History of Florida
Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 struck Homestead, just south of Miami, as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving forty people dead, 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than a million people left without electricity, and damages of $20–30 billion. Much of South Florida's sensitive vegetation was severely damaged. The region had not seen a storm of such power in decades. Besides heavy property damage, the hurricane nearly destroyed the region's insurance industry.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
There were four major storms in 2004 that made landfall in Florida, with total damages exceeding $57 billion. The following year brought five major storms, including Katrina, the most expensive Atlantic hurricane of all time. 
Once again, several companies pulled out of the Florida market due to an extraordinary number of hurricane and new sinkhole related claims. Citizens became not just the insurer of last resort, but the insurer of only resort for many Floridians. As of 2005, Florida owed almost $5 billion, which would be recovered through insurance policy assessments. 
The cost of insurance and its availability became an important "hot button" issue in Florida, especially in the 2006 elections.