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CITIZENS
-- CAN WE STAND IT ANY LONGER?
Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
another example that private insurance companies are "whining" all the way to the bank! See below! To make it really short: We owners here in Florida are really sick and tired of it! It's just too much to bear to read about all the profits of the insurance companies and the "earnings" of their executives -- and then look at our property insurance bills!
We just can't afford to have a "House leadership team" ruin our finances and lives -- and welfare of our families! AND THEY ARE SERIOUSLY WORKING ON IT! Difficult times call for drastic measures! And times are more difficult than some of our "leaders" seem to think!
Warm Regards,
Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
The best news for Florida's homeowners and condo-owners since quite a while --
please celebrate
with HIGH FIVES FOR GOVERNOR CHARLIE!
Governor
Crist pushes for Citizens Property to compete against private insurance firms
Please
see article at: http://www.ccfj.
We consumers have pushed
the House Speaker and his "leadership team" for quite a while to
hear the bills and get them up to the floor vote. These are good bills
that will definitely decrease our insurance premiums. The Consumer
Insurance Alliance has supported these bills from DAY ONE -- see: http://www.ccfj.
We are asking for a fair hearing of these bills and our legislators to vote on it -- publicly, not behind closed doors! We have been saying the same about community association bill H 1373 -- in its original version. Don't forget, many of us pay more association assessments than property tax and property insurance together, caused by financial mismanagement, uncontrolled spending and even clear embezzlement!
OUR
PLEA TO THE LEADERSHIP:
Give all these
bills a fair hearing and a floor vote! We citizens have the right to see who
is for us -- and who is against us!
Don't kill bills
behind closed doors -- please do it in public if you feel so inclined --
giving us voters the opportunity to respond at the ballot box!
There is still
plenty of time to correct all the mistakes made in the first half of the
session! Our bank accounts desperately need relief!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
PROPERTY
INSURANCE -- SPECIAL SESSION
PLEASE FORWARD TO
YOUR E-MAIL GROUPS!
Dear Florida Homeowners
and Condo-Owners,
the special session
dealing with property insurance reforms has started. All of us feel the pinch
of outrageous property insurance premiums. And the insurance companies
are crying all the way to the bank! More than $150 billion profits in the last
three years!
Some good bills have
already been filed, some amendments are necessary! Our newly formed Consumer
Insurance Coalition has made their demands known in a press release!
See: http://www.ccfj.net/ConsCoalpress2.htm
The Rally in Tally will start today at 12.15 p.m. on the plaza between old and new capitol. Watch CBS for good coverage! Some of our coalition partners bus in their folks!
If you can't make it to
Tallie please let your voice be heard by contacting your local legislators.
Here are the contact lists
for your legislators:
House Representatives: http://www.ccfj.net/HOUSEaddresses.htm Senators: http://www.ccfj.net/SENATEaddresses.htm
Please send e-mails
to your legislators -- and don't forget to call their district offices today!
We really do need strong reforms! The opposition to insurance reforms is out
in full force. We can't outspend them -- they already have all our
money -- but we have the numbers on our side -- if you all help! Just
complaining doesn't do it -- get active! It may take you 15 minutes -- but
it's sure worth the while!
Members of our great
CONSUMER INSURANCE COALITION are working in Tallahassee on our behalf.
Help them by letting your legislators know that we need their support in
passing consumer-friendly bills that will reduce our property insurance
premiums!
YOUR HELP
IS NEEDED!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor Charlie
Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp,
Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
We are
hearing all the stories from insurance companies that had to pay out
huge settlements after the hurricanes -- claiming they made huge losses. That
may be true, but what about all the fat years when nothing serious really
happened that caused insurance claims? Did we hear them complaining that they
made too much profits?
The
only ones losing here in Florida are the homeowners. Many of them
never made a claim in their life, but still got hit with outrageous premium
increases. Just read this article from today's Miami Herald. It sure paints a
totally different picture and just underlines the consumers' claim that insurance
companies are crying all the way to the bank. See: http://www.ccfj.net/inshealthyprofits.htm
It
is up to our legislators and elected officials to do the right thing in next
week's special session in Tallahassee.
Our
Consumer Coalition (See: http://www.ccfj.net/ConsCoalPressRelease.htm )
is organizing a big rally in front of the Capitol on Tuesday, January
16, 2007, at 12.15 p.m.
I would
like to thank the Governor and all the elected officials for
discussing our insurance problems -- and our suggestions for reforms -- with
the representatives of our coalition this week and for all the support they
received!
The bills
created by House and Senate are showing that finally our consumers' requests
are being considered! There are still amendments necessary to assure that we
consumers reap the benefits of the bills and get the financial relief we
really need.
We
definitely are on the right way! Let's continue this way, let's make the
needed changes to the bills and give Florida's homeowners the financial relief
we need to protect the welfare of our families!
Always
remember: Whatever will be done -- the insurers will still continue to cry all
the way to the bank!
Warm Regards,
IN ALLIANCE WITH:
Property Owners Association in
the Villages (POA)
Florida Consumer Action Network, Inc. (FCAN) H.A.C. FLORIDA, INC. "Having Affordable Coverage" Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe (FIRM) Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Floridians In Action (FIA) Florida Public Interest Group (PIRG) Coalition Of Florida Condominium Associations (COFCA) League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 11 Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches (FHCGPB)
Dear Governor Charlie Crist,
Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
at this moment consumer advocates
from a Consumer Coalition newly formed to fight the insurance crisis are
holding a press conference in the press center of the Capitol announcing the
view of Florida's consumers: WE CAN'T STAND IT ANY MORE!
So far nine big consumer
organizations have joined to battle the property insurance crisis in Florida.
More are in the process of joining!
PLEASE GO HERE FOR THE
PRESS RELEASE AND MORE INFORMATION:
The message is clear:
FLORIDA'S PROPERTY OWNERS
NEED REFORMS -- REAL FAST!
OUR FINANCIAL WELFARE IS
AT STAKE!
IF YOU ARE A
LEGISLATOR: PLEASE CONSIDER THE WELFARE OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS -- NOT THE
PROFITS OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY!
IF YOU ARE A PROPERTY
OWNER: JOIN THE CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONS TRYING TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
IT IS HIGH TIME THAT
FLORIDA'S CONSUMERS MAKE THEIR VOICE HEARD BEFORE WE ARE DRIVEN OUT OF OUR
HOMES!
PLEASE READ THE PRESS
RELEASE -- AND ACT ACCORDINGLY!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
IN ALLIANCE WITH:
Property Owners Association in
the Villages (POA)
Florida Consumer Action Network, Inc. (FCAN) H.A.C. FLORIDA, INC. "Having Affordable Coverage" Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe (FIRM) Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Floridians In Action (FIA) Florida Public Interest Group (PIRG) Coalition Of Florida Condominium Associations (COFCA) League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 11 Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches (FHCGPB) Dear
The
financial welfare of Florida’s homeowners and condo-owners is
under serious attack: Property Insurance Premiums, Property Tax bills and
Special Assessments from property owners’ associations are killing our
budgets and leave many families asking: Food or bills? For many there is
not enough in the bank account to pay for both! I
don’t think that we have to discuss the property insurance crisis any
longer. The headlines in the media are telling the story! And it seems –
slowly but surely – more and more legislators are getting the message --
if there wouldn’t be House Representatives like Dennis Ross (R-Lakeland)
and Ron Brown (R-
DeFuniak Springs), who are blowing the horn for the insurance industry.
Sometimes you wonder if they think they have been elected to office by the
insurance industry – not by These
are two Representatives that have been chosen by the new Speaker to fill
important House leadership positions! A scary thought! But
hopefully the honest legislators, who are still trying to represent their
constituents, will prevail. Quite a few are raising their voices! There is no
time to lure the insurance companies back to Property
taxes are going up rapidly – and our system is failing many owners. In case
you haven’t figured it out: If the property tax bills would have been mailed
before November 7 we would have even less Republican legislators serving in And
if all that isn’t enough to kill property owners’ budgets we have the more
or less unregulated homeowners’ and condo-owners’ associations that go on
uncontrolled spending sprees and just levy special assessments if they
devastated the regular funds. Let’s finally stop the fairy tale of the
“poor volunteers” serving on association boards. There are really many
good, well-intentioned board members. But the existing legislative loop holes
are allowing the bad guys to get away with all kinds of financial shenanigans,
allowing them to fill their own pockets. Read
the article: TALES
FROM THE GALT GULAG
-- http://www.ccfj.net/condogaltgulag.html
that was
published in the Ft. Lauderdale City News. [ In case you’re not familiar
with the “Galt Mile”: That’s the name for the famous (or infamous) fancy
condos at the beaches of It
shows you what is really going on behind the closed office doors of many
condominium and homeowners’ associations. What is described here
happens in many associations – because there is barely any enforcement of
the existing laws and absolutely no accountability of the people in charge!
And the service providers love it this way: It’s heaven for attorneys to
make a fast buck! We
will see in the near future many families folding their tents (or homes!) and
have to give in to the three-pronged attack on their finances. How often do we
have to repeat: We owners need solutions
fast! Our financial welfare is at stake! The
holidays are coming up, but after the holidays we need our legislators to work
full speed to remedy the crisis situation! We need solutions for ALL
THREE ISSUES: PROPERTY INSURANCE, PROPERTY TAX and ASSOCIATION REGULATION! We don’t need more “Band-Aids” and no more “Feel-Good” measures – WE REALLY NEED SOLUTIONS! Warm
Regards,
Dear
The
Press Release below speaks for itself. As expected the SEE:
http://www.ccfj.net/insspecialsesspressrelease.htm
But,
we’ll see how far the new leadership will be willing to go and if they are
willing to make real sweeping changes, necessary to find a real solution,
meaning reasonable insurance premiums for us – the owners! Let’s
see how far the election campaign promises will go! Warm
Regards,
Dear Florida Homeowners and Condo-Owners, The Office of Insurance Regulation published a press release regarding their new website, which allows all citizens to give their input if they are unable to attend one of the public hearings the office is planning to hold at different locations. As the St. Petersburg Times stated in yesterday’s article (Citizens' new site asks for suggestions : ( http://www.ccfj.net/inscitizenwebsite.htm ) “This is something that should have happened two years ago.” The website is easy to navigate, just type in your comments! Even if many of you are frustrated and angry, please make serious suggestions, so we can all work together to solve the serious problems we are all facing. According to the St. Pete Times Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is on the right track and we might consider finding feasible solutions by using Citizens. It’s obvious – the insurance industry just wants our
money, not our risks! So, may be we should do them a favor and create our own
agency for our complete property insurance needs? It’s time to tell the insurance industry that we are no longer willing to play their games! So, please let your voice be heard at: http://www.citizensforabettercitizens.com Warm regards, Jan Bergemann, President Dear Friends and Members,
if you're living
on the West Coast -- tomorrow is your chance to be heard
in LARGO/CLEARWATER at the meeting of the Florida
Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee!
Please see
announcement: http://www.ccfj.net/InsLargoFCPIRC.htm (Map
is provided!)
PUBLIC INPUT BETWEEN 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. -- this time officially on a published agenda.
They will be
pushing a bill proposal offering small discounts on insurance premiums --
after owners invest lots of money in improvements -- like hurricane shutters!
It doesn't help us if they raise our premiums by 500%, only to give us a 15% discount after investing lots of money -- money we already don't have any more after paying this year's insurance premiums and property taxes.
WE REALLY NEED SERIOUS CHANGES! NOT LIPSERVICE!
HERE
IS YOUR CHANCE TO BE HEARD AND TO VOICE YOUR IDEAS!
SITTING AT HOME DOESN'T LOWER YOUR PROPERTY INSURANCE PREMIUMS!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor Jeb Bush, Dear
Legislators, Friends and Members,
It seems this is our only way to make our
government officials aware that we owners need help -- real fast: Homeowners
Group Taking Insurance Fight To Streets
As you all may have realized: Florida's
citizens are losing the trust in the ability of our government to solve
the insurance crisis all we owners are facing. Citizens are getting fed up
with receiving huge property insurance bills -- bills many of us are
unable to pay! If this problem isn't solved real fast many
families, especially retirees and lower income families, will lose their
homes.
FLORIDA'S CITIZENS
ARE SICK AND TIRED OF LISTENING TO DISCUSSIONS!
We need changes and we need them fast! HAC
(Homeowners
Against Citizens) is calling for a Protest Rally
in Pasco County on Saturday, October 7, 2006 between 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. at
7530 Little Rd., New Port Richey, Fl 34654. Please see announcement at: http://www.ccfj.net/HACRallyFlyer.pdf
Florida's owners need action -- and a solution that gives
us relief -- not just some kind words! Our bank accounts call for
fast action, not promises for the future!
APPEAL
TO HOMEOWNERS AND CONDO-OWNERS: PLEASE JOIN THESE RALLIES THAT WILL BE
ORGANIZED ALL OVER FLORIDA! IT SEEMS ONLY A PUBLIC OUTCRY WILL CREATE THE
NECESSARY CHANGES! SEE YOU THERE!
Property Insurance,
Property Taxes and Special Assessments in associations are devastating our
finances a lot more than hurricanes!
Warm
Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor Jeb Bush, Dear
Legislators, Friends and Members,
today's
headline in the Daytona Beach News-Journal says it all: Nationwide
wants to double rates!
It's pretty obvious that
the Florida Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee
is missing the point! Improving our home safety and getting a few percent
discount for fancy hurricane protections won't help!
WHATEVER YOU DO, STOP THIS FINANCIAL DISASTER! Property
Insurance Premiums, Property Taxes and Lawsuits in Associations are
killing us!
Warm
Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. Dear Governor Jeb Bush, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
After reading the report of the meeting of the Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee in Orlando I wasn't sure if I read correctly. But after reading the same statements in different newspapers I was finally convinced that there was nothing wrong with my reading, but there is something seriously wrong with the ideas of certain people who are getting greedier by the day.
We all know the
saying: HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF!
I
was born in a city that prides itself that it was part of a group of cities
in Europe that created the first insurance for merchant ship owners --
called the HANSE. These cities created an insurance pool that insured
merchants against storms -- and PIRATES!
After reading through lots of proposals and suggestions I think one thing is pretty clear: No more Cherry Picking!
We owners just can't
afford that the big insurance companies take off with the big profits from
the "good" risks and leave us owners with holding the bag, meaning
outrageous insurance premiums that will drive many families out of their
homes.
We owners plainly can't
compromise any longer -- we are fighting for our financial survival.
And if the insurance companies can't come up with feasible solutions, we,
the citizens, have to take the initiative, under the leadership of our
elected officials, to create our own insurance -- as did the cities in
Europe in the middle ages.
We just can't
afford "NICE" any more!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. |
