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"With election season now in its final stretch, some major issues that concern many homeowners in a variety of states are coming to the forefront of several races. For instance, home insurance costs paid by Texas residents have been a point of contention in the Lone Star State's gubernatorial race, and now it seems that this issue is also prevalent in Florida. For these reasons, insurance agents may need to do more to understand the way their clients may be impacted by the elections of various officials at the state and federal level, and explain these potential happenings to their clients on an ongoing basis. As the race for the governorship of Florida is hotly contested between the incumbent Republican Rick Scott, and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist - who used to be governor - both candidates have expressed some concern over the state's home insurance market, according to a report from the News Service of Florida. Each, predictably, has a different approach to how they would bring rates down for residents who think they've been paying too much for too long to insure their homes, despite the fact that a hurricane hasn't done major damage in the state in years. What are their stances? Scott largely favors a free-market system that would potentially bring more private insurance companies to the state, after they fled several years ago in the wake of three major hurricanes making landfall within a two-year period, the report said. The idea is that greater competition would bring in lower costs for consumers. For his part, Crist argues that under Scott's watch, rates have continued to grow despite this free-market approach, and as such there must be more done on the regulatory side of the coin to ensure that consumers pay lower prices. It's worth noting, too, that Crist has received just $75,000 in campaign contributions from the insurance industry, compared with some $2 million for Scott. Insurance agents who can better educate their clients about the kinds of changes they might face as a result of elections in their states might also be the ones that foster better relationships overall. That, in turn, could lead to significantly higher customer satisfaction ratings. Having the ability to add the occasional discount to a good relationship could likewise end up keeping customer retention rates as high as possible."

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