For most of the past six years as insurance commissioner, Nelson has advocated creating a federal disaster program to induce more companies to offer insurance to homeowners in high-risk areas, such as Florida's coast. The bill sponsored by McCollum and fellow Republican Senate candidate Rick Lazio of New York, would enable insurers to buy reinsurance through the Treasury. The McCollum campaign pointed to Nelson's prior support of that concept and suggested he was backing away from the McCollum bill because he didn't want his chief rival for U.S. Senate to benefit. Officials in the state insurance department said Nelson remains strongly supportive of the concept, butthe Lazio-McCollum bill is written so that the costs of the catastrophic funds could be shifted onto policyholders. The bill has support by Democrats and Republicans in the Florida congressional delegation, but has drawn strong opposition from consumer, taxpayer and environmental groups.
Critics call it a bailout package for big insurance companies.
TheHouse was supposed to vote on the bill in June, butHouse leaders pulled it before a vote was scheduled. St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.