McLeod had refused to participate in the inquiry. Miller’s request was granted, and the Division of Administrative Hearings case was closed, sending the issue back to the ethics commission.
In Monday’s motion, Miller echoed to the commision some of the same reasons she cited when asking the administrative law judge to drop the case.
“After Ms. Perrin Rogers failed to appear for two depositions, while under subpoena, it became apparent that she does not wish to participate in the proceedings,” Miller wrote. McLeod’s “reluctance to testify was made known” early in the commission’s investigation, she added.
The Senate in 2021 reached a $900,000 settlement with Perrin Rogers, a former chief legislative aide for then-Senate majority leader Wilton Simpson. Perrin Rogers said she faced discrimination and retaliation after filing the complaint against Latvala.
PLEASE HOLD
Florida Atlantic University’s search for a new president will remain suspended as an investigation gets underway, State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues informed school officials this week.
Rodrigues said in a letter Tuesday that Julie Leftheris, inspector general for the university system’s Board of Governors, will lead the investigation into what the chancellor called “anomalies” in the search.
Rodrigues last week directed FAU to put its search on hold, after the school’s Presidential Search Committee selected three finalists for the post.
The chancellor alleged that at least one candidate had been asked questions about their sexuality and preferred pronouns. Rodrigues also said that the search committee participated in a “straw poll” during a meeting in which members ranked their preferred candidates.
The meeting, which was not open to the public, was not recorded and as a result may have violated a state law, according to Rodrigues.
Brad Levine, chairman of the FAU search committee, has disputed the allegation that the search process was conducted improperly and asked Rodrigues to allow the search to resume.
But Rodrigues in his letter, which an FAU spokeswoman said was received by the school Wednesday, denied the request and said the “search process will remain suspended until the conclusion of our investigation.”
The suspension of the search has fueled speculation that state Rep. Randy Fine, R-Brevard County, was in the running for the post. Fine, an ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, was not among the three finalists put forward by the school last week.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Florida insurance market took a hit Tuesday, as Farmers Insurance said it will end residential, auto and umbrella policies in the state, forcing tens of thousands of customers to look elsewhere for coverage.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The only time your office has held an insurance company accountable is when you’re looking to collect a campaign check.” — State Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach, in response to a Twitter post by state CFO Jimmy Patronis.