The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is more than ready to help private property insurers pay claims if necessary this storm season.
Cat fund officials say there is $17.6 billion available this year—the second straight year that the fund has more money than it could possibly need to augment claim payouts. The panel that oversees the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is set to certify the numbers this afternoon.
A healthy storm cat fund is good news for property insurance customers, because anything their companies plus the cat fund can’t pay, is charged to those policyholders in the form of a temporary surcharge, pejoratively known as the “hurricane tax.”
Officials say the fund has grown because Florida has largely avoided major storms since 2005.