Politics
Chris Ligori: Does a contract mean anything anymore?
The single mother trying to keep a roof over her children’s heads. The working father supporting his family. The retiree living on a fixed income. The small business owner putting everything on the line to build something of their own.
These are the Floridians who suffer most when the rules are left open to interpretation.
These individuals, and many others like them, are not asking for a government handout or a guarantee of success. They are asking for a fair opportunity to work, to protect what they have earned, and to receive what they paid for. One of the most basic principles of our nation and a free-market economy is simple: When two parties enter into an agreement, that agreement should mean something.
When someone pays for a promise, they should have the right to expect it to be honored. Wealth, political influence or economic power should never provide a license to escape a bargain freely made.
It is worth remembering that our nation was built upon individual liberty, limited government, private property, personal responsibility and equality under the law. Those principles helped create the most dynamic economy in history. Our Founders understood the importance of ordinary citizens having the power to resolve disputes. They enshrined the right to a civil trial by jury in the Seventh Amendment.
That right remains an important part of a functioning free market. Rather than relying on government to resolve every dispute, individuals can present their cases before courts and juries of their fellow citizens. Florida’s homeowners insurance market demonstrates what happens when that balance is disrupted.
Three years ago, sweeping legal reforms were promoted as necessary to stabilize Florida’s insurance market and make insurance more affordable. Floridians accepted substantial restrictions on their ability to hold insurance companies accountable in exchange for the promise of a more affordable market.
Three years later, Floridians are asking: Where is the affordability?
Florida homeowners continue to pay extraordinarily high insurance premiums. According to Insurify, Florida homeowners pay the highest home insurance premiums in the nation. At the same time, The Wall Street Journal has reported on the high percentage of homeowners insurance claims closed without payment.
The promised affordability has not materialized for Floridians. Instead, the reforms strengthened the position of insurance companies while weakening policyholders’ ability to enforce the coverage they purchased.
That is not how a free market should work.
A homeowner pays premiums today in exchange for an insurer’s commitment to perform tomorrow. The entire purpose of insurance is to protect a family, a home or a business from financial hardship when disaster strikes. That is a contract. And a contract that cannot be meaningfully enforced is little more than a piece of paper.
The consequences fall on working families, retirees, homeowners and small business owners. They paid their premiums. They kept their end of the bargain. They should be able to count on their insurance companies to do the same.
This same principle extends far beyond insurance. America’s economy depends on confidence that agreements will be honored, property rights respected, and the law applied equally.
The government’s role should not be to guarantee success or protect favored interests. It should establish fair rules, protect individual rights, enforce the law equally and allow people to compete, innovate, invest and prosper.
The Florida Justice Association believes accountability is not an obstacle to economic growth. It is essential to it. Floridians should be able to walk into a courtroom, stand before a jury of fellow citizens and receive the same fair hearing as the largest corporation in America.
The promise of accountability is a cornerstone of American democracy.
As we continue to celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, we should ask whether Florida is keeping that promise. Freedom requires accountability. Free markets require enforceable contracts. And Floridians who keep their end of the bargain should expect the same in return.
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Chris Ligori is president of the Florida Justice Association.
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