Florida’s Governor Race is heating up for Democrat Charlie Crist and Republican Ron DeSantis

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As election season continues, both Democrat Charlie Crist and Republican Ron DeSantis are touring the state trying to mobilize voters.

Crist stops by Jacksonville to speak about the difficulties Florida’s homeowners are facing with property insurance companies.

Meanwhile, DeSantis is in Miami launching the debut of the SunPass Savings Program to help commuters save money.

Crist takes on the issue of property insurance in downtown Jacksonville, saying that if elected he would call for a special session to stand up for the rights of homeowners in the Sunshine State.

“We’re here today because Governor DeSantis created a property insurance crisis in Florida,” Crist says. " Hundreds of thousands of Floridians are getting dumped by their insurance companies; thousands or more are at risk of losing their coverage; premiums are through the roof and they have literally doubled.”

Crist calls the situation an emergency and claims that DeSantis is “more focused on the White House, than your house.”

Crist recalls his time as Florida’s governor when he held a special legislative session to address the property insurance companies directly.

“As your governor, I took the property insurance companies on,” he said. “We lowered rates ten percent. We stabilized the market, and held insurance companies accountable.”

In May of this year, Governor DeSantis signed legislation addressing the need to reform property insurance policies in Senate Bill 2D, according to FLgov.com.

The bill included “pro-consumer measures” by providing two billion dollars in reinsurance relief over the next two years for Floridian homeowners and gave 150 million dollars to the program My Safe Florida Home, meant to help people hurricane-proof their homes and give premium discounts to those who participated in the program.

DeSantis said, “this package represents the most significant reforms to Florida’s homeowners insurance market in a generation.”

The bill was signed in a bipartisan effort to create transparency for insurance claims, deter companies from frivolous lawsuits, and help relieve insurance costs for homeowners.

DeSantis signed Senate Bill 4D, which focused its reforms on the safety of condominiums, saying that “these bills will help stabilize a problematic market, help Floridians harden their homes through the My Safe Florida Home Program, and pave the way for more choices for homeowners.”

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