Berfield Denies Being Influenced by Insurance Industry Contributions

Rep. Kim Berfield, the GOP nominee for Senate District 16, has been forced to deny that she is "carrying water for the insurance industry," as Bill Newton, Executive Director of the Florida Consumer Action Network said. She was even named legislator of the year in 2004 by the Florida Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Florida Insurance Council.

Insurance interests have contributed $73,000 into her campaign, 13 percent of her total and almist 15 times as much as Rep. Charlie Justice, the Democratic nominee.

"It's not that I always agree with them," Berfield said. "I learn the issues, and I look them square in the eye and say I'm with you or I'm against you and these are the reasons why."

During a time of skyrocketing premiums, the perception that a candidate is on the side of the insurance can be political poison. In a July debate, Rep. Frank Farkas, her opponent in the GOP primary, said she could not understand the difficulty many Floridians have paying their property insurance premiums because she does not property.

On the last day of the 2006 legislative session, Berfield voted for legislation that gave insurance companies the freedom to raise premiums up to 5 percent annually without regulatory review. It also established a state-funded matching grant for homeowners who make hurricane improvements.

"The tradeoff?" said Justice, who voted against the bill. "A grant program for rate hikes without government oversight."

Berfield defends her vote, saying she opposed an effort by insurance lobbyists for to get increases of up to 25 percent.

Below are a number of pieces of legislation and how the two candidates voted:

Senate Bill 1980 in 2006
* Kim Berfield: Yes
* Charlie Justice: No
It established a state matching grant to homeowners who make hurricane improvements. It also gave all insurance companies more leeway to raise premiums by 5 percent annually without regulatory review. It gave a new rate-setting structure for the state-run insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., and created a new way to assess property insurance policyholders when Citizens runs a debt.

Senate Bill 1486 in 2005
* Kim Berfield: No
* Charlie Justice: No
The bill made some modest changes to the state property
insurance market, giving consumers some protection against being dumped by their insurance carrier after a storm and giving insurers the ability to get more money out of the hurricane catastrophe fund, particularly after multiple
hurricanes.

House Bill 1937 in 2005
* Kim Berfield: Yes
* Charlie Justice: No
The bill placed limits on what insurance companies had to pay for buildings damaged by fire, wind, flooding and hurricanes.

Senate Bill 2488 in 2004
* Kim Berfield: Yes
* Charlie Justice: Yes
The bill expanded the capacity of the state-sponsored reinsurance fund, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. It lowered the amount of storm-related claims insurance carriers would have to pay before the fund is used and raised the maximum post-hurricane assessment on Florida policyholders.

Senate Bill 50A in 2003
* Kim Berfield: Yes
* Charlie Justice: No
The bill, considered flawed even among supporters, was the most comprehensive change to the state's workers' compensation law in nearly a decade. It made it more difficult for injured workers to collect permanent total disability payments. It also limited the amount of money attorneys for the injured could receive. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation recently said the bill resulted in a 39 percent
statewide average rate decrease.