FYI Miami: July 13, 2023

Bellow are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

PASSENGER GAINS, AND LINES: Miami International Airport’s soaring passenger gains also create longer waiting lines and now added expenditures to keep track of those waiting lines and times. A county commission committee this week is being asked to spend $327,000 more over the rest of this year on added equipment to monitor those long lines. Because there are more passengers, a memo from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava explains, “the lines extend outside of the areas captured by the system” that does such things as telling travelers what lanes are open and the airport staff how long waits are and the overall impact on passengers. The latest airport figures show nearly 13.4 million passengers in the first three months of this year, 6.77% ahead of the 12.5 million from January through March 2022 – a year that set an airport passenger record of more than 50 million.

INSURANCE BLOW: Florida’s insurance market took a hit Tuesday as Farmers Insurance said it will end residential, auto and umbrella policies in the state, forcing tens of thousands of customers to look elsewhere for coverage. Farmers will not write new policies or renew existing policies. The non-renewals will play out over several months. A source told The News Service of Florida that about 100,000 Farmers policies across the residential, auto and umbrella lines of business could be affected; a breakdown by policy type was not available. State law requires Farmers to give 90 days’ notice before it can inform customers that policies won’t be renewed. Meanwhile, state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. added more than 5,500 policies last week, continuing three years of rapid growth. Citizens, created as an insurer of last resort, has become the largest property insurer in the state as private companies have dropped customers.

EASED VEHICLE CHARGING: The Florida Legislature would be asked to create laws to allow electric vehicle charging in the rights-of-way of any municipal or county roads under a resolution by Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins being heard this week by the county commission’s Transportation, Mobility and Planning Committee. If the committee and then the commission approve the legislation, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava would also study any changes in county code that would help address increased electric vehicle use, electric vehicle technology advancements and the county’s infrastructure needs. The legislation notes that 3 million electric vehicles are now on US roads and that the federal government intends to spend $7.5 billion nationally on electric vehicle charging. State law already has a process to develop electric vehicle charging stations along the state’s highways, but not local or county roads.