A dozen Florida property insurers are sharply reversing plans to offer homeowners lower prices.

Under the new insurance law, the state's insurers are supposed to pass along to homeowners savings they get buying reinsurance from the expanded Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Consumers were supposed to see the revised rates by July 1.

The state Office of Insurance Regulation said Friday 12 companies that planned to slash rates by as much as 35 percent now say the discounts only will be a few percentage points or premiums will increase as much as 32 percent.

Tom Zutell, a spokesman for the insurance regulation office, said that's only a small portion of the 300 insurance companies expected to file a second rate request by the Sept. 30 deadline.

The state must approve all rate requests.

The dozen companies that are reversing earlier planned rate cuts for homeowners insurance by more than 15 percent are: Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance; Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance; Amex Assurance; Auto-Owners Insurance; Capitol Preferred Insurance; Cincinnati Indemnity; Cincinnati Insurance; IDS Property Casualty Insurance; Metropolitan Casualty Insurance; Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance; Owners Insurance; and Southern-Owners Insurance.

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By Harriet Johnson Brackey

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