Opinion piece by William Stander, executive director of the Florida Property & Casualty Association.

The conclusions reached by your columnist about Florida-based home insurers’ ability to pay claims in the event our state is hit by one or more storms in a single season are simply not true.

Florida domestic insurers currently have a combined surplus of approximately $2.4 billion and carry first-event catastrophe reinsurance of approximately $20 billion. That translates into a true total claims-paying ability for a catastrophic first event in excess of $22 billion. Coverage for second and subsequent events has also been purchased.

Read the entire letter here