By: Rick Flagg
Source: 540wfla.com
Governor Charlie Crist, Wednesday, vetoed a bill that would have allowed insurance giants like State Farm to ignore the Florida Insurance Commissioner and raise their rates to consumers.
Although Governor Crist did not comment after the veto was issued, over the past several weeks he has been critical of the House Bill 1171.
“To have that industry unregulated, in essence, is not something that is terribly appealing to me nor do I think it is terribly fair to the consumer,” Crist said.
The bill was an olive branch to State Farm, which plans to stop selling homeowners insurance in Florida. State Farm is bailing because the insurance commissioner won’t let them raise rates and this would have allowed them to sell policies and set rates that can’t be overruled by the commissioner.