Fran...Chas...a few years back, I went to a Habitat dinner, and President Carter was there. Still an "old school" gentleman really rtying to make a difference...a rarity, these days.


Russ

Please don't take this wrong, but there are differing points of view on the insurance thing.
Hurricanes ARE going to hit the Florida coast, sooner or later. You can build a house there and expect it to get hit, and pay through the nose for insurance, or you can not build a house there. Either way, hurricanes don't hit where I live, and I really don't want to share the cost of that insurance.
I don't think there's an easy answer, but if you look up "corrupt politicans" in the dictionary it will show a map of Louisiana!
One governor is still in jail, and he was most likely the LEAST corrupt we've had.
Just another point of view.
DonM

Jimmy is doing some great humanitarian work, and I don't want to start a political debate here, but let's not forget that this country's highest peacetime inflation rate was during the late 70's, when Jimmy was President ...
t.

Hate Insurance Companies
Love Jimmy Carter



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Larry
SynthZone Frapper

Although my wife thinks I already have enough bad influences in my life, a visit from you, Russ, would be most welcome . By the time you get there, I should have learned some Pedal Steel (for our jam session) and memorized a good chunk of the Hank Williams fakebook. Seriously, we have a nice roomy (4/5.5 - don't ask why it has so many baths???) house and we love company, especially fellow musicians. You would be most welcome.

chas

Oddly enough, Steve, there seem to be parts of the state that aren't as badly affected by the insurance problem, but here in the Tampa area it's out of control. The (last resort) state run Citizens Insurance Co. has to, by law, charge 20% more than the highest quoted commercial premium. One of the local TV stations ran the case of a guy in South Tampa whose house (shack, really) had been appraised for $124,000 and got an insurance bill of $5600 from Citizens. This was extreme but shows the extent of the problem. When we moved here just over two years ago, our premium was @ $5400, now it's over $9000. Unless there is some legislative relief, only the very wealthy will be able to afford to live here (or the uninsured). If you do end up shoping for a house in Florida, make sure you get several insurance estimates before you sign on the dotted line.

chas

PS: It is nice and warm here, though.


[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 11-17-2006).]

[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 11-17-2006).]

I would like to first say that Jimmy Carter was a good president that make a big mistake by surrounding himself with A$$E$ and a very bad cabinet that destroyed the good he keep trying to do..he was a peoples president....
second, come down here where my property taxes just went up to $150.00 a year from
$115.00 a year last year.....it just makes me mad...however, we don't have Mexican FEMA
down here so no handouts and the insurance for hurricanes down here is through the roof
better to save your money until you need it to rebuild or repair after a storm....
TR

So what you are saying, DonM, is that if you have an automobile accident, the cost to the insurance company should not get shared amongst ALL it's automotive policy holders, just the ones who have accidents?

That's not insurance..... that's robbery.

Florida residents pay money to insurance companies that also cover California earthquakes, and Arkansan tornados, and Oregonian floods. Why are our burdens not shared as equally as these others'?

Damned, living aboard a 52-foot sailboat is looking better every day. No property taxes, insurance rates are still very reasonable, slip rent is less than property tax, and it usually includes electricity. And, if you don't like the weather, put up the sails and head for another part of the wold.

Up here in the People's Republic of Maryland we too were slammed with higher tax bills after last year's hurricane season. Keep in mind, however, that we didn't have one that hit our shores--the insurance companies just screwed us, and the Maryland State Insurance Comission, which is run by ex-insurance industry CEOs, gave the companies their blessings. Now, the public service commission, which is a similar agency, is allowing the electric company to raise its rates by 72 percent.

I have been fighting my property tax increases for more than 35 years, and when I walk into the tax office I'm armed to the teeth with solid information that refutes their increase justifications. Until this past assessment, I have beat the bastards into the ground, but this time I lost. Ironically, one of the individuals that was sitting on the tax appeal board was an old friend that I had not seen in about 10 years. He voted against me! Paybacks are hell, and one day he's gonna' need a favor from me!

As for the insurance, you have to shop wisely for home-owners insurance, and do so on an annual basis. I have been able to lower my insurance burden on a half-dozen occasions during the past three decades, and the irony of this is I currently am back to the first carrier I had. I went with higher deductables, and a more realistic replacement cost. Some companies claimed they could not replace my home for what I said, but those who wanted my business eventually caved in and agreed with me.

Now, all I have to do is convice my wife that sailboat life ain't so bad!

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

That's not what I said at all. What I said, and I will rephrase, is why build a house where you KNOW there is an extreme danger, whether it be a house in the hurricane path, or a house on the Mississippi river bed. There WILL be a hurricane and there will be a flood. For a tornado to strike twice in the same place is very rare.
I feel the same way about earthquakes. If you live on a fault line, expect to get all shook up, but don't expect me to build the house back for you.
Car insurance is underwritten by area. When I moved from Arkansas to Louisiana, about 50 miles, by car insurance doubled. Same car, same coverage
I said there is no easy answer.
While we're at it, I also think we should cut off 90 percent of foreign aid and use that money to solve such problems as insurance rates, health care, and border security.
RANT, RANT!
DonM