Klein Leads Full Florida Delegation, Including All Democrats and Republicans, In Call for Action on Homeowners’ Defense Act

Washington, D.C. – September 30, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) led the entire Florida Delegation to the U.S. House, including all Republicans and Democrats, in a letter today calling for urgent action on the Homeowners’ Defense Act. This bipartisan letter expresses strong support for Congressman Klein’s bipartisan legislation to reduce the cost of homeowners’ insurance for families in Floridaand around the country.

This extraordinary show of bipartisanship just weeks before midterm elections demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Congressman Klein’s legislation and makes crystal clear that the Homeowners’ Defense Act is a common sense, private market solution to bring down the cost of homeowners’ insurance.

In today’s letter, every single Republican and Democrat representing Floridain the U.S. House stood together in a call for quick action on this important bill, which will bring real relief to families in these difficult economic times.

The full text of the letter is below and attached.

September 30, 2010

Dear Speaker Pelosi/Majority Leader Hoyer:

It has been more than 15 years since Hurricane Andrew crashed into South Florida, but homeowners are still feeling its impact. Since that storm, Floridians have seen their insurance premiums increase dramatically every summer – storm or no storm. As too many Floridahomeowners know first-hand, some insurance companies have been cherry-picking their customers, refusing to write policies, or limiting the scope of their coverage.

This is not just a problem for Florida. An alarming number of families across the country have already had their homeowners insurance coverage dropped or are currently slated for non-renewal by their insurance company, including tens of thousands of homeowners in Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Texas.

We need a comprehensive and integrated approach to disaster preparation and recovery, which is why we write to you to ask for your continued support of the Homeowner’s Defense Act of 2009 (HR2555). This legislation harnesses the power of the private market to pool the risk of all kinds of natural disasters. This public-private partnership would leverage the private sector to do what it does best in delivering products and services while also developing a smarter approach for the public sector. This is a market-based, federalist approach to making critical improvements to our nation’s level of preparedness. By spreading the risk, we can make sure insurance is working like it is supposed to and bring down costs for homeowners across the country.

The reason this bill is so urgently needed, and that it is so strongly supported by disaster experts, senior citizens, and hard-working families, is that the current system is broken. As things stand now, natural disasters, no matter where they happen, impact Americans in all 50 states. Clean-up in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina cost American taxpayers nationwide a total of nearly $100 billion – over $800 per family. These days, we cannot pick up a newspaper or turn on the television without seeing scenes from the most recent natural disaster. The problem is, under the current system, our only post-disaster plan involves calling on American taxpayers to cough up even more of their hard-earned money. The current system is nothing more than a constant cycle of bailouts at taxpayer expense, and we won’t stand for it any more.

This legislation passed out of the Financial Services Committee in April with bipartisan support, and has over 70 Democratic and Republican cosponsors from over 30 states. We would like to have this bill scheduled for consideration on the House floor at the earliest possible date.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Ron Klein, Florida, 22nd

Gus Bilirakis, Florida, 9th

Allen Boyd, Florida, 2nd

Corrine Brown, Florida, 3rd

Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida, 5th

Vern Buchanan, Florida, 13th

Ander Crenshaw, Florida, 4th

Kathy Castor, Florida, 11th

Ted Deutch, Florida, 19th

LincolnDiaz-Balart, Florida, 21st

Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida, 25th

Alan Grayson, Florida, 8th

Alcee Hastings, Florida, 23rd

Suzanne Kosmas, Florida, 24th

Connie Mack, Florida, 14th

Kendrick Meek, Florida, 17th

John Mica, Florida, 7th

Jeff Miller, Florida, 1st

Bill Posey, Florida, 15th

Adam Putnam, Florida, 12th

Tom Rooney, Florida, 16th

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida, 18th

Cliff Stearns, Florida, 6th

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida, 20th

Bill Young, Florida, 10th