Crist's Citizens plan gets a setback

Gov. Charlie Crist's personal quest to make state-backed Citizens Property Insurance a true competitor took a major hit Monday when the House Policy and Budget Council approved a bill that would do just the opposite. In its original form, HB 1267, sponsored by Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, would allow homeowners who are insured privately to switch to Citizens if their insurance company is charging 15 percent more than Citizens. Under current law, enacted in January, homeowners can jump to Citizens only if the premium difference is 25 percent higher. Good for the consumer, bad for the insurance industry. A similar bill knocking the threshold down to 15 percent is in the Senate. But Monday, House members at first stripped all percentage language out of their proposal. Later, they put the 25 percent threshold back in, reverting back to existing law.

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