Insurance changes worry homeowners

MOON LAKE - Crews from RAB Foundation repair were hard at work Wednesday afternoon filling a sinkhole under a Moon Lake Home.

"The homeowners were experiencing sinkhole activity in October," according to RAB's Bill Fernandez. "It got worse, they got concerned, they called us to do an inspection and we tested the property and sure enough, it had a sink hole."

The major repairs will be paid by the homeowner's insurance company. Luckily for them, they got started before Governor Rick Scott signed a major insurance reform bill Tuesday afternoon.

Among other things, the new law allows insurance companies to determine what constitutes a sinkhole. Critics, like New Port Richey Senator Mike Fasano, claim the new law is anti-consumer.

"If you give the insurance companies the right to define what a sinkhole is, you'll probably never have another sinkhole in the state of Florida," he said.

Fasano said insurance reform will destroy neighborhoods already hurt by foreclosures.

"Homes will be collapsing. Many homes will depreciate in value, and it will hurt our communities," he said.

Supporters of the new law say most sinkhole claims are bogus.

"Between three and five percent of the claims were actually sinkholes," according to Greg Armstrong with the West Pasco Board of Realtors.

Armstrong helped shepherd the bill through the Legislature. He insists homeowners need a competitive insurance market, yet insurers have been overwhelmed with dubious claims.

"One-point-four-billion dollars was paid out in the Tampa Bay area in the last four years in sinkhole claims," Armstrong said.

Thanks to the new rules, RAB's Fernandez suggests those with legitimate sink hole claims may have a tough time finding anyone to fill them.

"I see an 80 to 90 percent drop in our business. It could jeopardize thousands in the industry," he said.