Although I do not believe homeowners in low-risk areas should be required to subsidize the insurance rates of those in high-risk areas, the provisions of Citizens Property Insurance Corp.'s "takeout program" are totally unfair.

Citizens policyholders should not be required to accept a private insurer's policy if its premium is more than 10 percent higher than Citizens' premium for comparable coverage. As it is now, affected homeowners either have to pay up or forfeit their insurance. Residents with mortgages will not have the option to forgo property insurance; their lenders will obtain coverage on their behalf and pass the higher premium costs through to them in the form of higher mortgage payments. This will force many such homeowners to sell their homes and move, probably to another state. The value of real estate east of Interstate 95 will be dramatically reduced.

Property insurance rates are already so high, even in "low-risk" areas, that many people who have contemplated moving to Florida from other states have had to rethink their plans. Others are having to decide whether to stay in Florida.

Florida is rapidly becoming a citizen-unfriendly state. Property taxes and homeowners' insurance rates need to be reasonably predictable. Many of our residents live on fixed incomes. Unless property tax rates are made portable, they often do not have the option of moving to a smaller residence, and they cannot absorb huge increases in their insurance premiums.

We are already losing teachers to Georgia, which offers higher salaries and lower living costs. We seem intent on driving longtime residents, including retirees, to do the same.

Maybe the restoration of the Everglades will occur naturally as many of our current citizens are forced to abandon the state, leaving behind a significant portion of the "appreciation" in the values of their homes.

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Scott MacMillan
Boca Raton

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