Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty put the state's homeowner insurance companies on notice Tuesday they had better comply with new insurance laws or face state action.

Homeowners eligible to drop expensive windstorm insurance -- which has been allowed since July 1 -- are complaining that insurers say they don't have the proper forms or the state hasn't approved revised rates yet.

The result: Homeowners like Joe Rocco of Miramar are getting the runaround instead of the price break state legislators decided they deserve.

Rocco wants to get rid of the expensive hurricane coverage on his mother Carmela's house in Miramar. The requirement for consumers to drop the coverage is having their mortgage paid off or the off-chance they can get permission from their mortgage company to go without the insurance. The Rocco mortgage was paid off decades ago.

Yet Rocco's insurer, State Farm, balked. Rocco said his agent initially told him it's because State Farm must wait until the state approves new rates in October.

"I guess their hands are tied also," Rocco said. "They don't know how to write this [policy] and they don't want to use the rates from last year."

McCarty sent a memorandum to insurers Tuesday that says insurance companies that fail to do whatever necessary to comply with the new laws would be "subject to administrative action."

Florida adopted two insurance laws, one in January and the other in June, that required property insurers to offer policies without windstorm or property contents coverage starting July 1.

The insurance commissioner's memo means the state could perhaps levy fines on insurers who aren't offering consumers these options, said Tom Zutell, a spokesman for the state Office of Insurance Regulation.

Of course, policies that don't have windstorm coverage are far cheaper than those that do. Rocco's windstorm premium would be $3,300 this year, up from $1,600 last year. On Tuesday, Rocco said he's still trying to resolve the issue with his insurance agent.

Nicole Watson, who lives in Stuart and still owes a small amount on the mortgage on her Martin County home, is in the midst of trying to drop her windstorm coverage. Her lender has given the OK. The mortgage company even called her insurance company, Hull & Co. in Fort Lauderdale, to ask why Watson was refused the request to drop the coverage. Watson would have to pay $4,400 for a policy that carries a $9,200 annual deductible. She says she can't afford it.

"The insurance agent told the mortgage company, 'This really is none of your concern,' " said Watson, who works for a landscape design firm. "But I can't find anyone else to offer me" fire and liability coverage.

Its unclear how many people in Florida are in the same boat as Rocco and Watson. Most homeowners have mortgages and would be unable to qualify for policies without windstorm coverage. Moreover, many people still want the coverage, considering the risk of hurricanes in Florida.

"We do want to encourage folks to take a real strong look at any wind or hail or tornado or tropical storm coverage before they make that decision," State Farm spokesman Justin Glover said about dropping windstorm coverage.

State Farm, Florida's largest property insurance company, says it will make the option of dropping windstorm available Oct. 1 for policies that are being renewed. For new policies, the option will go into effect Sept. 1. Beyond that, the details of what it will do with policyholders who are renewing before then is not clear.

"We will comply with the Florida law," Glover said.

Zutell said State Farm has all its forms approved.

"We'd be happy to oblige our customers," USAA spokeswoman Lynne McChristian said. "We're ready to go. We're waiting for the form to be approved." USAA policyholders, she said, could drop the coverage, but the company can't process the new policy until it gets the form from the state.

Allstate, another major homeowner insurer, is waiting for the state to approve its rates for policies that don't include windstorm. If an Allstate policy is up for renewal now and the homeowner wants to drop windstorm, Allstate spokesman Adam Shores said, the policyholder can do that. However, the premium won't be cut.

The policyholder will have to pay the windstorm premium, and a refund will be issued later, Shores said.

Shores also said that other Allstate clients can do the same thing, even if their policies were renewed before July 1. They, too, would be eligible for refunds.

That won't always be easy or quick, Florida's insurance consumer advocate Bob Milligan said. "Of course, that may be doable, but it might also be a rough row to hoe when it comes to getting your money back," he said.

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By Harriet Johnson Brackey

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